Centralised Dust Extraction System for Prosthetics Manufacturer

At a glance
- Company
- APOS
- Product
- Dust & Fume Extraction
- Industry
- Manufacturing
BEAM designed a multi-branch centralised dust extraction system for removal of dust from manufacturing process.
APOS is a specialist manufacturer of prosthetics, providing essential services in this clinical field throughout Ireland. The Company have recently relocated to a new high specification site at Oranmore in Galway where they carry out assessment and ultimately manufacture bespoke prosthetics and orthotic devices
BEAM received a referral regarding dust control during the manufacturing processes and in the first instance provided guidance and advice to APOS to help them identify the critical areas to be addressed.
Dust control during manufacturing process
Beam engineers worked closely with the APOS technical team to help identify the sources of dust emissions and ultimately designed a multi-branch centralised dust extraction system to provide effective dust control during product manufacturing.
There was a wide range of requirements ranging from Low Volume, High Velocity (LVHV) extraction from a robotic CNC machine to several manual operations using sanding drums and adaptions to two number specialist shaping machines. BEAM employed industry benchmarks to each process and produced a specification for the client to provide dust control to the entire operations by means of a centralised dust extraction system.
The new system replaced 2 No. integrated bag collection dust extract systems which were inconvenient to the operator to use, as well as a portable dual extract unit which had limitations in use, and a portable vacuum cleaner.
As an added bonus, Beam provided a floor sweep up point that allows floor strewn debris to be conveniently brushed away to the centralised extract system.
Comfortable and safe workplace environment
With the removal of all the portable appliances, the workplace is now a more healthy and comfortable environment for employees:
- Noise has been removed from the production area;
- Indoor air quality has improved as there is no longer a requirement to empty dust from individual machines locally;
- There is no longer reliance on the filtration of the working machines to keep the internal environment dust free;
- No heat exhausted from previous individual appliances;
- Maintenance is also vastly improved by having bulk centralised dust collection and disposal which is now located outside the production area.
Effective dust control extract unit
Beam provided a central 4 kW medium dust extract unit complete with a custom designed extract ducting system in smooth flow clip-lock ducting and final connections to 6 No. varied connections.
The system installation was carried out by BEAM Approved Distributor Sean Gavin to a very high standard and meets the requirements of Health & Safety Authority (HSA) Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) Guidance.
“As part of our redevelopment plans, we intended to consolidate our manufacturing production which required a new design of our dust control systems. After some enquiries it became clear that our application was not standard. Fortunately, we were referred to BEAM who immediately helped us identify what we needed. Their approach was very focused on our exact requirements and it is very evident they have immense experience in their field which helped us develop and improve our processes. Their engineers specified a centralised dust extraction system and adapted several of our production machines so that all our needs are met with a single large extract unit located outside our factory floor. Local Galway Beam engineers carried out the installation of the smooth flow ducting and adapted their design to accommodate material alterations to the layout. APOS are very satisfied with the service provided by BEAM and we very much appreciate their advice and guidance throughout the design process right through to the craft of the installers and ultimately the commissioning and validation of the dust extraction system. Highly recommended!”

Andrew James
Workshop Manager, APOS