DCS
DRAW PLAUDITS FROM SWIFTWOOD
A recent contract undertaken by Dust Control Systems involved
the design, supply and installation of a Cyclofilter
dust extraction system at Swiftwood Sawmills in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Swiftwood is one of the country’s
leading importers and distributors of prepared softwood,
with a timber stockholding of around 9,000 cubic metres and
a well equipped mill that machines 19,000 cubic metres of
planed timber a year. The decision to opt for a new extraction
plant was made as part of a programme of expansion that included
re-housing the mill and workshops in a larger neighbouring
building.
The new plant is designed to handle an
air volume of 59,500m³/hr
and extracts dust from eight woodworking machines in the re-located
mill. The majority of waste is generated by three high performance
Wadkin moulders, including a wide capacity machine capable
of producing 300mm wide mouldings.
 The Cyclofilter is a high efficiency dust
collection system that is virtually maintenance free, combining
the advantages of cyclone separation with the efficiency
of a bag filter. It is suitable for large volumes of wood
waste, yet requires a relatively small footprint. Filter
efficiencies of 99.99974% are achieved and centrifugal force
in the Cyclofilter gives excellent filtration rates for material
concentrations above 300g/m³.
Negative pressure, created by the main fan, draws dust and
chips from the woodworking machines, down the main duct into
the Cyclofilter where the air and waste material are diverted
into a spiral motion. The centrifugal force allows heavier
particles to fall out of the air stream and into the hopper.
Multiple rows of tubular filter bags are housed in a large
perforated metal cylinder, which allows the rising dust-entrained
air to pass through, whilst protecting the filter bags from
abrasion.
Dust particles collect on the outside of the filter bags and
clean air passes through to escape into a clean air chamber
and into the air outlet. From there, ductwork connects to the
Combifab main fan, an extremely efficient, low
energy unit with very low noise levels.
Automatic bag cleaning is by pulsed compressed air jets aligned
above each row of filter bags. The downward blast creates a
shockwave that dislodges the dust that then falls into the
hopper. Collected waste is discharged into a rotary valve specially
designed to handle wood waste. A loop-round waste conveying
system transfers softwood waste into one of three waste collection
trailers with hardwood waste collected in a fourth trailer.
Marcus Williams, Mill Manager at Swiftwood
says ‘’We
are delighted with the extraction plant and the level of service
provided by DCS. The plant fully meets current and future legislation
and gives us enough spare capacity to satisfy any evolving
requirements in the future’’.
Chris Oldfield of Dust Control Systems
says ‘’Marcus
and his colleagues at Swiftwood were convinced by the compelling
case we put forward for the Cyclofilter system and I am pleased
to say that the plant is more than living up to their expectations’’.
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