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preeb · March 2nd, 2012, 10:18 AM

I will not torture you with the construction any more... a short fast forward and it's time to discuss the dust collection system.

There are a few types of wood particle contaminations.
1) Chips
2) dust
3) micro dust

Depending on the machining job any or few of the above may want to get in the air and into my poor lungs. I really need to fight this back the best way I can because it's a big health issue and a well known silent killer.

My system will need a few pre designed properties to take care of all 3 types.
The parameters are:
1) Air suction volume capability
2) Air suction speed at each machine end collector
3) Mesh size of the filters

The volume determines how much air will be sucked for a given time (cubic feet per minute) and is important if I need to collect a lot of material or run a few stations concurrently.

The air speed at the collector determines how big the collection area will be in front of the collector. This can be controlled by the collector opening diameter

The mesh size of the filter will determine the minimal size of the particles that are allowed to get back in the air. When filtering wood micro dust I want it to be 1 micron. This will result with a fresh mountain air quality in the shop (-;

After a small research and some goggling I had the thing designed and made sure the system is at least 50% stronger than the minimum requirements. I could have had it done by a professional company but I decided to save the big $$$ involved and do it myself. It turned out to be a good decision.

I started by placing the filtering collector and the machinery at the designated locations in the shop. Starting with the 3 HP turbine

4" PVC hoses installed high up going from station to station

Next stage was running the flexible 4" hoses from the PVC intake to the stations

Including the bench area (for sanding dust).
I also included openings for future possible machinery and plugged them well for now.

Some stations don't come with a dust collection outlets so I had to build them

Now here comes the tricky part...
Since I don't use more than 1 or 2 stations simultaneously it would be a waste of suction power to keep all the collector stations open. The solution would be air gates at each end point. When a station is not in use its gate is shut allowing more suction power at the opened gates. Simple, right?
Here's how I did that:

A dual female adapter is cut in the center

like this

4" circles are cut out of rectangular MDF boards

The hose adapter halves are epoxied into the MDF

Like that

and flush sanded

like that

I now make the gates and spacers. The spacers are cut a little wider than the gate because when the gate is closed the suction will pull it shut strongly so the fit should be loose enough to allow free movement and maintenance.

Everything is glued together

and I make sure that the gate is completely sealed when shut

and that the gate is moved easily but not too loosely

Each collector gets its gate

A smaller intake (1 1/2") at the router table to get more coverage area

and more luck than brains with the saw.... allowing the engine cooling to function when the gate is open... LOL

Again... more luck than brains hanging the hose over the bench when not in use through the gate hole when it's closed (-;

and it starts to look like a.... spaceship?

Everything is sealed well with heavy wrapping nylon which is a great sealer and very easy to replace in the future if any leaks occur

Now I turn on the system with all the gates shut. I make sure the vacuum bag is not getting filled with air, meaning that the system is totally sealed with no leaks.
All is done (-;

March 2nd, 2012, 10:18 AM	#11 (permalink)
preeb Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Israel Age: 47 Posts: 5,682	I will not torture you with the construction any more... a short fast forward and it's time to discuss the dust collection system. There are a few types of wood particle contaminations. 1) Chips 2) dust 3) micro dust Depending on the machining job any or few of the above may want to get in the air and into my poor lungs. I really need to fight this back the best way I can because it's a big health issue and a well known silent killer. My system will need a few pre designed properties to take care of all 3 types. The parameters are: 1) Air suction volume capability 2) Air suction speed at each machine end collector 3) Mesh size of the filters The volume determines how much air will be sucked for a given time (cubic feet per minute) and is important if I need to collect a lot of material or run a few stations concurrently. The air speed at the collector determines how big the collection area will be in front of the collector. This can be controlled by the collector opening diameter The mesh size of the filter will determine the minimal size of the particles that are allowed to get back in the air. When filtering wood micro dust I want it to be 1 micron. This will result with a fresh mountain air quality in the shop (-; After a small research and some goggling I had the thing designed and made sure the system is at least 50% stronger than the minimum requirements. I could have had it done by a professional company but I decided to save the big $$$ involved and do it myself. It turned out to be a good decision. I started by placing the filtering collector and the machinery at the designated locations in the shop. Starting with the 3 HP turbine 4" PVC hoses installed high up going from station to station Next stage was running the flexible 4" hoses from the PVC intake to the stations Including the bench area (for sanding dust). I also included openings for future possible machinery and plugged them well for now. Some stations don't come with a dust collection outlets so I had to build them Now here comes the tricky part... Since I don't use more than 1 or 2 stations simultaneously it would be a waste of suction power to keep all the collector stations open. The solution would be air gates at each end point. When a station is not in use its gate is shut allowing more suction power at the opened gates. Simple, right? Here's how I did that: A dual female adapter is cut in the center like this 4" circles are cut out of rectangular MDF boards The hose adapter halves are epoxied into the MDF Like that and flush sanded like that I now make the gates and spacers. The spacers are cut a little wider than the gate because when the gate is closed the suction will pull it shut strongly so the fit should be loose enough to allow free movement and maintenance. Everything is glued together and I make sure that the gate is completely sealed when shut and that the gate is moved easily but not too loosely Each collector gets its gate A smaller intake (1 1/2") at the router table to get more coverage area and more luck than brains with the saw.... allowing the engine cooling to function when the gate is open... LOL Again... more luck than brains hanging the hose over the bench when not in use through the gate hole when it's closed (-; and it starts to look like a.... spaceship? Everything is sealed well with heavy wrapping nylon which is a great sealer and very easy to replace in the future if any leaks occur Now I turn on the system with all the gates shut. I make sure the vacuum bag is not getting filled with air, meaning that the system is totally sealed with no leaks. All is done (-;