FEATURE DUST & FUME EXTRACTION Flexible filtering


When faced with a new factory unit to home its growing components manufacturing business, Oliveti Cubicles turned to Dustraction to provide a custom-built extraction solution for its new premises in Leicestershire. “We had simply outgrown


our old premises in Enderby and we needed more space if we were to continue working on such a broad range of construction projects,” begins Julian Beardsell, Cubicles department manager at Oliveti Cubicles. “The old unit homed an old extraction system that was simply not up to the job anymore. It was out of date and we were spending increasing amounts of time trying to keep the system healthy. It was clear that we couldn’t take the system with us. Instead, we needed to invest in a new, low-maintenance system that could offer us ongoing reliability, solid performance and room to grow.” With a six-year lease on their new premises in Leicester, Beardsell was


also keen to future-proof his investment. “We have grown significantly since we began trading and adding new machinery to our line-up is inevitable. With this in mind, we also needed a system that could offer us a minimum of 30 per cent expansion.” This led the components company to Dustraction’s door. “I work with a lot


EXTRACTION FROM TEST CHAMBERS


T


est chambers are designed to examine various types of materials in many different ways for a wide scope of applications. Chambers may be


required to measure corrosion or to test components to destruction. Their primary function is to speed up the processes to simulate time in an environment with certain characteristics. Finding the long term resistance to corrosion of materials requires the


speeding up of corrosion by using certain substances. For example, a salt spray testing chamber would recreate the effects of a harsh offshore environment to evaluate the corrosive properties of supplies, such as, paint coatings and phosphated surfaces. This will simulate the effects of years of exposure to salt spray. By testing in a chamber the variables can be controlled to ensure the measure of corrosion is as accurate as possible. Components are subjected to a corrosive environment without introducing other contaminants into the test area. Chambers are often designed to test for compliance with standards. When


components or surface finishes pass testing, they are considered compliant with corrosion resistance standards such as, MIL-STD-202H, BS EN 60068-2-52 or ASTM-B117. As the environment in the chamber is designed to corrode metal or


similar materials the extract system will also corrode if metal fans and metal ductwork are used. Axair Fans can offer polypropylene fans suitable for this type of application as they are resistant to corrosion. The company’s fans are the single inlet centrifugal type complete with a pedestal for floor or wall mounting. Axair have different materials for its pedestals depending on the setting. To fine tune the required airflow rate, the company also offers inverters


for fine speed control of the fan. The inverter can also have pre-selected speeds depending on requirements. We can also offer fans for other types testing in chambers such as, heat


testing and humidity testing. This type of equipment has a wide range for which Axair can offer different types of fans.


Axair Fans 24 SPRING 2019 | INDUSTRIAL COMPLIANCE www.axair-fans.co.uk


of Leicestershire-based businesses and I was keen to use as many local companies as I could during the relocation process. I received quotes from several extraction specialists but Dustraction was my first and last port of call. I found them to be the best overall value. They were not necessarily the cheapest but they offered a clear and concise package. They also gave me confidence in their abilities from the off – and offered the infrastructure needed to complete the job in a competitive time-frame.” The initial stages of the project required Dustraction to work closely with


Oliveti Cubicles and the first step was to create a workshop floor plan. In order for all criteria to be met – including the simultaneous use of an edgebander, dimension saw, vertical spindle moulder and four sided moulder – a Dustrax No 27 Series filter system was installed. The system itself, which has been designed to handle a total air volume of 3.32m³/sec (7,035 cfm), utilises a tubular sock-type filtering system and comes complete with an automatic shaker cleaning mechanism. In order to fulfil the expansion requirements, the system’s modular bolted construction also allows for later fitting of further filter chambers, bagging base extensions and increased fan power. “Disruption to the team was minimal throughout the installation,” explains


Beardsell. “Dustraction was working in an empty building and it didn’t have an existing extraction system to work around. The only thing the team needed was electrical supplies to different parts of the equipment and access to hoists and positioning equipment. This allowed for the first stage of the installation to be completed in under six weeks, with the tails for each machine attached to the ducting, ready for the machines to be dropped into place.” It was at this point of the installation that the components manufacturer


received an order that needed to be completed quickly. “We were just about ready to start moving machinery into our new workshop when we were given a time-sensitive job to complete. This stopped the final stage of the installation being completed for over eight weeks. Beardsell continues, “This is where Dustraction’s understanding,


cooperation and experience came into play. They were happy to work around us and, when we were in a position to relocate, the second phase was done quickly and efficiently to limit any downtime. Each piece of machinery was connected as per the floor plan and our technicians and Dustraction’s engineers went thought each machine, one-by-one, to make sure everything was in full working order.”


Dustraction www.dustraction.co.uk / INDUSTRIALCOMPLIANCE


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32