by Imperial Systems | Dec 6, 2017 | Uncategorized
An explosion inside a dust collector can be a disaster if there is no explosion venting (also called deflagration venting). Obviously, the first priority is to make sure that no sparks or heat sources have a chance to get inside the collector. However, even the best safety precautions aren’t 100% foolproof. If a dust explosion occurs in your dust collector, how will explosion relief be handled safely?
Explosion Venting Considerations
The method you choose for venting an explosion will be based on several factors:
- Location of the dust collector inside or outside the building
- Distance of the dust collector from roof or walls
- Proximity of the dust collector or vent to other structures
- Cost efficiency
Outside Installation
The first and safest method of venting a dust explosion is to have the collector located outside the building. In this case, any explosion that occurs will be vented safely with appropriate venting.
The issue with this method has to do with safety distance. Specifically, explosion relief vents must be located far enough away from anything that the energy vented might damage. Space around the dust collector, especially near the explosion vents, must be clear of anything that could be damaged or ignited.
Many areas have state and/or local regulations for fire safety and explosion venting. Locating the collector outside when possible is usually the easiest way to meet these standards.
Inside Installation
What if your dust collector must be inside the building? There are various reasons for this, depending on your system setup. For example, it’s possible that the collector must be centrally located. Also, it might need to be close to or attached to a certain piece of equipment.
If you can’t put the collector outside, you will have to divert the energy of an explosion. The most common way to do that is to vent the explosion to the outside, either through a wall or through the ceiling. The area outside needs to be safe just like it would need to be around a dust collector, free of anything that could be damaged by the explosion. A deflector shield can redirect the explosive force in a safe direction.
What happens if your dust collector is inside the building and you’re not close enough to a wall or ceiling to vent that way? This could be a very dangerous situation, with a collector inside your building and no way to get an explosion safely outside.
In this case, a flameless dust collector explosion vent may be the only safe option. While these safety devices are not cheap, they are essential for venting an explosion safely inside a facility or anywhere else that flame from the venting could be dangerous.
A flameless explosion vent design is made of a tightly wound metal mesh. It’s designed to extinguish the flame and dissipate the heat from an explosion. It takes up less space and is less expensive than other explosion protection systems. It is ATEX certified and NFPA 68 and 61 compliant.
Venting Solution Priorities
We recommend looking at explosion venting solutions in the following order, based on cost and safety:
- Locating the collector outside
- Venting the collector through a wall or ceiling
- Installing flameless venting
We also recommend always consulting your local building codes and regulations. Some areas have very specific regulations for fire safety and environmental safety.
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by Imperial Systems | Nov 29, 2017 | Uncategorized
The Penn-Northwest Development Corporation has chosen Imperial Systems for their local industry and spotlight in Mercer County. PNDC is a non-profit organization that recognizes companies bringing or expanding business and local jobs in Mercer County.
Imperial Systems was chosen for this recognition because of our expansion, which is expected to be completed in January 2018. By renovating and making drastic improvements, we have brought new life to an aging facility that might otherwise have ended up standing empty.
PNDC works to build economic development in Mercer County, an area which has experienced increased unemployment and skilled workers moving elsewhere. Their focus is on bringing new companies to Mercer County and supporting the growth of local companies.
Since its beginning, Imperial Systems has provided skilled trades jobs in Mercer County. As we have expanded, new employees have been brought into the shop to keep up with increasing demand, and new employees have also come in the form of equipment and aftermarket sales staff. Most of these careers support families who live right here in Mercer County.
Imperial Systems is proud to be recognized in PNDC’s Local Industry Spotlight, because we pride ourselves on keeping our business here, where it belongs. By keeping our expansion in Mercer County, we continue to support the jobs and families in this area.
PNDC’s annual report notes that Imperial Systems’ expansion is expected to add 15 more jobs and to retain 50 current local jobs.
Mercer County is home for many of our employees and their families, and we’re very proud to contribute to the growth and development of this area. Imperial Systems products will always be made in the USA and will always provide full-time work for local employees.
As we become one of the new biggest names in the dust collection industry, the number of employees needed can only be expected to grow over time. We plan to continue supporting industry in Mercer County, and appreciate the recognition from PNDC for our efforts.
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by Imperial Systems | Sep 28, 2017 | Uncategorized
The Third Issue of Dusty Jobs Newsletter. Articles include an attempt at stealing a CMAXX, Charlie with learning to Field Measure and also OSHA on their regulations on combustible dust.
Download DUSTY JOBS | Issue 3 PDF CLICK HERE
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by Imperial Systems | Sep 8, 2017 | Uncategorized
Over the past few months, there’s been a lot of excitement at Imperial Systems Inc, because we’re in the process of preparing our new manufacturing facility! This move will benefit the company in many ways and offer lots of new opportunities for us to improve our product and services. We’re adding new offices, tons of manufacturing and storage space, and some exciting new processes.
Over the years, Imperial Systems Inc has outgrown its familiar Jackson Center home. While people agree they’ve got fond memories of the building and their time there, they also seem to agree that it’s time to move on to a bigger manufacturing facility.
“We’re going to have so much room to work,” one of our metalworkers says, talking about the new building. “Sometimes when we’re busy, it’s hard to fit all the projects in at once. Now everything will have lots of space for us to work on it.”
From an inventory and stocking standpoint, the guys in charge of these tasks are extremely excited about having so much new storage space for completed collectors, parts, filters, and all other inventory items that we need to stock and ship.
“We’re going to be able to keep a lot more filters in stock, and a lot more parts and equipment,” the sales manager explains. “We’ll have more items in stock for our customers, and we’ll be able to build and store completed collectors.”
President and CEO Jeremiah Wann is looking excitedly at the vast new space and all the room for expansion that it offers.
“This is the space we need for growth,” he says. “This is our future as we expand the company. We’re going to need every bit of this manufacturing space sometime soon. Demand for the CMAXX just keeps increasing, and we’re going to need to be able to keep up.”
For the guys who handle the difficult task of getting some of our larger items out of the shop or coordinating the loading and unloading of trucks, having several new shipping docks will make their jobs easier. And for the paint shop crew, the transition to a powder coating line is a huge change for the better.
“Powder coating is a much better process, better for the environment, and better for our workers’ health,” Jeremiah says. “Getting away from our old process and getting into powder coating is going to be a big improvement for everyone.”
It’s not just the fabrication and storage parts of the new facility that are an upgrade from the old one, though. New offices for engineering, accounting, and other essential functions will help them do their jobs better. New technology throughout the entire building will make everybody’s job smoother and move us toward our Two Second Lean improvement goals.
The new manufacturing facility will feature a training facility so all employees can receive regular training. It will also feature a fully equipped product testing lab for current and new products. A new dust testing lab, a feature that few dust collection manufacturers can offer, will let us pinpoint the specific features of each customer’s dust and recommend exactly the right system, fire protection and prevention, safety procedures, and filter type.
Another feature of the new manufacturing facility we’re all excited about? The huge new showroom! Visitors will be able to check out a working model of our CMAXX and other equipment in this spectacular new space, and we’ll be able to show off how great our products look along with how well they work.
“We’ve never had the space to really show off our products like this before,” Jeremiah says. “People are going to be really impressed with this new showroom space and we’re really excited to show off our products the way they should be.”
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by Imperial Systems | Sep 1, 2017 | Uncategorized
If you’ve stopped by our website, you’ve probably seen the little box pop up asking if you’d like any help. And you probably assume it’s a little website robot that’s going to be about as helpful as your ATM.
That’s not a robot monitoring that box, though. It’s one of our hard-working staff. The name is a real name attached to a real person. So if your box says you’re talking to Rebecca Wescott, this is who’s on the other end of the line:
Think LiveChat is just for… well, chatting? We can do a lot more than that. Here are ten things we can do for you to solve your problem with just one website visit:
- Upload information for you about products like spark arrestors, abort gates, airlocks, and fire suppression systems
- Answer your questions about how a piece of equipment works, how it’s used, or whether it might work for you
- Link you to a post or article that answers your question in detail (exactly how a baghouse works, health risks of plasma cutting, combustible dust management, etc)
- Upload an owner’s manual or other technical information for you if you’ve lost yours (or your customer has)
- Find out what kind of product you need and who might be the best person to help you, so you don’t get transferred around
- Give you a “request for quote” form to fill out so our sales engineers can contact you and know exactly how to help you
- Answer your questions about our filters and check our cross reference for matching part numbers
- Put you straight through to your own personal equipment or aftermarket team member for personal service
- Walk you through any problems you’re having and get you to the person who can solve them as quickly as possible
- Ask questions to help get you where you need to go, quickly and without hassle, or assign someone to follow up with you right away
Want to find out If it’s really Rebecca (or Zach, or Justin, or another one of our staff)? Stop by our website and say hello! That little box is an invitation for you to start getting the help you need right now… no phone call, no clicking around the website, just fast and easy assistance from a real human.
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by Imperial Systems | Aug 18, 2017 | Uncategorized
The CMAXX is a modular dust and weld fume collector that can be sized for any application. What you may not know is that the CMAXX is also a modular ambient system. With two CMAXX collectors, one pulling air from inside the facility and the other pushing air in as a “push-pull” system, continuous ambient airflow is achieved. What happens, though, if you have multiple areas where you need dust and weld fume collection, or if you add onto your facility or equipment? With other types of systems, you would need to get rid of your current collector and buy a bigger one to handle increased airflow, then run lengths of ductwork to cover the whole space. With a modular CMAXX system, it’s easy to add another set of “push-pull” CMAXX collectors to create more ambient dust and weld fume collection. Since the system is modular, your original CMAXX system can stay in place while new units are added on to meet your changing needs.
The idea for this modular system was developed by president and CEO Jeremiah Wann as Imperial Systems Inc prepared for its transition to a new, larger building. Here, he found that we faced some challenges many other companies will be familiar with: a much larger space than the previous building, with equipment in new locations, and also with unused space for anticipated growth.
An option for dust and fume collection for the company might have been to build a huge CMAXX collector big enough to create ambient capture through the entire building, even the parts not being used yet. A collector of this size would have a lot of ductwork and need to move a very large volume of air, increasing costs.
Instead, the company hit upon a better solution: the modular CMAXX ambient system. CMAXX collectors will be installed in the parts of the building where needed, with one providing the air “push” and the other the air “pull” to keep clean air circulating. When new equipment is added, or when the company expands into the unused parts of the building, the modular CMAXX system will allow them to just add two more small CMAXX collectors to create the “push-pull” airflow in that area.
Any company can have changes in their facility, whether it’s moving things around the shop, expanding, or increased dust or fume production. Instead of buying a whole new dust and fume collector or installing a lot of new ductwork to handle your changing needs, consider the option of the CMAXX modular system: always ready for you to add on or adapt to your changing needs.
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