Factory focus Dust & fume extraction
Sound solution to radar plant’s oil mist problem
Manufacturer of communication devices and transmitters TMD Technologies has installed a number of media filtration units from Air Cleaning Systems to deal with a build up of oily film which was putting sensitive test equipment at risk in its open plan facility
increase productivity and R&D work in its machine shop. But this cre- ated an issue for TMD, as its nearby test rigs that work to extreme accuracy levels were providing inconsistent results and deviations that were caused by airborne oil mist affecting the electronic equipment. As a manu- facturer of microwave tubes, high voltage power supplies and transmit- ters for radar, EW, communications and other laboratory applications, cleanliness is a pre-requisite that was compromised by the airborne particu- late from the machine tools. As production machine shop man-
T
ager, Dave Casey recalls: “Within a matter of weeks of installing the Haas machining centres, we witnessed an oil film in the workshop and adjacent test area. This film resulted in a tech- nician receiving an electric shock when testing high voltage test gear. Additionally, we started to receive concerns from the test area regarding the deviating tolerances as a result of the mist. We immediately investigated the marketplace and found ACS was capable of providing the solution with its OMF1000 media filtration units.” The test facility rigorously tests radar
he Hayes based manufacturer had purchased a Haas VF4 and two VF2 machining centres
to
As a company that has won two Queens Awards, one for innovation and another for International Trade, TMD supplies customers such as Raytheon, Samsung, Thales, Alcatel, BAE Systems, NEC, Northrop Grumman, Toshiba and the world’s military forces. The company places multi-million pound orders from high- profile customers including the world’s armed forces with key deci- sion makers regularly visiting the Hayes site to inspect the manufactur- ing facility. From this perspective, the company is keen to maintain an impeccably clean image, so oil mist that leaves a dirty film on the machines, floor, work surfaces and vir- tually any other surface in the nearby vicinity is unacceptable.
equipment by measuring microwave beams passed through tube assemblies. With each assembly valued at well beyond £50,000, failure and rejects are not an option for the company. The sit- uation resulted in the ACS units being installed; a matter of weeks after TMD approached ACS.
The new OMF1000 media filtration units now extract the oil mist at source to ensure the immediate environment is oil and mist free. As Casey contin- ues: “ACS understood the urgency of our predicament and worked rapidly and efficiently with impeccable ser- vice to resolve our problems. Since the installation of the units there has been no airborne particulate, so our testing department is safe and operating its test rigs with no tolerance deviations caused by oil mist.”
OMF1000 media fitration units have been installed to deal with oily film for a Hayes based radar manufacturer
Sensitive test equipment is located close to TMD’s new Haas machining centres
Components produced in the machine shop include metal boxes for power supplies and development work on new product ranges. This results in anything from one off com- ponents to batches of 200 in a range of materials including stainless steel, alu- minium and copper. With such a work flow, the machine doors are opened to remove and re-set a new part after each cycle. The elimination of mist enables the operator to immediately load a new part after the cycle has finished as opposed to previously waiting for the mist to dissipate prior to re-loading the machines. This has created a produc- tivity benefit for TMD; it now saves upwards of a minute for each batch component that it machines. Casey concludes: “The OMF units have resolved the mist issue. This in turn has improved cleanliness, elimi- nated the safety issue for the test department, returned the test rigs to their high quality standards and toler- ances and they have improved the health and productivity of the machine shop.”
Air Cleaning Systems T: 02920 776100
www.acs-ltd.com Enter 305
Air pollution control equipment treats spray painting fumes A
ir pollution control specialist, AirProtekt, has supplied and installed turnkey air pollution control equipment to deal with VOC fumes and odours from three solvent based spray painting booths and baking ovens at an aircraft component finishing facility. The Honeycat concentrator catalytic oxidation air pollution control and energy saving
system treats the exhaust gases from the component finishing process. The solvent laden gases are ducted and pulled through a rotary honeycomb zeolite wheel. The solvent from the process stream is absorbed onto the hydrophobic zeolite in the honeycomb wheel. The clean gases are then transported into the main process fan inlet and pass via an exhaust stack to the atmosphere. The concentrator’s honeycomb wheel zeolite rotor is continuously rotating to absorb the VOCs which then pass into the regeneration zone where they are removed by a small volume of preheated air which then passes into a small Honeycat catalytic oxidation system. The combination of the VOC concentrator and Honeycat catalytic oxidation system means very large process exhaust flows containing low quantities of VOCs can be treated by a cost effective system. This type of system means only five per cent of the process flow is treated by the Honeycat catalytic oxidation system, which represents a reduction of 20:1. With the increased VOC concentration the operating cost for the total system is said to be low when compared with alternative systems. “AirProtekt’s solution to the challenges posed by this aircraft component finishing application has now enabled the
new production facility to comply with statutory emission regulations for VOCs. The new installation also extends the company’s global environmental policy,” explains Trevor Lawton, AirProtekt’s managing director. “The Honeycat con- centrator catalytic oxidation air pollution control and energy saving system also benefits from much lower capital and running costs compared with an alternative thermal oxidation plant solution.” AirProtekt
T: 01223 872933 Factory Equipment JANUARY 2012
www.airprotekt.co.uk Enter 306 11
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