Custom Dust Collection Ductwork That “Fit Like a Glove”
Introduction
An overhead crane, an overhead door, and equipment locations planned ahead of installation – this dust collection ductwork project gave our team several challenges to work through. At a facility that produces aircraft castings, typically aluminum, AM Metal designed and installed ductwork around the building’s layout and the customer’s planned workstations. The job called for careful coordination of the overhead runs, individual drops, and duct supports.
As Jeremy described the finished fit: “It fit like a glove.”
Planning in Advance of Equipment Placement
The facility already had two dust collectors supplied by another vendor. Our work centered on the ductwork connecting the collection equipment to the work areas.
The layout included seven workstations where employees deburr and sand castings by hand. Each station called for a backdraft hood. An eighth connection served a sandblasting machine used to clean the parts.
We planned the ductwork in advance of equipment placement. Working from the intended workstation locations and marked drop positions, we laid out where the main ducts would run and where each branch needed to come down.
That meant thinking through the installation from the overhead routing all the way to the individual connections.
Working Around the Overhead Crane
The two central duct runs needed to stay positioned so they would not interfere with crane movement at either end of the work area. The supports required just as much consideration as the ductwork itself. A route could leave room for the duct while still putting a suspension cable in the crane’s path.
Our layout accounted for both.
The overhead door added another consideration. When opened, it extended back into the same overhead area, so its travel also had to be factored into the design.
Those details shaped the routing and support locations throughout the installation. The finished arrangement followed the space available around the crane, door, and planned equipment positions.
“The challenge was working around that overhead crane,” Jeremy explained.
Connecting the Ductwork to the Workstations
At the equipment level, the installation brought the overhead ductwork down to the individual work areas. Branch fittings and changes in direction positioned the drops for their connections, with flexible hose completing connections at the machinery.
These details are easiest to see in the close-up photographs: the vertical runs, angled branches, clamped joints, and hose connections all form part of the route between the workstations and the overhead mains.
The project used US Duct’s ductwork, for which they are a supplier. Jeremy highlighted its “infinite adjustability” and versatility. Useful qualities when fitting a ductwork layout around existing structures and planned equipment locations.
From Concept to Completion
Every project needs a different level of support. AM Metal can help develop the ductwork design and supply the components, provide ductwork for an existing design, or handle the installation as well.
For this project, the work brought together advance planning, routing around an overhead crane, and connections positioned for the intended equipment layout.
Whether you need us to supply and install your ductwork or provide the components for your team to install, we can help.
From concept to completion, AM Metal has you covered with your ductwork needs. Contact us to discuss your project.
