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Applications

• Lumber mills
• Cabinetry wood shops
• School wood shops

Dust from industrial woodworking machinery:

Molders Lathes Planers

Belt Sanders Chop Saws

Safety Considerations

NFPA approved explosion vents should be used on all wood applications. The collector should be located outside whenever possible or near an exterior wall with the explosion vents ducted per NFPA outside the building. Read the informative OSHA Hazard Information Bulletin on the subject of improper installation of wood dust collectors in the woodworking industry.

Sprinkler kits should also be installed in the collectors. If equipment being aspirated has the potential to produce sparks, such as a high speed sander, spark detection/suppression systems should be considered. It is best to have the customer check with his Insurance carrier and follow NFPA 654 Standard for the Prevention of Fire and Dust Explosions from the Manufacturing, Processing and Handling of Combustible Particulate Solids, 2000 Edition, or your local standard.

Sizing Recommendations

Most applications will have several different types of wood working machinery that create very different types of dust. Molders, lathes, and planners will create long curly strings of material or shavings, especially on softer woods like yellow pine. High speed belt sanders will create a very fine dust that may be referred to as wood flour. Chop saws and table saws will create saw dust which is typically the easiest dust to handle.

On all wood applications with a Farr Gold Series the HemiPleat® cartridges should be used. If 100 percent of the material is from a high speed sander or saw, over bags may help increase the life of the cartridge, but are not a necessity.

Overbags should always be used with molders, planners and lathes. The air to cloth ratio with HemiPleat cartridges should be 2:1. The hopper discharge should be no less than 356mm square. Machined airlocks should never be used, but a fabricated flex type airlock will work well on this type of material. If a high pressure pneumatic convey system is used to take the material away from the collector, a wood feeder should be considered. A wood feeder is very similar to a machined airlock but is much heavier and can shear the material as it enters the feeder.

One last note in designing the system. CNC routers require 1829 MPS to 2134 MPS at the head so the static pressure loss at these types of machines can be 1744-2491 Pa. A booster fan may be needed at the machine to meet the airflow and static pressure demands.