Challenge
Vigilant, Inc. is a world leader in the manufacturing of finely crafted cigar humidors, wine racks and cellars, gun cabinets and custom cabinets. Continued business growth led to a relocation to a larger facility, but the increased level of production was no match for their undersized cyclone and baghouse setup at the old plant. The new operation would require dust collection for table saws, moulders, edge banders, chop saws, sanders, jointers, planers, and routers.
Solution
Camfil APC rep Kevin Flynn of Ventilation Control Products proposed a Gold Series GS16 with wide pleat cartridges and overbags. The GS16 collector would easily handle the 10,000 CFM air volume required for the production area in the new facility. Wide pleat, Poly-Tech™ media cartridges with nylon overbags would keep the hardwood mahogany dust and medium density fiberboard (MDF) dust from clogging the filters and ensure continuous cleaning with the collector’s reverse pulse air cleaning system.
Because of NFPA 664 requirements for wood dust and air recirculation back into the building, an explosion vent, sprinkler heads, and a spark detection and suppression system with an automatic abort gate for explosion prevention were also proposed.
Vice president and co-owner of Vigilant, Inc., Charlie Griffiths, considered the competition and looked at a Torit unit. But following a hands-on, on-site demonstration of the Gold Series, Mr. Griffiths was sold on the Camfil APC unit. He liked the design and features better, and preferred the vertical cartridge arrangement due to the high dust loading.
The GS16 was installed, went online in March 2005 and continues to run great. Vigilant, Inc. is pleased with its performance. “We like how well it cleans the air. It does a good job of keeping our shop clean, and that means happy employees and better productivity…” said Mr. Griffiths. As of this writing, the collector has been running two years on the original set of cartridges. “The next set will be HemiPleats™!” says Kevin, who also commented that he has taken a number of customers to this site, who also chose the Gold Series over the competitive units.