The FATCAT-60 Continuous Annealing Tube!
$3,495 USD
Price is current as of September 2019 and subject to change without notice.
Price includes crate for transport; shipping is not included and is determined based on destination.
The FATCAT-60 with bowls fully annealed in about an hour!
This Continuous Annealing Tube, AKA the FATCAT-60 (the 60 stands for the approximate number of minutes it takes to cool the glass), is the perfect addition to our micro-studios. The idea is based on industrial annealing cycles for bottles, jars and cups, which are cooled at a much faster rate than artists traditionally cool their work. It is essentially a miniature lehr, manually controlled, and it operates on the heat from your Dragon using one of the accessory ports built into the side of the furnace. We have been using variations of this design for a couple of years now, and with it we have successfully annealed thousands of pieces. The FATCAT-60 is designed for making small bowls, vases, pint glasses, and thin ornaments*, while never running out of annealing space. Ever. Pieces can be cooled, signed, tagged, and packed about an hour after they are blown! This model differs from the CAT-60 in its size; it is 2" larger in diameter.
...Think Micro-Factory...!
But it's not just for production studios; for those of you in a teaching environment, imagine giving a demonstration and being able to handle it during the same class session! Practice your twisty cups and drink out of them an hour later!
- Manually controlled; essentially a miniature lehr
- Uses heat from any of the Dragons (except the Mini) via one of the accessory ports built into the side of the furnace.
- Interior diameter: 8" (~20cm)
- Maximum object size: 7" x 4.5" (18cm x 11.5cm); recommended wall thickness: 3/16" (.5cm) or less
- Designed for annealing small bowls, vases, pint glasses, and thin ornaments*
- Based on industrial annealing cycles for bottles, jars and cups
- Works by maintaining positive pressure in the heating chamber of the furnace, so that a slight breeze of hot air is blowing out of the end of the tube.
- A Heat Baffle Block is used to control the amount of air flowing through the tube.
- Adjustments to the baffle, burner settings and the door opening size will affect the flow.
- An Arrow Springs ASC-15/5 controller and high-temp blower help to maintain a temperature range between 1050 F and 1150 F (565-621 C).
- A series of interlocking trays that are placed in the tube prior to start-up. The work to be annealed is placed on one of the trays and pulled along the tube one tray length every 5 minutes or so. As a tray is pulled from the end of the tube, it is replaced at the hot end for loading the next piece.
*A note about ornaments: we recommend leaving a tiny hole between the hook and the body of the ornament, so a vacuum is not created by sealing it off completely. This allows for more even annealing and a more stable object (though they will collect water if hung outdoors).
Ready to place an order? Please see our How To Order page for all the details, and be sure to read our Limited Warranty.