A dust collection welding ventilation system is one type of an air quality improvement system used in industrial, commercial, and home production shops to improve breathable air quality and safety by removing particulate matter from the air and environment. Dust collection systems work on the basic formula of capture, convey and collect.
CAPTURE: The dust must be captured. This is accomplished with devices such as capture hoods, operated under negative pressure (suction) to catch dust at its source of origin. Many times, the machine producing the dust will have a port to which a duct can be directly attached. For dust collection welding ventilation the most common method of capture is to utilize a hood over the welding area/station.
CONVEY: The fume from welding contains dust that must then be conveyed. This is done via a dust collection ducting system, properly sized and manifolded to maintain a consistent minimum air velocity required to keep the dust in suspension for conveyance to the collection device. A welding application duct system improperly designed can lead to material settling in the duct system restricting air flow and creating a hazard.
COLLECT: The dust for the welding fume is then collected. Industry wide this is done via a variety of means, depending on the application and the dust being handled. It can be as simple as a basic pass-through filter, a cyclonic separator, an impingement baffle or other separator system. It can also be as complex as an electrostatic precipitator, a multistage baghouse, or a chemically treated wet scrubber or stripping tower. For welding dust, usually a simple bag-house, filter collector is sufficient.
The world of conveying in industrial dust collection welding ventilation is complex in and of itself. A properly designed system with pipe correctly sized, the correct metal selected and the proper air-flow components goes a long way to creating an effective industrial dust collection system.
For more information on designing or sourcing your duct collection system for welding applications, feel free to Contact US Duct.