Challenge
New England Woodcraft has been in the custom contract furniture manufacturing business since 1963 and has furnished a number of universities, colleges and military bases all over the world. In 2001, they added new sander/sealer equipment to their operation and needed a dust collection system to capture the sealer finish fines.
Solution
Camfil APC sales rep Brian Flynn of Ventilation Control Products visited the operation and analyzed the application surrounding two sanding machines. Some wood dust would have to be captured, but most of the dust would be extremely fine from the finish sanding of the dry sealer compound. Brian wisely collected and sent a dust sample to the Camfil APC lab for analysis.
Based on Camfil APC lab results and recommendations, a GS48 was selected for a calculated air volume of 37735 m3h at a 2.3:1 air-to-cloth ratio. If sealer mix variations occurred, spun-bond Dura-Pleat DPS200 filter cartridges would handle any potentially sticky dust. Essentially treated as a plastic dust, the explosion venting option was chosen for safety on this application that is susceptible to static charge.
Brian submitted the bid, selling the unique features and benefits of the Gold Series Industrial Dust Collector. Camfil was awarded the project, and the system went on-line in November 2001. New England Woodcraft is very pleased with the performance of their GS unit, especially with the fact that the original filters have not needed replacing for 3 years now!
As an interesting side note, final installation included a quick-acting abort damper, which was wired to a spark detector and suppression system. The abort damper would instantly stop the recirculated air from reentering the building should a fire or explosion occur in the system.
Submitting a dust sample to the Camfil APC laboratory is a good idea for questionable applications or dusts with unusual properties. Camfil APC will provide a free analysis and report using state-of-the-art equipment. Just be sure that the submitted dust sample is representative of what the dust collector will be challenged with.