Contacted in the early stages of the design for the new Advanced Construction Skills Centre for Bristol College, Western Air Ducts were approached to design a comprehensive wood waste extraction system which would also comply with HSE Regulation and be energy efficient.
Our solution was for two separate dust extraction and filtration systems. One of which would extract from those machines generating larger waste (such as the planers and thicknessers) and the second system would extract from machines generating finer dust (such as sanders). Both systems were designed to return the air back into the workshop thus conserving heat and would have integrated H11 Standard secondary HEPA filters within the filter units to ensure the quality of the air being returned.
In order to maximise system efficiency both systems incorporated our Inteliair® automatic control system with pneumatically controlled dampers serving each extract position controlled either directly by the operation of the machine they are serving or an adjacently situated switch. These dampers operate in accordance with machine operation and indicate this demand to the main control unit that then regulates the main extract fan performance in accordance with that demand thus minimising energy consumption and system related noise.
Following acceptance of our proposals these systems were installed between February and May 2021 with final commissioning taking place in My 2021 ensuring that this important new facility for Bristol College provides the best possible workplace dust exposure protection for its staff and trainees.
