Tampa Bay Machining (TBM) is a precision machine shop in Tampa, Florida serving the aerospace and defense industries. They provide CNC milling and CNC turning services per customer design and specification.

 

CHALLENGE

Finishing processes at TBM generate a lot of nuisance dust. The outdated bag house collector was aging and inefficient in capturing dust at the source and keeping it away from workers. Since the old collector was installed inside of the facility it also posed a safety issue due to collection of potentially explosive dust. In addition, the old system took up valuable floor space inside the facility that TBM wanted to reclaim for future growth of their product finishing work and production processes.

SOLUTION

Gulftech Enterprises performed a comprehensive evaluation of the existing dust collection system and recommended installation of United Air Specialists (UAS) SFC downward flow cartridge dust collector outside of the facility equipped with an explosion vent and backdraft damper. This recommendation was based on new NFPA guidelines instituted since the old unit had been installed and the potential explosion hazards of aluminum dust being generated from the finishing processes. The project also included replacing several source capture hoods at the finishing stations that helped capture dust directly at the source; the most efficient and effective dust collection method. The system design resulted in a smaller footprint in the production area as well as safely capturing and containing dust outside the building. An explosion isolation flap was installed on the return duct to ensure plant safety and a silencer was installed on the unit exhaust for quiet system operation.

IMPACT

TBM is pleased with the new source capture hoods, ductwork and central system cartridge dust collector. The nuisance and potentially explosive dust from their finishing processes are now safely and effectively captured and collected in the system outside the building. Because the dust is removed by the hoods before it reaches the employees’ breathing zone, their workers are breathing cleaner air. With the new cartridge dust collection system, TBM is experiencing operational savings due to reduced time spent on clean up and maintenance which allows employees more time to focus on finishing parts.

Having the new cartridge dust collector installed outside of the building with the added safety features of the explosion vent and the explosion damper protects employees and the facility while safely collecting the combustible dust from TBM’s finishing process. The silencer on the dust collection unit, the system operates quietly and makes for good neighbors with the surrounding businesses.

“As part of our commitment to produce the highest quality products and provide our employees with a safe working environment, the SFC dust collector from United Air Specialists was the best solution for us. UAS’s sales representative was very knowledgeable about how to improve our current set up to more effectively and safely collect the potentially combustible nuisance dust from our finishing processes. They were easy to work with and helped ensure the successful installation and start-up of the system with very little down time.”

– Thomas Flanagan, Purchasing Manager, Tampa Bay Machining

Dust Collectors

Dust Collectors

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