A metal fabrication shop in Illinois was having a problem with excessive exhaust in a welding area that included two robotic arms. Most options for ventilation in work cells of this type involved the construction of walls or partitions, which restricted traffic flow near the workspace. Other ventilation systems would filter the ambient air but would not effectively ventilate the majority of the exhaust produced by welding.
For help in meeting the requirements of better air quality for employees along with unrestricted work flow, the company contacted its material handling provider, Handling Systems, Inc.
Safety Solution
One of the challenges was that loading and unloading of raw materials to this work cell is done using an overhead crane. Frommelt explored the concept of incorporating its Frommelt Fume extraction systems with a Gorbel workstation crane.
The final solution was a freestanding workstation crane with a 900 lb Frommelt fume extraction hood secured between two steel bridges with tractor drives. The system spans both welding work cells, and has pushbutton controls on both ends to engage the tractor drives and move the hood over the desired cell. Limit switches signal to the tractor drive when the hood is in place and stops the movement.
To accommodate for the flow of materials in and out of the work cell, the Gorbel workstation crane has cantilevered supports on each end to enable the existing overhead crane to continue to deliver products to the work cell. Frommelt side-to-side retractable weld curtains were added for flash protection and easy entry into cell area. Cell dimensions are 13 x 8 ft and the weld curtain size is a retractable 20 ft w x 4 ft h.