Welding fume extraction
Welding and cutting fume is fine enough to stay in the air and reach deep into the lungs. The answer is to capture it at the source and filter it in a collector built for fume.
Capture first
General ventilation alone dilutes welding fume but does not remove it from the welder's breathing zone. Effective fume control captures the fume as close to the arc as possible, before it rises past the welder's face.
Ways to capture fume
- Extraction arms that the welder positions close to the work.
- Downdraft and backdraft benches for small parts welded at a fixed station.
- Hoods and enclosures over robotic welding cells.
- Extraction tables for laser, plasma and oxy-fuel cutting, with zoned dampers so only the zone being cut is extracted.
Then filter
Welding fume particles are mostly well under one micron. Cartridge collectors with media suited to fine fume, such as nanofibre-surfaced cartridges, catch them efficiently in a compact unit that fits inside a workshop. Flame-retardant media and a spark trap protect the filters from hot particles.
Return the air or exhaust it?
Returning filtered air to the workshop saves heating in winter, but it is not always appropriate. Fume from stainless steel and some coated metals contains compounds that should not be recirculated. We look at what you weld and recommend accordingly.
Typical welding duties
- Fabrication shops with multiple manual welding bays.
- Robotic welding cells.
- Laser and plasma cutting tables.
- Thermal spray and metallising.
- Grinding of welds and castings.
Legal limits
Employers must keep exposure to welding fume below the limits in the Regulations for Hazardous Chemical Agents under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. A properly designed extraction system is the main way to achieve that.
FAQ
Is a mobile fume extractor enough?
For occasional welding at changing locations, a mobile unit can work. For fixed welding bays and production welding, a central system with extraction arms or hoods is more effective and cheaper to run per bay.
How many welding bays can one collector serve?
It depends on the airflow per capture point and how many are in use at once. We size the system on real use, often with dampers that close when a bay is idle.
Send us your dust problem
Tell us what you are extracting, roughly how much air, and where the unit will stand. We will come back with a sizing and a quote. A site visit is free in Gauteng.