Dust Extraction and Fume Extraction specialists. Whether it's Downflow Booths, mobile filter units, or Hood Positioning Devices (Extraction Arms), flextraction have products to suit your dust and fume extraction requirements.

Fume and Dust Extraction System Makes Welding Safer at North Hertfordshire College’s Skills Centre

Posted January 24th, 2012

Flextraction Ltd, supplier and manufacturer of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) has recently installed a welding fume and dust extraction system in the UK’s first specialist foundation level welder training facility at Stevenage Skills Centre, part of North Hertfordshire College (NHC). The system incorporates the Company’s latest totally self supporting Hood Positioning Devices (HPD).

Earlier in 2011, Weldability-SIF entered into partnership with The Welding Institute (TWI), Cambridge and the College, to initiate foundation level welder skills training at the College. This was a first step towards a full apprenticeship programme designed to meet demand and overcome the current skills gaps in the UK welding industry and this was opened by John Hayes MP, Minister of State for Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning on 13th October 2011.

As an approved sponsor to the Weldability-Sif Foundation Charity, which has been set up and registered with the Charities Commission, to specifically encourage the development of new welder training facilities across the UK, Flextraction has installed in each of the 6 welding bays 2m standard telescopic HPD’s, incorporating black polyester coated 100mm diameter PVC 371 hoses with a coated mild steel 100mm diameter flared hood and mesh guard. Each HPD was supplied fully assembled with wall mounting bracket, control damper and with no internal components. Each bay was also fitted with an electronic airflow indicator attached to each hood to monitor the extraction air flow.

In addition to the HPD’s Flextraction also designed, manufactured and installed the spiral galvanised sheet steel ductwork needed to safely extract the welding fumes and dust from the welding bays to a point outside the building. It was designed with inspection/access doors, flexible hose connections and supporting brackets, as well as being sized to give a good conveyance velocity throughout its length.

Flextraction’s HPD’s all use mounting brackets, hoods and hoses specifically designed for the capture and extraction of industrial dusts and fumes including hazardous and corrosive fumes at the point of source in surface grinding, welding, product tipping and drum filling, as well as food processing and all manufacturing applications where dust and fumes are emitted.

David Stevenson, Welding Tutor at NHC said: “The Flextraction equipment is used daily to extract dust and welding fumes from 6 purpose built teaching bays with the latest Weldability-SIF 300A MIG welders and 200A AC/DC HF TIG inverters. At the present time we have 204 welding students and we are looking to double this number in 2012 and we will build additional teaching bays to accommodate this number.

We have very strict Health and Safety criteria and all the equipment we have, including the Flextraction installation, meet these requirements. When we were ordering the equipment we specified that the arms had to be flexible with the ability to keep close the point of extraction, which the Flextraction equipment has met in all aspects.

We have found that the equipment is very easy to maintain and clean as it has no filters, also it is easy to operate and the students have no problems in moving the extraction hood close to the work they are undertaking, making the overall environment in which they are welding very pleasant at the same time keeping their lungs clean.”

The Weldability-Sif Foundation Charity is currently looking for additional complimentary sponsors and further details can be found when you register at www.weldability-sif.org

flextraction Fume Extraction Equipment Helps Food Industry Equipment Manufacturer

Posted November 15th, 2010

Riley Product Handling Ltd in Derby is a manufacturer of bakery systems used predominantly in biscuit and cracker production.  Their equipment links the exit of an oven with wrapping machines, sorting products into the right numbers of lanes and presenting the products at the correct angle and pressure.

When Riley Product Handling, which exports up to 80% of its products, took the strategic decision to dispense with out sourcing their MIG, TIG and MMA welding fabrication, they needed the appropriate equipment to undertake such work.  Initially they used a portable fume extraction system with two extraction arms, before they decided to go for a fixed system with flexible extraction arms extracting fumes externally via a filter unit to save on space with no clutter and a much reduced noise level.

Tim Wilding, Engineering Manager at Riley Product Handling contacted Simon Plaister at Foster Industrial, his local welding equipment distributor in nearby Nottingham for advice.  Foster Industrial is a distributor for flextraction Ltd, supplier and manufacturer of local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) products and was asked as one of three bidders to submit a quotation.

The flextraction system was selected on the basis of design, price and communications. It comprised 5 x extended HPDs (Hood Positioning Devices) and 2 x 2m standard HPDs.  Each extended HPD consisted of a 3m standard extraction arm and a 3m extension.  All seven HPDs were equipped with epoxy painted black 150mm diameter flared hoods and assembled complete with wall mounting, control damper and with no internal components. 

A TEKA 400V/50Hz ‘Filtercube 4H-4000’ centralised filter unit with a dust extraction efficiency of >99% to meet BGIA certification DIN EN ISO 15012-1 (Health and Safety in welding and allied processes) was used. Dedusting of the filter cartridges is done using a fully automated microprocessor Pulse Control.  The ducting used in the project was manufactured from spiral galvanised sheet steel and was installed with inspection doors, flexible hose connections and supporting brackets.

The extended HPDs are used for welding, whilst the standard HPDs which are linked to a wet pre-separator system before joining the main ductwork, are used for grinding operations.

Tim Wilding said: “We fabricate our products using 1mm – 6mm mild steel and stainless steel, occasionally up to 10mm.  Typical components are frames for conveyors and machines, tracks for vibratory conveyors, guides and guards. The main welding process we use is TIG welding, however MMA welding is used for high strength welds in vibratory troughs, whilst MIG welding is used on frameworks where large fillet welds are required.

We decided on the flextraction system because with ever increasing Health and Safety legislation, we thought it prudent to install a system that did not just meet legalisation but would be future proof.  As it was, the installation was completed in a week, which was to the timescale quoted and compared to our existing portable units the fabricators’ working environments are significantly improved with reduced noise levels.  The length and type of HPD are light in weight and are quick and easy to locate for the point of extraction where ever it is needed, which is exactly what we wanted.”

Lee Darton General Manager Products at Flextraction said: “Our fume extraction system is equipped with gate valves so it can be balanced. During commissioning, the system was tuned to achieve the legislative face velocities at each point of extraction, which was easily achieved as the system is capable of 8,000m³/h over 6 extraction points. In fact we were able to reduce the velocities to meet current legislative levels to reduce noise.”

Tim Wilding continued; “The system is inspected every week by the shop floor person responsible and there have been no issues.  We encourage individuals to look after their equipment and report any faults, all of which are logged in a book, which is used as part of a safe contractor qualification.”

Overall the system was installed successfully and on time, meets all the extraction requirements of Riley Product Handling and the workshop environment has greatly improved.

New HPDs are ATEX compliant for safer fume and dust extraction

Posted September 20th, 2010

Hood Positioning Devices

Most of the new range of totally self supporting Hood Positioning Devices (HPD), including the Articulated HPD, Extended HPD, Mini HPD and Telescopic HPD from flextraction Ltd, supplier and manufacturer of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) products are now available certified as ATEX compliant.

These HPDs all incorporate new mounting brackets, hoods and hoses for the capture and extraction of industrial dusts and fumes including hazardous and corrosive fumes at the point of source in surface grinding, welding, product tipping and drum filling, as well as food processing and all manufacturing applications, where dust and fumes are emitted.

Being ATEX compliant means that products are coated with an anti-static paint so that they can be used in hazardous area zones, which are based on the frequency and duration of where there can be an occurrence of an explosive atmosphere in which a mixture of air with dangerous substances in the form of gas, vapour, mist or combustible dust is likely to occasionally occur in normal operations.
 
Features of these HPDs include, a rear casing that is fully enclosed giving an improved aesthetic appearance and protection against dirt ingress, a rear boom extension giving a 270° working radius and a new 360° rotating swivel hood enabling more accurate hood positioning, whilst quick release clips are used to attach a range of flexible hoses, including ATEX certified hoses.

Articulated HPDs are suitable for standard wall or stanchion mounting, as well as upward and downward swivel, joist and ceiling mountings and are available in five standard lengths between 1.5m and 4m.

The Extended HPD provides the user with the additional option of a longer reach up to a maximum 8m. The wall or bench mounted mini HPD is available in three standard diameters – 75mm, 100mm and 125mm with either a 1m or 1.5 m reach.

A range of hoods is available in a wide variety of designs including bell mouth, flare, fish tail, flat screen and custom designed.

Easy Venting to Atmosphere (VTA) Fume Extraction Solutions from flextraction Ltd

Posted September 9th, 2009

Teka's Vent to Atmosphere Units

flextraction Ltd, supplier and manufacturers of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) products and sole UK representative of TEKA GmbH in Germany, has introduced two venting to atmosphere (VTA) mobile and stationary exhaust systems for the extraction of non-explosive dusts and dust particles, including welding fumes, in restricted working environments.  They can also be used for the ventilation of underground pipelines, enclosed containers and rooms.

These low cost, easy to use and install exhaust systems provide a simple answer for venting to atmosphere in restricted working environments.

The mobile exhaust system comprises a 0.75kW 230V 50Hz 2,000m³/hr suction fan with protective grids at both inlet and outlet ends and mounted on a four wheel trolley, a 150mm diameter 6m long suction hose with a suction hood having a magnetic base for easy attachment within the work area and a 160mm diameter, 6m long exhaust hose.

Supplied as complete ready to use units, these systems are ideal for use in shipbuilding, agricultural, general fabrication applications and small to medium workshops, as well as bodyshops.

The stationary exhaust system comprises a 0.75kW, 230/415V 2000m³/hr suction fan with motor overload switch, a powder coated sheet steel wall bracket, a 150mm diameter, 3m long self supporting suction hose type arm with internal joints and suction hood with a magnetic base, flexible 160mm diameter exhaust ducting up to 5m in length and a 160mm diameter exhaust connection with a protective grid. This system is ideal as a permanent system for use in small to medium sized workshops, including bodyshops.

Local extractor arms from flextraction offer greater flexability

Posted August 18th, 2009

The Fumex range of Terfu brand local extractor arms is now available with 100mm diameter arms in addition to the existing 50mm and 75mm diameter arms from flextraction Ltd, suppliers and manufacturers of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) products and sole UK representative of Fumex AB in Sweden.

Terfu Fume Extraction Arm

These extractor arms are designed for bench, wall or ceiling mounting with airflows ranging from 75m3/h to 450m3/h and have the option of either two or three friction joints depending on the application. They all have an easy to access handle for simple adjustment as well as a 360° rotational swivel as standard. A single joint version is also available for bench mounting.

Terfu local extractor arms are made for use where great flexibility is required in pharmaceutical, hospital and food laboratories, universities, colleges, schools and light production such as gluing, brazing, TIG welding and handling solvents as well as High Street nail bars and hairdressing salons

There are 4 models that make up the range:

The Standard version with polypropylene joints and anodised aluminium tubes can be used for the extraction of most airborne contaminants.

The PP version with joints and tubes made in recyclable polypropylene and all parts in contact with the air stream made of acid resistant SS2343 stainless steel are designed for use in the extraction of high concentration corrosive contaminants found in pharmaceutical and chemical industry laboratories.

The ESD EN100015-1 approved version, which has conducting polypropylene joints and anodised aluminium tubes, is designed for use in environments where the need to eliminate the risks of sparks is paramount such as the electronics industry.

The ATEX 94/9/EC category 2 for gases and dust version, with conductive recyclable polypropylene joints and tubes as well as stainless steel parts that come into contact with the air stream is ideal for use in laboratories, chemical and petrochemical, gas distribution, paint manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries.

A wide range of hoods, ranging from suction, flexible nozzles, metal, dome, square and flat screen hoods are available for each model, plus reduction sleeves and protective grills to prevent large objects entering the system.

flextraction Ltd Exhibit Dust & Fume Extraction Products at Health & Safety 09 and Southern Manufacturing 09

Posted January 29th, 2009

flextraction Ltd, supplier and manufacturer of Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) products for dust and fume extraction in the work-place is exhibiting a number of new and existing products on stand number L36 at Southern Manufacturing 09 (11^th – 12^th February 2009) in Farnborough, Hampshire and stand number 092 at Health & Safety 09 (24^th – 25^th February 2009) in Sandown Park, Surrey.

Products from TEKA GmbH, Germany, localised extraction arms manufacturer, Fumex AB, Sweden, localised extraction arms and filters, Delfin of Italy, industrial high vacuum cleaning systems, as well as PISAC International’s range of their axial, centrifugal, roof and centrifugal smoke exhaust fans will be shown.

Products on show will include:

TEKA’s ‘Caremaster SF’ a BIA European Standard approved mobile one way welding fume filter for industrial fume extraction with a fan capacity of 2,500m3/hour and a dust collection efficiency of around 99.9% using a class W3 filter

Fumex’s compact and lightweight LF70 mobile filter is designed for extraction of gases, fumes and dust in laboratories, hospitals, pharmaceutical manufacturing, electronic component manufacturing, and laser branding as well as welding. With a highly efficient 0-70 l/second airflow, low noise level up to 56dB(A), it can be used with a wide range of easy to change gas and particle filters.

Fumex’s LFK 175 single station local fume extractor designed to remove, fumes, gases and dust from the work station using a Terfu 75mm diameter arm with a maximum airflow of 0-80 l/second will be shown. Using a H13 filter, it is 99.99% efficient for 0.3µm particles.

Details of flextraction’s own brand products will be available, as well as information on Industrial Cleaning Equipment, including Delfin’s vacuum cleaner for the suction of slightly contaminated liquids, swarfs and accompanying coolants, lubricants and wet industrial waste.

Also available will be details on a new range of industrial Procool Spot Coolers from Ecotechnics S.p.A. based in Italy providing cool air where you need it in the workshop.