High Volume Dust Collectors
Keep Maintenance Costs Low
A manufacturer, located in the Southwestern United States, produces oil field equipment. Part of the manufacturing process includes automatic welding and hard banding. The company utilizes three wire-fed hard banding machines. Total wire usage, system-wide, is over five tons annually. The extremely high level of wire usage generated large amounts of weld smoke and fumes throughout the facility. Without effective, in-plant dust collectors and air filtration systems the heavy concentration of dust and smoke clogged the filters and gathered on the coils of the company's air conditioning system. The dirty filters and coils overworked the system's compressors. As a result of inadequate dust filtration, the company frequently had to service its air conditioning system, causing air conditioning system downtime and added costs to replace filters and compressors that wore out prematurely under the heavy service load.

The Airflow Systems Answer
The plant previously had two, self-cleaning electrostatic precipitators in place to act as primary dust collectors. However, the units were not effectively controlling the dust, smoke, and fumes and required so much maintenance that the company shut the units down. The company solicited new dust control system designs and bids from three air filtration equipment suppliers. Bids were evaluated based on installed cost, annual operating and maintenance cost, dust and particle collection efficiency, and power usage. The Airflow Systems distributor's design incorporated two existing intake hoods and a third, new dust control intake hood. The hoods were hard ducted from each machine to a single Airflow Systems DC-8 Dust Collector, operating at 4500 CFM. Competitive system design submissions required three new intake hoods and a 10,000 CFM dust collector. Given the optimal performance and cost efficiency of the Airflow Systems dust control system proposal, the company awarded the project to Airflow Systems.

Positive Proof of Particle Control
The Airflow Systems DC-8 Dust Collector delivered immediate results. "The dust control system works great," says the company's Operations Manager. The reduction in airborne smoke, dust and fumes within the facility was visibly noticeable. "The stuff's out of the air; we can see the difference." The Airflow Systems dust collectors and system design worked to filter out the airborne particles. In addition, the company's air conditioning system now operates at its intended efficiency levels. "The Airflow Systems product easily handles our heavy dust and smoke levels. The filters and coils on the A/C system have only the normal levels of dirt on them—only normal maintenance is necessary."