Tornado in a Can

 

Stop throwing away expensive abrasives with the waste dust. By reclaiming automatically, you'll save labor and extend the life of your equipment. 

 

And it so easy to upgrade – with a small, simple, inexpensive cyclonic separator. 

 

The mini cyclone is virtually a “tornado in a can” – that uses a centrifugal vortex to send good, larger particles into a container.  In the process, only dust is extracted, and goes where it belongs, into the vac. 

 

The separator dramatically reduces dust loading and abrasion in the vac.  Since the vac’s filter is no longer being abraded, it lasts longer without perforating.  Which means no added dust in your shop - and abrasive dust doesn't make it beyond the filter into the blower.  (Blowers are notoriously intolerant to dust – so the payback is almost immediate.)

 

The cyclone quickly adapts to any shop vac, economy dust collector, or small industrial-duty vacuum.  Just splice it in with your dust hose and it’ll reclaim about 95% of the good materials – sending only dust to the vacuum.

 

Examples:

Many of my customers have made this inexpensive upgrade a part of their blast systems – from micro-blasters to production blast cabinets and automated basket blasters.  Here are examples of real, local applications that have paid off in measurable benefits.  You probably have a similar application in your facility.

 

• Rob, a southern Vermont customer frequently cleans his ProFinish blast cabinet’s reclaimer trash screen, where plastic scrap quickly builds up, along with good grit, by using his shop vac.  The problem was that aggressive “AZ grit” entered the shop vac and eroded its filter, and that lead to failure and frequent replacement.  He retrofit the cyclone (complete with a large waste drum, as shown) into the shop vac’s hose.  Now grit no longer abrades the filter. And he's able to reclaim the grit for reuse – it’s like getting abrasive for free!

 

• A Burlington VT, customer’s micro-blast cabinet, which is used mostly for deburring and marking, is mounted to a cart, for use where needed throughout the machine shop.  The cyclone is so compact that it is never in the way as the cart makes its way down long aisles between machinery. It's very low maintenance. 

 

• A New Hampshire automotive powder coater was tired of constantly emptying the econo-style dust collector – which quickly became too heavy to easily lift, made a mess when opened, and was hard to clean.  Now the cyclone shunts garnet into a 15-gallon drum for reuse.  This application employs a unique feature; the cyclone and drum are made of static-dissipating materials to overcome the potential for static electrical build-up.  It is built from long lasting materials and has been trouble-free – even when using sharp garnet abrasives. 

 

• Ceramic bead blasting media, while costing a lot per pound, is actually very inexpensive to run because of its extreme longevity.  Unless that is, you lose it to the dust collector, where it becomes contaminated with dust and debris.  We solved this problem with a static-dissipative cyclone – and now only the fine dust makes its way to the dust collector.  Good ceramic bead is captured in the cup attached to the bottom of the cyclone.  Once or twice a day the operator simply unclamps the lightweight cup – where the good media accumulates – and pours it back into the blast system (as shown). With the dust extracted, he is reusing only good shot.

 

The mini-cyclone isn't just for blasters – you can use it anywhere you have a vacuum and want the benefits of reclaiming.  It’s even used to extract valuable materials, such as precious metals and aerospace coatings, that otherwise would be lost.

 

Mini-cyclone benefits at a glance:

• Abrasive costs are greatly decreased.

• Vacuums and dust collectors are now emptied monthly, even running high production.

• Filter and blower life are greatly enhanced. 

• Low cost, low maintenance, and less interaction with nasty dusts. 

• Dust collectors operate more efficiently, and dust housekeeping minimized.

• Reduced chance of “operator error” since the dust collector requires minimal service. 

 

A mini-cyclone is the ideal solution:

• When dusts quickly accumulate in your vacs (such as abrasive blasting applications).

• Where downtime is high, and that time could be better utilized for production.

• When your vacs consume valuable maintenance time on an ongoing basis.

• If you find that you replace filters and motors every few months – or you just hate the nasty job.

• Where dusts plug the filter quickly.

• When high-value particulate might otherwise be wasted.

• If you want to reduce dust exposure to your workers.

 

If you'd prefer a comprehensive solution:

Dawson-Macdonald also carry a full line of industrial vacuums and compact dust collectors – all of which can be mated up to the small cyclone.  We carry top quality manufacturers’ such as Ruwac and Vaniman – both of whom produce machines much more suitable for industry than cheap shop vacs. 

 

Spare yourself and your equipment, save money, and have a healthier environment. 

 

Get one, or get more info:

 

Contact me today for a free evaluation of how dust, fume, and mist collection can be improved in your facility.

 

© 2015 Mark Hanna and BlastPrep.com