Systematically pure air

Amazone has integrated energy-saving torch welding extraction into the production

Metal-processing companies can directly include the planning of ventilation systems when building a new hall. But what kind of extraction and filter technology can be successfully integrated into the existing production, which individually protects employees against emissions and is extremely energy-saving?

This is the question that Hilmar Heitmann, project engineer at Amazone at the main production facility in Hasbergen-Gaste (close to Osnabrück) had to address. There the agricultural machine manufacturer that ranks amongst the world's biggest farm machinery enterprises produces fertilizer distributors and plant protection devices. In the areas of the welding shop for big parts and fitter’s shop the company opted for a ventilation solution with torch welding extraction by TEKA.

On one side of both zones of the installation robots weld components with a length of up to 8 meters whereas employees tack the finished parts using the MIG process and postprocess them on the other side. Furthermore, in both halls there are numerous manual workstations where the welders process the components in three-shift operation and produce small batches. Whereas in the welding shop for big parts no changes to the arrangement and the number of workplaces should be made, in the fitter’s shop there was a demand for maximum flexibility to be able to adjust the production to the seasonally varying order situation.

Prepared for the future
Disk extractions on the ceiling take in the emissions rising above the robot systems. The smoke-containing air produced during welding consists primarily of ultrafine particles < 0.1 μ. The legislator has recently reacted by reducing the pollutant limit value for respirable dust from 3 mg/m³ to 1.25 mg/m³. Although companies must only meet this target by 2018. But the agricultural machine manufacturer is already prepared for the future thanks to the torch welding extraction.

The operators use welding guns with integrated extraction. As soon as they use the welding torches the suction nozzle automatically starts to operate as well and eliminates the smoke-containing air - as recommended by the professional association for wood and metal work - directly at the point of origin. They are particularly effective as they are led close to the source of emissions. There is no need to manually lead the suction arm as it is the case with mobile solutions. There is also no need to separately switch on/off the unit. The employees are protected against harmful emissions without having to become active themselves. The air is simultaneously captured at the welding workplaces and led to the filter system "FILTERCUBE" via pipelines.

In the welding shop for big parts the pipelines run on the left and the right at the side walls of the hall and lead the contaminated air to the filter unit with the side channel blower. Whereas in the fitter’s shop the contaminated air is led to two filter units via several short pipelines. Here the units with the pipelines can be quickly dismantled and reinstalled elsewhere to restructure the production process on short notice. In both cases the filter units and the sound insulated casing are situated outside the production zone. This saves space. Amazone has opted for the use of frequency converters with gate valves. These ensure that the volumetric flow rate is always adapted to the particular requirement, this means to the number of actively used welding workplaces. The purified warm air can be led back into the workspace which saves energy costs, especially in winter. Thanks to the use of energy-saving technology the energy consumption can be considerably reduced.

Hilmar Heitmann draws a positive conclusion: "We are very satisfied and there's nothing we would change."

The TEKA Absaug- und Entsorgungstechnologie GmbH was founded in 1995 by the general managers Jürgen Kemper and Erwin Telöken. The company ranks among the leading manufacturers of extraction and filter units for the industry, craft enterprises and laboratories in Europe. The company produces for the global market and has about 100 employees. The product portfolio not only contains suction systems and filtering devices, but also oxygen cutting benches, vision protection and sound-proofing elements.

TEKA Absaug- und
Entsorgungstechnologie GmbH
Contact person: Katrin Herbers
Industriestraße 13, D-46342 Velen
Tel. (0 28 63) 92 82 530
E-mail: katrin.herbers@teka.eu
Internet: www.teka.eu

This release was published on openPR.