Dust Doctor: Dust capture hoods
In this column, the author discusses the various types of dust capture hoods and how to select one for your dust collection system.
Dust capture hoods come in all shapes and sizes. Selecting them properly requires correctly analyzing the dust-generating source for dust velocity and trajectory. These will determine how close to the dust source the hood can be placed. Hood placement can’t interfere with operators performing their work. If a hood is installed too close to the dust source, valuable product may be captured in addition to the airborne dust. If a hood captures more than 1 percent of process material, it can be costly. A well-designed hood should capture only airborne dust, which can be less than 0.5 percent of processed material. Of course, if the hood is too far away from the source, dust capture will be seriously reduced.