building a custom sublimation heat press

[tonycarr]

Hi as per title I'm building a sublimation heat press. i have a 1000mm x 250mm x 8mm sheet of cast aluminium. i will be using a thermostatically controlled silicon heat mat to regulate the heat up to a maximum 200 degrees c/ 392 degrees f. i want to be able to reach my maximum heat in under 3 minutes. can someone please tell me how much Wattage the silicon mat needs to be. please
regards tony

 

[Avo Mk8]

I accept no liability for this - suggest you do the sums, but this is what I got:

volume of that aluminium is .002 cubic metres (width x length x height)
density of aluminium is 2710 kg/cubic metre
therefore mass of that aluminium is 0.002 x 2710 = 5.42 kg
specific heat of ali is 0.9kJ
lets say temp rise is from 20deg C to 200 deg C= 180 deg
time taken to be 3 minutes = 180 seconds

Energy required to heat block = specific heat x mass x delta t = 0.9 x 5.42 x 180 = 878 kJ

Power = energy/time
in seconds, this is 878/180 = 4.87 kW


Sounds quite a lot for a silicon heat mat!!