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Spark arrestor for Laser exhaust/Dust collector

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Fingerz

Industrial
Nov 18, 2004
5
US
My company is getting ready to install a new Laser just after the first of the year. After paying $1500 for our first spark arrestor and recieving little more than a box with some baffles in it, I have been charged with building the spark arrestor for the new filtration system. I would like to avoid this box of baffles design as it is quite restictive to air flow. Has anyone out there built their own spark arrestor or have any design ideas?
The last lasershop i worked in had just installed their own arrestors after having a dust collector fire, but i don't know how they have performed since then. Their design was basically a 2 1/2 foot long cone, made of 12ga steel perforated with 3/8ths holes every 3/4s of an inch. the tip was pointed into the wind, with the large end being the same size as the duct(20" round) The theory was that the "spark" would be deflected against the duct wall by the cone. This would cause the spark to be seperated from it's pocket of oxygen as well as stopping it's forward momentum. This seems much less restictive than the standard box with 6-180 deg. turns and 6 large baffles to me. What are your thoughts??? I am open to any advice! Thanks, Dan
 
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Ok, let me start off with a 'dumb' question or two:
Do you just want to stop sparks and let dust travel on to the filter media?
What kinds of fires are you concerned with? thermite, or are you cutting organics, or what?

What a basic cyclone-type particle seperarator to drop the big stuff and let the fines go on to the media?
(or a big drum or such to increase the travel time between cutting zone and the media, to let the sparks go out...



Jay Maechtlen
 
The intent is solely to keep hot sparks from entering the dust collector where they may cause a fire. the idea is simply if you can knock the spark out of the flow, it loses most of it's fuel as well as it's momentum. Then by the time it makes it to the dust collector it has cooled down below ignition temperatures. We cut everything from Aluminum to Galvanized.

I would not be opposed to a seperator that would catch the big stuff as long as it caught the sparks as well. the less crap that makes it to the dust collector, the longer the filters last...Dan
 
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