How to choose industrial dust collector for laser and plasma cutting platforms?

Thermal cutting applications, such as plasma and laser cutting, produce large amounts of smoke and particles that can pose health risks to operators and cause damage to cutting machine tools.

Often, dust collectors are required in cutting systems to reduce worker exposure to fumes and help protect expensive cutting machine components. When designing the dust removal system, it is necessary to fully consider the challenges to the dust collector caused by various factors during the thermal cutting process. These factors include: smoke particle size distribution, smoke concentration, system pressure loss and combustible dust risks.

Cutting equipment manufacturers typically offer dry or wet cutting tables that support the sheet being cut. For dry cutting platforms, a cartridge dust collector is usually used, and the smoke is transported to the dust collector through the air duct in the downdraft workbench. As with other processes, customers should conduct a hazard analysis before selecting a dust collection solution. Sparks are usually present in any thermal cutting process, and most of the dust collected is flammable, posing a risk of explosion and fire. Ignition source solutions should be considered with any dry dust collection system.

When selecting a dust collector for a dry cutting platform, you first need to determine the air volume required to control smoke overflow. Generally speaking, the wider the cutting table, the greater the air volume required to capture the smoke and therefore the larger the dust collector required. Other factors also affect the air volume, including the size of the extraction unit, the proportion of board coverage, and the number of extraction units that are turned on at the same time during the cutting process.

Downdraft workbenches are usually divided into multiple suction units (or zones) to reduce the total airflow required to effectively capture smoke and dust, thereby reducing the size of the dust collector. Dust collector selection is then customized based on factors such as the number of cutting heads, cutting technology (laser, plasma, oxy-fuel, etc.), the material being cut, and cutting speed and torch time zones. For larger workpieces, multiple cutting machines can be integrated into one downdraft table.

The airflow through the cutting platform must be sufficient to create a downdraft over the surface of the platform to overcome the rising speed of the smoke. Downdraft velocity is the minimum air velocity required to prevent fumes and particles from escaping the cutting table. For thermal cutting applications, it is typically 150-250 ft/min and needs to be adjusted based on the cutting table design and size.

The fine smoke and dust generated by thermal cutting applications require efficient cartridge dust collectors to ensure stable and reliable operation of the system. Shanghai SCT6 series dust collectors can provide complete dust removal solutions for thermal cutting applications. They mainly have design advantages and features:

l  Integrated design, compact structure, small footprint, simple and convenient on-site installation, and low installation cost.

l  Multiple models are available to choose from, adapting to the air volume requirements of different cutting machine models.

l  Small size, high efficiency, "plug and play" design, and suitable for continuous operation.

l  Four air inlet options in different directions facilitate on-site pipeline connection.

l  Equipped with an integrated spark cooler to effectively reduce the risk of fire.

l  Downflow design, equipped with a dedicated Ultra-web FR flame-retardant filter cartridge, enhances filtration accuracy and dust cleaning effect, while ensuring safety and reliability.

l  Dust collection tube design that is easy to empty.

l  Torit’s unique pressure difference cleaning controller: Delta P-C01, equipped with a variety of cleaning functions and communication functions.

l  The system can be connected to operate in conjunction with other machines.