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Galvanising weld fumes contained on large scale mesh machine

Working closely with an industrial filtration specialist, OneSteel Reinforcing has taken preventative action at its Sydney plant to ensure containment of welding fumes on a process line.

The Revesby site services industrial markets on the eastern seaboard of Australia, producing galvanised wire mesh for commercial, residential and civil construction as well as the mining and agriculture industries and manufacturing sector.

A recent upgrade of its welding automation system prompted OneSteel to consult Donaldson Australasia to design and build a fume collection system based on its patented Downflo DFO 3-18 technology; with OneSteel management specifying a collection capacity that well exceeds its current maximum fume output.

Project Management from OneSteel Reinforcing, says the company has a tenet to ensure any pollution control solutions should easily accommodate high rates of growth.

Welding galvanised wire produces weld fumes. According to what processes are required, these can produce more fumes than other welding processes and it is vital to contain these.

OneSteel recently installed a new machine system for welding sheets of galvanised mesh and a purpose-specific gantry-operated handling machine to process these large mesh sheets.

On average, 30 welding heads are working for around 22 hours per day. For OneSteel, it was vital that Donaldson designed the solution to accommodate high rates of growth for when it is needed.

OneSteel serves the construction market in general heavy industry with steel for reinforcing concrete and for demand in the mining sector.

Mesh is used to reinforce roofs in mines where the environment is often aggressive, hence the need for galvanising. All mines specify unique requirements based on their local geology.

A national branch and distributor network of One Steel services Australia-wide supplying quality steel reinforcing products to the nation’s largest construction companies.

OneSteel Reinforcing has ACRS certified world-class manufacturing facilities and innovative-engineered reinforcing solutions to reduce labour needs and streamline construction.

This Sydney plant site has always been able to contain fumes from galvanised welding process using a longstanding hood-based collection system, but the company chose to upgrade and modernise the collection system now rather than later when it might eventually be too small to contain the output caused by increased manufacturing.

Donaldson modelled the site’s collection solution in a 3D digital environment before attempting anything physical so that management could test all the structures.

This allowed the use of actual structure data to check for the load values at the anchorage points and create underground service pits for the machine. It detailed ducting to specifically suit that pit.

Donaldson design engineers had to configure around the machine, especially the hood, and ultimately constructed the system in a way so that it reduced risks caused by sparks. Induction welding creates both fumes and sparks.

Donaldson’s Downlfo Oval Series (DFO) of patented dust collectors utilises oval shaped cartridges to allow large amounts of air flow through the collector without increasing the footprint size or damaging filters.

The DFO Series requires a smaller collector to minimise initial purchase price, reduce filter replacement costs and use less manufacturing floor space across most industries.

Compared with standard industry performance, DFO collectors provide about 25% more capacity than other same sized dust collectors on the market. A patented ExtraLife Filter Cleaning System averages up to 30% increase in pulse cleaning efficiency for excellent cleaning ability.

To further lower operating cost, unique oval shaped Ultra-Web cartridge filters provide a long filter life and high filtration efficiency.

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