Stone dust extraction: What's the best solution?

Engineers sometimes recommend extraction arms but the abrasive nature of stone dust means arms (and ducting) have a short life span, and of course only have a very small effective area – meaning operators must continually move the arm while working.

However, there are some key factors in stone dust which conversely make it easier to handle than some dusts. Stone dust is non-explosive; this alone can make system design simpler, and enable us to consider systems that would not be suitable for many metallic dusts.

The solutions

So what’s the answer? A well-designed high-volume dry filter system, configured to make cleaning and emptying easy for operators, can solve many problems.
In our own range, we offer pulse-cleaned downdraught benches; our AirBench RP range; and also pulse-cleaned cross-draught systems – VertEx VP.

In either case, we move large volumes of air, slowly, across a wide area. We design AirBench RP models for operators to work on the bench surface, in place of a banker; whereas VertEx VP can be used to build an extracted wall or a full containment booth using our VB modular booth system (click here).
In either case, operators do not need to interfere with the operation of the dust extraction system while working. Users simply switch on and work within the effective area of the dust extractor; cleaning is on-demand when required.