Dust collection filters are used as part of wider collection systems whereby combustible dusts that are generated during processes of production and manufacturing are captured. These processes can include machining, grinding, polishing, buffing, sawing, drilling, cutting and brushing, and as a result of processes such as these materials can explode into dust particles, whether natural, organic materials or metals. Any process where airborne dust is created in this way must be controlled immediately; as to leave it without collection (via either wet or dry media dust collection) could lead to potentially serious health hazards and risks for all employees working in the immediate vicinity.
There are minimum personal exposure limits (PELs) that have been created by OSHA for respirable materials and it is the legal obligation of the facility to ensure that emission levels stay below these personal exposure thresholds. This can be achieved with effective dust collection filters and relevant equipment.
Your choice of dust collection equipment and filter will depend on a range of factors however. There is a lot more to the creation of dust media than you would at first consider. How this dust is created and developed will lead you to make the correct choice for your own specific dust collection requirements.
In most industrial settings, there is a need for both dust collectors and dust filters. Rarely do you discover manufacturers that can deliver both, to a high and consistent standard of performance. Choose a supplier that understands both the filter media and the dust collector, as they are more likely to provide dust collection filters and equipment that has a consistent performance level.
It is also important to choose a supplier that has a proven track record of supplying high performance equipment that has been readily tested over a long period of time to high and intensive standards. Dust collection filters of any quality will have been put through thousands of computer simulations at design level, prior to lab samples being undertaken and well before the final media grades are released for production. It involves a testing phase where raw materials and properties of filter media blend, and the use within many different specific industrial and manufacturing processes are considered.
The general processes behind the development of filter media will depend on your specific application requirements. Specifications are finalised based around not only the completed media grade, but also the final filtration product and the materials that are to be filtered as part of a specific application in industry. A minimum efficiency level must be agreed upon, as well as a pricing point that makes it suitable for the wider market (despite the specific parameters within certain industrial applications). Other factors that must be considered are the chemical composition of the contaminants likely to be filtered, the temperatures the filter will be placed under, as well as humidity levels, pressure and vibration and a whole host of other factors.
With the correct dust collection filter the cost of manufacturing can be reduced, production processes streamlined and employees kept safe to regulatory standards.
