Page 30 - MetalForming Magazine May 2023

Special Section
FABRICATION
28 MetalForming/May 2023 www.metalformingmagazine.com
Dust
Collection
for Laser Welding and Cutting
The correct design approach to dust collection in laser-led fabricating operations avoids safety hazards, potential equipment damage and product-quality issues.
BY RICK KRECZMER
Laser processes, including cutting and welding, create significant challenges for dust collection due to their high production volumes and the small size of particulates cre- ated. Poorly controlled dust and fumes
Rick Kreczmer is president of RoboVent, Sterling Heights, MI; 313/631-9686; www.robovent.com.
can result in equipment damage, prod- uct-quality issues and safety hazards for workers. The correct approach to design of dust-collection systems easily can avoid these problems.
Is Your Dust-Collection System Keeping Up?
Design and sizing of dust-collection systems for laser processes have been poorly understood by some laser- machine users and OEMs. Built-in sys- tems for laser equipment may not be enough to keep up with high produc- tion processes and highly toxic emis- sions. Symptoms indicating that a fab- ricator’s dust-collection system is not properly sized or configured for the application include:
• Visible fume inside of the laser enclosure
• Fugitive fume in the facility
• Unexpected shutdowns or other problems with laser equipment
• Poor weld-seam or cut quality
• Excessive filter loading on the dust collector.
These symptoms indicate the importance of working with an engi- neering company to evaluate a fabri- cator’s processes and design a system around its needs. Paying attention to design of dust-collection systems helps to avoid problems and enables the right-sizing of equipment for maxi- mum efficiency and effectiveness.
Challenges for Dust Collection in Laser Processes
Laser cutting and laser welding, while quite different in output, bring similar dust-collection challenges.
• Particulate size: Thermal processes using lasers produce tiny, submicron particulate that is invisible to the eye. Smaller particulate requires specialized filtration to ensure capture. Submicron particles also may escape from non- airtight enclosures. Fugitive fume easily can propagate throughout the facility