Paul Arnold is the Vice President of Operations for a company in Western Pennsylvania. The company manufactures heavy duty outdoor furniture for parks, malls, and campuses. Their products have a strong reputation for durability, value, and unique design. A major part of the company’s process is a continuous weld seam that prevents corrosion. The powder coating process creates the product’s durability and weatherproofing. Heavy duty sandblasting prepares the products for electrostatic primer. Powder coating follows, and both layers cure in an oven.
Problem:
Working two shifts a day, sandblasting workers create large amounts of dust in the blasting area. Justin, the shop manager, reported that “in any blasting environment, things get dirty and dusty in a huge way. Sometimes, our workers can stay in the booth for no more than twenty minutes at a time due to the heat and dust generated.” This heavy duty sandblasting application strained their current dust collector beyond its limits.
Solution:
Paul and his team looked for a replacement for their current collector. They owned a dust collector with horizontal filters, and Paul noted a basic issue that plagues these collectors. “Our basic issue was the horizontal positioning of the filters within our old collector. The filters were literally on top of one another. That means the top one would stay relatively clean, but it would dump material onto the filters below it. Therefore, this led to very premature filter failure throughout the system.”
In his research, Paul discovered Imperial Systems and our vertical cartridge dust collectors. Further, he discovered that one of his high school classmates, Jeremiah Wann, was the president of the company.
“I kept hearing good things about the CMAXX,” Pail said. “Jeremiah made me extremely comfortable from the start. Imperial was willing and able to do whatever it took to meet our requirements. A purchase this large involves significant financial risk, obviously, but Jeremiah made me 100% confident that Imperial would stand behind its product.”
The company installed its CMAXX dust collector with DeltaMAXX cartridge filters in 2012. As a result, the air quality in the blasting area immediately improved. Moreover, the problems they had experienced with the horizontal filters disappeared.
Feedback on Heavy Duty Sandblasting Dust Clean-up:
“The CMAXX dust collector has amazing suction power… it draws air from everywhere,” Paul says. “Its construction makes sure contaminants don’t get back into the airstream and blown back at our workers. Plus, because there aren’t any bolt holes, water can’t get in and damage the filters.”
When speaking about his team’s experience with Imperial Systems, Paul says, “Consistency is the first descriptor that comes to mind. There’s the consistent and exceptional performance of the CMAXX collector and DeltaMAXX filters. Then there’s the outstanding customer and technical support we receive from Imperial.”
Paul explains the value of quality dust collection for his heavy duty sandblasting process and his overall product success: “We can fabricate the nicest park bench in the world, but if the finish is no good, then our final product is no good. The key to a perfect finish is proper substrate pre-treatment, leading to a superior powder topcoat. A first-class blast system is essential to this pre-treatment. So dust and fume collection are critical to keeping our blasting system operating at optimal levels.”
Paul and his company continue to return to Imperial Systems for their replacement filters and to keep their machines running efficiently. They report that they are still very satisfied with the aftermarket team’s prompt and attentive service.
Contact us to learn more about this case study or how to solve your own problem with abrasive or shot blasting dust collection.
