Fume/dust collector on torchmate

[STEEL3470]

Ok I am at the point where I am done with the dust and smoke,

I have a 2x4 growth series torchmate with water table.

What is the best to get rid of the dust and smoke.

Do I just buy a hanging air collector or is there something better?

Any info would help

[jimcolt]

Skirt the sides with sheetmetal, attach an 10" duct to a wall mounted 1500 cfm blower....and blow it outside. That would be a downdraft system.

Water tables work well if you keep the water filled to the bottom of the material you are cutting.

Putting a hood overhead (updraft) will pull all of the abrasive particles up through your machine....not recommended!

My 4 x 4 Plasmacam has the side skirted, 3 - 8" ducts to a 3200 cfm wall fan....has been smoke free for about 8 years.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[STEEL3470]

Jim do you have a pic of what you mean by skirting like how high up the sides does it go

[tnbndr]

There is a pic in this post:
http://plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.php?f ... an#p102277
That shows a downdraft system, the blue table.
That is a fancy transition which is nice but you could also just use flat sheets and enclose the bottom of the table and tap holes in one side for the exhaust pipe to outside. There are some pics of that on the forums somewhere.

[STEEL3470]

Thanks I understand the down draft when there isn't a water table, but what do u do when there is a water table?

[jimcolt]

Your water table will control the fumes as well, maybe better than a downdraft. There will be some water splashing on the material and machine, and a little bit rougher cut edge, however for fume control it is hard to beat. Water must be touching...or very close to the bottom of the material to be effective. Not sure why you want to switch to downdraft.....

For downdraft, (again) skirt the 4 sides all the way to your concrete floor. Make a 10" hole in one side, attach a 10" duct (at least) to this hole and pipe it to a blower (wall or window mounted) with a 1500 cfm fan (minimum for a 2 x 4 table). The heaviest particles will fall to the concrete floor, the small (lighter than air) particles will get fulled by the fan and blown outside. If you have a full 2 x 4 piece of steel on the table this will be very effective...if smaller than 2 x 4 mask off the open areas with scrap metal.

You will need to remove the water table in order to fabricate a functional downdraft table.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[STEEL3470]

Oh no I don't want to switch to down draft, I just want to get rid of the smoke that still gets produced in the air when running the plasma table. That's why I was wondering if anyone has any input on a hanging unit to put above the table or like a welding fume collector placed close to the top of the machine.

[STEEL3470]

And yes the water table works great for most of the fumes and sparks, but still too many for my liking.

[whiskeymike]

I would check out this thread - http://www.plasmaspider.com/viewtopic.p ... how#p80648 Jim has a cool set up for trade shows where fumes would be a problem. I would also check fume extractor threads on welding web for some ideas as there are several DIY discussions.

I've been thinking of doing something myself, but haven't settled on which path I'll take.

The idea I've been thinking about most lately is I made some splash guard sheets from 16gauge that run the length of the table and extend the sides of the water table by about 4" to stop water from splashing on the floor and sides of the gantry. That's worked well for the water, but I've been thinking of adding one at the end that is attached to a blower and have it exit out the side of the building. I'm thinking that this would handle the remainder of stuff that the water table doesn't catch.

Another option if you are concerned with heating/ac leaving the building is cheap box fans from walmart with charcoal AC filters attached to the intake. Some folks seem to have some luck with that.

[tnbndr]

I am seriously considering trying one of these just hanging above the plasma table to filter residual smoke/fumes.

http://www.woodcraft.com/product/857601 ... 0-cfm.aspx

[_Ogre]

i have the delta version of that filter in my home wood shop, it works well for sanding dust
the manual states it is not for welding fumes, but probably for the toxic gases when welding certain metals
i found my filter on craigslist for cheap



try raising the water level up closer to the metal
we run our plasma table in an automotive paint shop, the painter always complains about welding smoke, never the plasma table

[jimcolt]

As I said in 2 previous posts....raise the water so it touches the material. It will get rid of 99.5% of the smoke, fumes. Or, remove the water table and build a downdraft with adequate downflow to pull the fumes down. Pulling the fumes up through the table is a bad idea. This is from my 38 years working with thousands of plasma users worldwide.

Another method that I have used is a hybrid fume control. A water tray with water level 8 to 12 inches below the plate, this will stop close to 60% of the fumes.....then a downdraft (with lower air flow than a conventional downdraft) to pul the remaining fumes through a spark trap, then flame resistant welding fume filters (Torit is a good source). Using a hybrid system like this will make the expensive filters last dramatically longer.

The small filter unit you mention: 1., not nearly enough flow, 2. Not safe with plasma/welding fumes. 3., will likely clog the filters in less than an hour.

Jim Colt Hypertherm

[STEEL3470]

Thanks Jim I do run water running as high as I can to the material will post video or pic this week when back in the shop.

I am looking at one of the hanging units and putting a charcoal filter on it not just a regular filters only collect dust like in a wood shop. As I do light paint and welding too. I have a feeling this will work the best. My painting will stop this week when I get the powder coat oven delivered.

I will keep u updated and thank you for the onions and ideas

[srp]

The welding/cutting fumes are very toxic. Filters like these do not remove them. They are not even visible to the naked eye. You really have to exhaust them outdoors. You seem to be young and quite bright however you only have one set of lungs. Don't screw them up.

[Doc Hollywood]

If you don't want to raise the water lvl to the bottom of the material being cut, and down draft/water table combo is what you seek, go on YouTube, search Keith fenner of turn wright machine works. He's got a pcam set up like so...good luck padiwon

[tnbndr]

The small filter unit you mention: 1., not nearly enough flow, 2. Not safe with plasma/welding fumes. 3., will likely clog the filters in less than an hour.

Not intended as the primary filter. I raise my water right up to the plate, even doing that I get a fine black powder that covers everything in the shop. This little filter is just a secondary for residual dust and smoke.