Need to find a metal chip vacuum collection system 1

[dfowler]

Does anyone know of a decent small industrial size chip collection system that is available? I would prefer an off-the-shelf one that would most likely be cheaper than a customized one.

We drill, saw, and route into aluminum extrusions and currently let the chips fall to the ground to sweep daily. The amount of chips that are collected per week approximately fill a 40-gallon container.

I need connection capacity for about 6 to 8 hoses. We do not need to recycle these chips so no sorting or processing is necessary. The chips are fairly large with most being about the size of fingernail clippings.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Davey

 

[griffengm]

Davey,
In one shop, we took the motor/vacuum head from a large Craftsman shop vac and mounted it to a plywood top for a 55 gal barrel.We put the appropriate openings and fittings in the plywood and assembled a manifold of 2" pvc pipe and flex hose to serve two mills with one pickup.
By using a length of flex hose from the manifold to the vac, we could lift the counterweighted top off whenever the barrel needed emptying. The barrel was on a dolly so it could be rolled into position easily.
The rig took standard filters and parts so maintenance was never an issue. We machined a lot of aluminum and plastics such as polypropylene and polycarbonate and the system worked well for us.

Griffy

 

[finman]

You might try looking at a cyclone system, no filters to clog up, and can be set up similay to griffengm's method above.
I got a secondhand cyclone from a scap dealer and set it on a polyprop drum, used plastic waste pipe and vacuum cleaner hoses to connect the system to my woodworking machines. works a treat.