Welding Dedusting Equipment
Welding dedusting equipment helps welding workshops maintain clean air, safeguard workers’ health, and ensure compliance with environmental standards. These systems use high-efficiency cartridge filtration to ventilate workspaces by drawing in dirty air, capturing metal dust particulates and gases, then recirculating clean air throughout the facility or expelling it outdoors.
Cleaner workspaces also preserve machinery, cutting down on maintenance costs and boosting productivity. Learn more about different types of welding extraction and filtration solutions.
Localized Extraction Units
There are many different types of welding fume extraction systems, each designed to provide the best fit for your shop. Localised extraction – also known as local exhaust ventilation (LEV) – uses a flexible arm with a filtration system to draw welding fumes directly from the source and filter them, offering maximum protection for your team.
This is the most common solution for industrial welding environments and allows you to position extraction arms where they are needed without obstructing your team’s work or affecting their ability to operate equipment. They are flexible and easy to move, and they can be connected to Welding dedusting equipment an in-duct filtration system for complete removal of pollutants from the workplace.
For larger environments, centralised extraction systems offer a more effective way to maintain clean air throughout the workplace. They can be used to extract fumes from multiple points, and can be equipped with self-cleaning filters for maximum performance and minimum maintenance.
Some welding processes emit dangerous gases that can be harmful to human health when inhaled, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and hexavalent chromium. These can lead to a range of health problems, from eye irritation and respiratory diseases to lung damage, gastrointestinal problems and cancer. Fume extraction systems can eliminate these hazards and help to create a healthier workshop. They can also be adapted to accommodate robotic welding setups for increased efficiency and productivity.
Centralized Extraction Units
A central welding fume extraction system consists of a network of ducts that transport air from a welder’s work area to a filtration unit, where it is cleaned and recirculated. These systems are ideal for large-scale metalworking operations that produce significant amounts of welding smoke, dust or other hazardous materials. They are typically installed in workshop enclosures to keep the contaminants contained and away from the rest of the facility.
Fumes from a welding operation are a mixture of gases and fine particulate particles. These include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone and metallic dust particles such as iron oxide, lead oxide, copper oxide or zinc oxide. They also can contain hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), which is known to cause cancer and has been linked to Parkinson’s disease.
The toxic effect of these substances depends on their concentration — a low dose can cause mild poisoning and health disorders, while a high concentration can be life-threatening. In addition, if the particles are small enough, they can lodge deep in the lungs or respiratory ducts and enter the bloodstream.
The design of a dedusting system should consider the types of welding processes, workshop size and location, and airflow patterns. Regular maintenance and training are essential to ensure proper system function. This includes routine filter replacement, system cleaning and testing to verify that it is working properly.
Cartridge Dust and Fume Collection Systems
Welding environments generate harmful fumes and dust particles that must be properly managed. Welding dedusting systems extract these airborne contaminants and filter them before returning clean air back to the workshop, keeping workers safe and ensuring compliance with occupational health and safety regulations.
Fume and dust removal systems work by drawing in air through a cylindrical filter cartridge, removing the hazardous particles with a high-energy shock wave, then discharging clean air through the filter’s exterior. Cartridge collectors are available in a variety of industrial air filtration configurations, including traditional ducted source capture or ambient air filtration. They are also portable and ideal for metal fabricators who want to reduce space requirements while protecting their sensitive equipment from harmful dust particles that can clog mechanisms or cause fires.
Choosing the right cartridge dust collection system for your welding environment depends on several factors, such as the size and type of particulates you’re working with, the amount of space you have to devote to the unit, and whether you want to capture particulates at their point of origin or in their ambient air. Some industrial air cleaners can even accommodate both!
For laser welding applications, where combustible dust is an issue, source capture is the best option. This type of welding fume extraction uses flexible source capture arms Welding dedusting equipment manufacturer or slotted fume hoods that mount directly onto tools, making it easier to manage than a full-scale industrial air filtration system.
Filtration Systems
Many welding applications generate dust and fumes containing ingredients that can cause eye, nose or throat irritation as well as lung damage. Often these ingredients are in very tiny particles that can lodge deep into the lungs or respiratory ducts and enter the blood stream. Common elements include iron oxide, copper, chromium, nickel, manganese and lead. These elements can also cause metal fumes that are flammable and pose a fire hazard. These elements can be controlled by using appropriate ventilation and extracting processes that prevent them from being released into the atmosphere.
The right equipment can help you avoid costly equipment repairs caused by airborne contaminants that clog and damage delicate mechanisms. Camfil offers a range of industrial dust and fume collectors to reduce worker exposure and protect expensive machinery. The Gold Series X-Flo Package (GSXP) is prewired and plugs directly into plasma and laser cutting operations to control smoke and fume. The system utilizes 2, 4 or 6 HemiPleat extreme Gold Cone X-Flo filter cartridges depending on the required airflow.
Another option is to use an advanced cartridge fume and dust collection system like the MCP SmartFilter that features a reverse pulse jet, energy efficient design, IntelliPULSE filter cleaning and IoT ready Insight control panel. The system is modular and can be configured for multiple on-torch extraction points or robotic welding cells.