Oil mist is a common problem in machine tool environments. It affects the health of machine operators, disrupts production and creates slippery shop floors. It also contaminates expensive equipment and products. AAF provides a complete range of oil mist collector for metal machining applications that effectively remove dangerous airborne metal contaminants and oil mist, creating clean and safe manufacturing spaces.
Mist collection is a vital piece of equipment to have running in any CNC shop. It can improve employee health and safety, reduce worker lawsuits, lower maintenance costs, increase productivity and ensure compliance with government workplace exposure regulations.
Almost all metal machining operations generate oil mist to some extent. This aerosol is formed when the cooling or lubricating oil used for metal machining vaporizes and condenses into sub-micron particles that are carried by the air, creating a hazardous working environment.
Without proper ventilation, these tiny particles can enter the lungs and cause many health issues including respiratory irritation, shortness of breath, vomiting, fever, fatigue and headaches. They can also damage the interior of machinery and clog nozzles and valves, as well as contaminate surfaces. Uncollected oil mist can lead to slippery shop floors, contaminated equipment and costly maintenance bills.
AAF’s oil mist collectors are designed to be easily mounted on existing machines with minimal machine modification, offering high filtration efficiency, low power consumption and easy operation. Our range includes electrostatic, centrifugal and multi-stage media collectors to accommodate all types of metal machining applications.
The first stage of the mist collector uses inertial separation technology to drain up to 85% of oil, coolant and smoke before entering consumable filters. The mist is then drawn into a series of depth loading fiber bed filters that progressively capture and agglomerate the micro-sized droplets, which then drains to a collection tank or back into the machine sump. Drum, vee and cartridge-based filter designs are available depending on the application.
Electrostatic and centrifugal separators use a combination of positive and negative static electricity to attract dust, smoke and mist particles into the collection system where they are trapped in the sponge-foam filtering pads or centrifugal force is thrust on them until they become saturated with impurities. The collection system requires routine maintenance, as the ionizer section puts a positive charge on any conductive particle that crosses it and is then drawn into the plates of the negatively charged collection plates for separation.
Multi-stage media mist collectors work by combining an initial pre-filtration cartridge with a cyclonic separation chamber and a final stage filter to achieve up to 99-percent filtration efficiency. This design is intended to eliminate the maintenance requirements of electrostatic separators and the noise and vibration problems associated with centrifugal separators. All of our mist collectors are designed for continuous operation in demanding industrial applications and are backed by extensive engineering expertise to offer uncompromising performance and long-term durability. To find the best solution for your application, please contact us. We’ll guide you through the process of selecting an oil mist collector that meets your specifications.