Do-it-yourself cyclone for a vacuum cleaner - high technology in your home. Do-it-yourself cyclone from a barrel. FORUMHOUSE Experience How to Make a Chip Suction from an Old Vacuum Cleaner

When processing wooden blanks, everyone has probably come across the fact that everything around is covered with a large amount of shavings, sawdust and wood dust. In order to get rid of them at least partially, various dust collectors, chip suckers, filters and other devices are used. Many power tools and machine tools have their own dust collectors, while others have special outlets for connecting a vacuum cleaner.

In home workshops, it will be better to use specials. a vacuum cleaner than a household one. First, the engine in the special. the vacuum cleaner is designed for more than long-term work, and secondly, as a rule, it is equipped with a hose with a length of 3 m, which greatly simplifies its use with a power tool. And yet, the disadvantage of each vacuum cleaner is a small container for garbage.

How to make a cyclone filter with your own hands

With the goal of somehow simplifying the work of cleaning the vacuum cleaner and reducing the cost of bags, I began to collect information on this issue. Found a description on the Internet different types simple devices in the form of intermediate dust collectors for a vacuum cleaner. Firstly, these are dust collectors in the form of a mini-cyclone. They do a good job of collecting dust in a separate container, preventing it from getting into the vacuum cleaner, which increases the service life of the bags tenfold. The process of cleaning the dust collector from debris is also facilitated. Ready-made fixtures are sold through online stores, but their cost is quite high with a very simple design.

Design. I decided to make a mini cyclone type dust collector myself. The author and developer of this design is considered Bill Pentz from California. Having earned himself a serious allergy to fine wood dust, he subsequently devoted a lot of time and energy to combating both the disease itself and its causes.

The dust collector is a device, the main element of which is an inverted truncated cone, inserted in the lower part into a container for collecting dust. A tube for connecting to a vacuum cleaner is inserted into the upper part of the dust collector, and a tube for connecting a hose from the tool is inserted at the side tangentially.

When the vacuum cleaner draws in the air inside the apparatus, turbulence is formed, and the debris, moving with the air, is thrown by centrifugal forces to the inner walls of the filter, where they continue to move. But as the cone narrows, the particles collide more often, slow down and, under the influence of gravity, fall into the lower container. And the partially purified air changes direction and exits through a vertically installed pipe and enters the vacuum cleaner.

There are two prerequisites for this design. This is, firstly, its tightness, otherwise there will be a sharp loss of suction power and air purification quality. And, secondly, the rigidity of the container and the cyclone body itself - otherwise, it strives to flatten.

There are tables on the Internet with drawings of cyclones for particles of various sizes. The cyclone body can be made of galvanized or plastic, or you can choose a ready-made container of a similar shape. For example, I saw cyclones made on the basis of a traffic cone (necessarily rigid), a plastic flower vase, a tin horn, a large toner tube copier etc. It all depends on what size the cyclone is needed. The larger the particles of debris, the larger the diameter of the tubes for the connected hoses, and the more massive the cyclone itself is.

Bill Pentz points out some of his design features. So, the smaller the cyclone in diameter, the greater the load on the vacuum cleaner. And if the container for garbage is low and flat, then there is a likelihood of garbage being sucked out of the container and getting into the vacuum cleaner. When using a container of any shape, it must not be filled up to the top with garbage.

The choice of material. I decided to use as blanks plastic pipes for outdoor sewerage and fittings for them. Of course, it will not be possible to create a full-fledged cone from them, but I was not the first who tried to use them for this purpose. The advantage of this choice is the rigidity of the parts and the tightness of their joints due to the seals. Another plus is that there are various rubber pipe fittings that allow you to easily and tightly connect the vacuum cleaner hose. In addition, if necessary, the structure can be easily disassembled.

For your own to collect large sawdust and shavings I made a cyclone from a pipe ∅160 mm. I used pipes ∅50 mm as connectors for hoses. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the eccentric adapter from a pipe ∅110 mm to ∅160 mm must necessarily be funnel-shaped. I have seen flat ones, but they will not work - nothing will work with them, and the debris will get stuck.

Do-it-yourself cyclone work progress

Operating procedure. In the plug for the pipe ∅160 mm and the pipe of the body, I made holes for the outlets for the hoses. Then, using a thermal gun, I glued a piece of pipe ∅50 mm into the plug. It should be located in the middle of the cyclone body and be a couple of centimeters below the side tube, so it is better to first glue the longer tube into the plug, and then cut it in place during assembly.

On the Internet, I found complaints that hot melt glue does not stick to PVC pipe, and advice to weld parts with a soldering iron and pieces of the pipe itself. I tried it but didn't. Firstly, my glue adhered perfectly, and, secondly, the smell of molten plastic discouraged any desire to weld anything in this way, although the connection may be more durable and neat.

The difficulty of working with hot melt glue is that it does not spread, and the seam in the absence of skills is not very even. I had such a sad experience - to align the seam, I decided to heat it up with a hairdryer. I got a smooth surface of the glue bead, but at the same time the plastic tube itself was deformed, and it had to be thrown away.

In the next step, I glued a spiral to the inner surface of the case, which should direct the air flow down to the dust collector. This solution was recommended by Bill Pentz himself - according to him, it almost doubles the efficiency of the cyclone. A spiral with a height of about 20% of the gap should fit snugly against the body and make one turn with a pitch equal to the diameter of the inlet for the side pipe.

As a material for it, I used a plastic rod, which I heated with a hairdryer and bent in the shape of a spiral (photo 1) and then pasted it into the case (photo 2) using a thermal gun. Then pasted the side tube (photo 3), the inner end of which is directed slightly downward.

As soon as the glue cooled and hardened, I measured and cut the vertical outlet tube so that it was 2-3 cm below the side tube edge, and finally assembled the entire structure.

Waste container made of hard plastic barrel, to the bottom of which I attached the wheels - it turned out to be very convenient for cleaning it (photo 4)... I cut a viewing window on the side of the barrel and closed it with acrylic glass on hot melt glue. From above, reinforced the connection with a plastic ring and bolts. It is convenient to monitor the filling of the container through such a porthole.

I didn't have a barrel lid, and I made it from a piece of countertop that waited a long time in the wings after the sink in the kitchen (photo 5)... On the underside of the tabletop, I chose a groove for the edges of the barrel with a milling cutter and glued a window seal into it for a tight connection (photo 6)... According to the rules, the hole in the lid should be made in the center, but then I would have problems with placing the cyclone in the workshop, so I made a hole with an offset. The lid is attached to the barrel with latches from a long-broken vacuum cleaner. He also used a hose to connect the cyclone. I want to draw your attention to the fact that it is better to take hoses from vacuum cleaners. If we take, say, corrugated pipe for electrical wiring, when the vacuum cleaner is turned on, a whistle and eerie noise appear.

Do-it-yourself cyclone for a vacuum cleaner

Wiring. After checking the cyclone's performance, I decided to make a stationary wiring of the hoses around the workshop, since the three-meter hose, of course, is not enough, and the vacuum cleaner with the cyclone is bulky and clumsy, it is inconvenient to move them around the workshop every time.

Due to the fact that standard pipes, it was possible to mount such a wiring in an hour. I pushed the vacuum cleaner and the cyclone into the farthest corner, and laid pipes ∅50 mm through the workshop (photo 9).

In the workshop I use a specialized green series BOSCH vacuum cleaner. After four months of operation, it is paired with a cyclone, I can say that in general they are coping with their task. But I would like to slightly increase the suction power (when working with a jigsaw, you have to move the hose almost close to the cutting zone) and reduce the noise level. Since little chips get into the vacuum cleaner itself, there is an idea to make a more powerful impeller and take it outside the workshop to the street.

I can also say that the suction power of the vacuum cleaner dropped a little when using it with a cyclone, but at work this is not very noticeable. There were doubts that static electricity can accumulate on the elements, because the entire structure is plastic, but this practically does not happen, although earlier, when collecting fine dust, the hose had to be grounded.

Of course, when using professional pipelines with large outlets, this diameter is not enough. It is better to take ∅110 mm or more, but then both the vacuum cleaner and the cyclone should be more powerful. However, this is quite enough for my homework.

The vacuum cleaner hose was rigidly fixed on a small pipe bend ∅50 mm and inserted in the right place of the wiring. At the same time, the rest of the wiring exits are closed with plugs rigidly put on short bends. Moving the hose is a snap.

During operation, I ran into one small problem. If a small pebble falls into the hose (my concrete floors have not been repaired for a long time) or another small but heavy object, it moves through the pipes to the vertical section in front of the cyclone and remains there. When these particles accumulate, other debris clings to them and can form a blockage. Therefore, before vertical section wiring, I cut a camera from a pipe ∅110 mm with an inspection window. Now all heavy debris is collected there, and by unscrewing the lid, it is easy to get it out. This is very convenient when fasteners or small parts accidentally fall into the vacuum cleaner. here is simple - I unscrew the lid, turn on the vacuum cleaner and use my hand to mix everything that is left in the revision. Small particles immediately fly away into the cyclone tank, while large ones remain and are easily removed. Their number is usually insignificant, but recently I found a missing screwdriver bit in such garbage.

Also, the revision hole can be used to temporarily connect a ∅100 mm hose. It is enough to unscrew the lid - and we get a finished hole ∅100 mm. Naturally, in this case it is necessary to muffle all other wiring inputs. Flexible adapter can be used to simplify connection (photo 10).

I regularly use all of these devices. I am pleased with the result - there is noticeably less dust in the workshop, and it is easier to clean. During this time, I collected several bags of sawdust, and very little debris accumulates in the vacuum cleaner. I want to check the cyclone for collecting small garden waste and dust when cleaning a concrete floor.

I think this design is very useful and affordable for making at home.

Sergey Golovkov, Rostov region, Novocherkassk

At machining various materials may form large quantities about shavings. With her removal by hand many difficulties arise. To significantly simplify the procedure under consideration, they began to use special devices called chip suckers. They can be found in specialized stores, the cost varies in a fairly wide range, which is associated with the functionality, performance and popularity of the brand. If desired, such equipment can be made by hand, for which it is enough to know the varieties and the principle of operation.

Principle of operation

A do-it-yourself cyclone-type chip suction is possible only after determining the basic principles of work. The features include the following points:

1. A small-section corrugated hose is connected to the main body, which concentrates and enhances traction. The tip may have a different attachment, it all depends on the specific task.
2. In the upper part of the structure, there is an engine that is directly connected to the impeller. Rotation discharges the air, thereby creating the required thrust.
3. When sucked in, the chips settle in a special container, and the air is removed through a special pipe on which a coarse filter is installed.
4. A fine filter is also installed at the outlet pipe, which retains fine particles and dust.

In general, it can be said that the principle of operation of cyclone-type chip suckers is quite simple, due to which the design is characterized by reliability.

Chip suction types

Almost all models of cyclone-type chip suckers are similar. In this case, the main mechanisms, for example, the engine or the cyclone system, may differ slightly, which determines the main classification. All cyclone-type chip pumps can be conditionally divided into several categories:

1. For household use.
2. Universal.
3. For professional use.

When choosing a model for a home workshop, you should pay attention to the first two groups of equipment. This recommendation is due to the fact that their cost should be relatively low, while the performance will be sufficient.

With frequent work with a workshop, a large amount of chips and with professional provision of cleaning services for workshops and other premises, it should be considered when choosing a cyclone-type chip suction from a professional group. This is due to the fact that it is characterized by higher performance and reliability, and can withstand long-term use.

Cyclone-type chip suction device

Most of the models resemble an ordinary vacuum cleaner, which, due to strong traction, sucks up large and small chips. However, it is impossible to use even a powerful and high-quality vacuum cleaner for cleaning the workshop. The main structural elements are:

1. The electric motor is installed flange type, the power of which is only 3.5 kW.
2. To discharge the air, a fan with a robust and resistant to mechanical impact impeller is installed. It must be large enough to generate the thrust required.
3. The cyclone is designed to purify the air that will be thrown out. Its device is designed to filter large elements.
4. The multi-stage filter significantly increases the efficiency of the procedure. This is due to the fact that at the initial stage, large elements are separated, after which small ones are separated. Multi-stage cleaning can significantly extend the life of the filter and improve its efficiency.
5. The lower cyclone is designed for direct chip intake.
6. A collection bag made of durable material is intended for temporary storage of shavings and other debris that have been separated from the passing air stream.

High-quality models have a sealed case, which is sheathed with sound-absorbing panels. To control a cyclone-type chip suction, an electrical or mechanical unit is placed; to connect a corrugated hose with a nozzle, there must be a special hole.

It is not difficult to make a cyclone-type chip suction machine with your own hands, since it in many ways resembles an ordinary vacuum cleaner with a large number of filter elements and high power. The device of the cyclone of woodworking is characterized by high reliability, subject to the recommendations for operation, the device will last for a long time.

Design features

In most cases, when self-manufacturing a cyclone-type chip sucker, a small and medium-capacity motor is installed, which can be powered from a standard 220V network.

More powerful units are supplied with three-phase motors, with the power supply of which in domestic conditions there are quite a lot of difficulties.

Among design features it should be noted that the impeller is installed to provide a spiral vortex of the air flow. In this case, heavy particles are dumped into a special container, after which centrifugal force again lifts the air to remove it.

Preparatory work

When making a structure with your own hands, you can significantly save money, however, some mechanisms still cannot be assembled on their own. An example is the most suitable motor and impeller. The preparatory stage includes the following actions:

1. Formation of an action plan for the assembly of homemade equipment.
2. Search for a suitable electric motor, check its condition.
3. Selection of other mechanisms that cannot be made by hand.

In a carpentry workshop, much that is required to create a cyclone-type chip suction can be made by hand.

Instruments

A wide variety of tools may be required depending on the circuit chosen. The simplest way is to make the outer casing of wood. It is to it that other elements will be connected. The recommended set of tools is as follows:

1. Indicator and multimeter.
2. Chisel and other tools for working with wood.
3. Screwdriver and various screwdrivers, hammer.

The simplicity of the design means that it can be made with the most common tools.

Materials and fasteners

The created device must be light and airtight, and also withstand the pressure exerted by the vortex of air. To make it you will need:

1. The body can be assembled from plywood, which is about 4 mm thick. Due to this, the structure will be strong and lightweight.
2. Other parts will also require different thicknesses of wood.
3. Polycarbonate.
4. The filter can be taken from an injection-type VAZ. Such a filter is cheap and will last quite a long time.
5. The motor can be removed from the old powerful vacuum cleaner, the impeller will be mounted on the output shaft.
6. To connect the main elements, you will need screws, self-tapping screws, bolts with nuts, as well as a sealant.

After finding everything you need, you can start doing the work.

Making a cyclone filter

As noted earlier, it is quite difficult to make a filter; it is best to purchase a cheap ready-made version. However, it will also require a sealed seat.

The seat is also made of wood. In this case, the main thing is to choose the right diameter of the outlet hole correctly, since too small will lead to a decrease in bandwidth... There is no need to attach the filter, it is enough to create a block for it that will ideally fit in its dimensions.

Create anchor ring and shaped insert

To fix the polycarbonate during the manufacture of the case, wooden rings... They must have an inner diameter that provides the required volume of the storage tank. Between the two retaining rings, there will be vertical bars that hold the polycarbonate sheets.

You can make such rings in your home workshop if you have the appropriate skills and equipment. At the same time, do not forget that they must have high strength.

Installing the retaining ring

You can start assembling the case by placing the locking wheels and polycarbonate sheets. Among the features of this stage, the following points can be noted:

1. Sheets are fixed on both sides with planks.
2. The connection is made using self-tapping screws.
3. To increase the sealing in the lower and upper ring, slots are created for the sheets, after the installation of which the seams are sealed with a sealant.

After assembling the body, you can start installing other structural elements.

Installing the side pipe

In order to eliminate the likelihood of rupture of the structure due to clogging of the filter element, a side branch pipe with a safety valve is installed. For this, a hole is created in the polycarbonate sheet, which is closed on both sides by the body of the safety pipe.

A rubber gasket should be placed between the wooden planks and the wall, you can increase the degree of sealing by using a sealant. The element is fastened to the body with bolts and nuts.

Top entry setting

Swarf and air are sucked in from the top of the structure. To accommodate the upper input, a small body is created in which a branch pipe from an old vacuum cleaner is located.

Using a special fitting ensures a secure fixation of the suction hose, which, moreover, can be quickly removed if necessary. That is why you should not make it yourself.

Installing curly insert

A shaped insert is also required to connect the inlet. It must be positioned so that air and particles can flow easily.

As a rule, a figured rate is located opposite the fan, due to which the swirl of the air flow is carried out. It is best to seal the seams with a sealant, which will increase the degree of insulation of the structure.

Assembling the cyclone filter

After creating a housing for placing the filter, it must be installed in its place. It should be borne in mind that electronic elements will also be located inside, providing power to the electric motor.

From the outside of the case cyclone filter another branch pipe is diverted. It will be required to divert the air flow.

Chip suction selection principles and major manufacturers

A fairly large number of different companies are engaged in the production of cyclone-type chip suckers. At the same time, the principle of operation of the device does not differ, only the power and reliability of the structure increase.

The most popular are cyclone-type chip suckers of foreign brands, domestic ones are cheaper, but they serve much less.

When planning an independent production of a chip sucker, in order to save money as much as possible, first of all, it is worth considering a solution based on an ordinary household vacuum cleaner.

The vacuum cleaner itself is useless for use as a chip sucker because it has a small storage volume. This is precisely the problem that needs to be solved with the help of a container for chips and dust, as well as a cyclone element.

A homemade chip sucker should have three main parts:

1. The drive, in our case, is a vacuum cleaner
2. Chip reservoir
3. Cyclonic element

The principle of operation of a homemade chip suction

The draft of the vacuum cleaner creates a vacuum in the cyclone tank, due to the pressure difference outside and inside our chip suction chip and dust are sucked into inner part cyclonic element. Inside the cyclone, the forces of inertia and gravity act under the influence of which the heavy fraction of the waste is separated from the air stream and falls down.

What you need for a homemade chip sucker

Suitable for storage tank plastic container, for example a barrel of 65 liters at a price of about 1000 rubles

The cyclonic element can be made from sewer pipes like so

The plumbing pipe structure is attached to the barrel lid. The construction of pipes, bends (couplings) with cuffs will also not exceed 1000 rubles.

Additionally you will need:

• nuts, screws, washers for fixing the inlet pipe
• gun with assembly glue.

How to assemble a homemade chip sucker

When purchased in this, you can begin to assemble the structure of the chip suction.

1. Make a hole for the inlet in the side plumbing pipe, which should be placed tangentially to the body. It should be installed at the top of the cyclone element in order to obtain the highest degree of cleaning. Be sure to fill the gaps between the branch pipe and the pipe wall with assembly sealant. Fig. 3
2. Make a hole for the outlet in the pipe cover. Fig. 3
3. Assemble the cyclone part as in Fig. 4

The hose can be used from a vacuum cleaner, preferably with a built-in metal grounding conductor.

Any vacuum cleaner can be used, the more powerful the better.

The performance of such a homemade chip sucker will not be high, the maximum for one machine, but the money savings will be very significant!

For mobility, you can build a wheel stand from a piece of thick plywood and furniture wheels, install our homemade chip extractor on it and easily roll it around the workshop.

If you need a professional, inexpensive, consider purchasing, this is a reliable and simple chip suction from a trusted Russian manufacturer. CJSC "Konsar".

From the very beginning of my work in the workshop, I faced the problem of removing dust after work. The only way to clean up the floor was to sweep it. But because of this, an incredible amount of dust rose into the air, which settled in a noticeable layer on furniture, on machines, on tools, in the hair and in the lungs. The concrete floor in the workshop exacerbated the problem. Some solution was spraying water before sweeping and using a respirator. However, these are only half measures. Water freezes in winter in an unheated room and you have to carry it with you, in addition, the water-dust mixture on the floor is difficult to collect and it also does not contribute to the hygiene of the workplace. The respirator, firstly, does not block 100% of the dust, some part is still inhaled, and secondly, it does not protect against dust settling on environment... And not all the nooks and crannies can be crawled through with a broom to pick out small debris and sawdust from there.

In such a situation, the most effective solution it would be to vacuum the room.

However, using a household vacuum cleaner will not work. Firstly, it will have to be cleaned every 10-15 minutes of work (especially if you work on milling table). Secondly, as the dust container fills up, the suction efficiency decreases. Thirdly, the amount of dust, which greatly exceeds the calculated values, will greatly affect the resource of the vacuum cleaner. You need something more specialized here.

There are many ready-made solutions for dust removal in a workshop, however, their cost, especially in light of the 2014 crisis, does not make them too affordable. On thematic forums, I found an interesting solution - to use a cyclone filter in conjunction with an ordinary household vacuum cleaner. All of the above problems of household vacuum cleaners are solved by removing dirt and dust from the air to a standard vacuum cleaner dust collector. Some collect cyclone filters from traffic cones, others from sewers, and still others from plywood and whatever imagination is enough for. But I decided to buy a ready-made filter with fasteners.

The principle of operation is simple - the air flow is twisted in a conical filter housing and dust is removed from the air by centrifugal force. In this case, the dust falls through the bottom hole into the container under the filter, and the cleaned air comes out through the top hole into the vacuum cleaner.

One of the most frequent problems in the operation of cyclones is the so-called "roundabout". This is a situation where dirt and sawdust do not fall into the dust collection container, but swirl around inside the filter endlessly. This situation arises from too high a speed of the air flow generated by the turbine of the vacuum cleaner. It is necessary to reduce the speed a little and the "carousel" will disappear. In principle, it does not interfere - the next portion of garbage pushes most of the "carousel" into the container and takes its place. And in the second model of plastic cyclones this carousel practically does not exist. To eliminate air leakage, I missed the junction of the filter with the lid with hot glue.

I decided to take a larger container for collecting dust so that it was less often necessary to take out the garbage. I bought a barrel of 127 liters, produced, it seems, in Samara - the size is what you need! I am going to carry the barrel to the trash like a grandmother string bag - on another cart, so as not to overstrain.

Next is the choice of layout. Some people install the dust collector permanently and lead the ducts to the machines. Others simply place a vacuum cleaner and a barrel next to each other and drag them to the desired location. I wanted to make a mobile installation on wheels to move everything around the workshop in one block.
I have a rather small workshop and the issue of saving space is very relevant. Therefore, I decided to choose an arrangement in which the barrel, filter and vacuum cleaner are located one above the other, taking up a minimum area. It was decided to cook the body of the installation from metal. A frame made of a shaped pipe determines the dimensions of the future installation.

With a vertical arrangement, there is a possibility of overturning. To reduce this likelihood, you need to weight the base as much as possible. For this, a 50x50x5 corner was chosen as the material for the base, which took almost 3.5 meters.

The tangible weight of the trolley is compensated by the presence of swivel wheels. There were thoughts, if the structure is not stable enough, to pour lead shot or sand into the cavity of the frame. But that was not required.

In order to achieve the verticality of the rods, it was necessary to use ingenuity. The recently purchased vice came in handy. Thanks to such simple equipment, it was possible to achieve accurate setting of the corners.

It is convenient to move the cart, holding on to the vertical rods, therefore, strengthened their attachment points. In addition, this is an additional, albeit not large, weighting of the base. In general, I like reliable things with a margin of safety.

The barrel will be fixed in the installation frame with clamps.

In the upper part of the boom there is a platform for a vacuum cleaner. Further, holes will be drilled in the corners at the bottom and wooden planks will be fixed with self-tapping screws.

That is, in fact, the whole frame. It seems to be nothing complicated, but for some reason it took four evenings to assemble it. On the one hand, I didn’t seem to be in a hurry, I worked at my own pace, trying to complete each stage efficiently. But on the other hand, low productivity is associated with the lack of heating in the workshop. Goggles and welded mask fog up quickly, impairing visibility, bulky outerwear constrains movement. But the task is completed. In addition, there are only a couple of weeks left until spring.

I really didn't want to leave the frame like this. I wanted to paint it. But on all cans of paint that I found in the store it is written that they can be used at temperatures not lower than +5, and on some even not lower than +15. The thermometer in the workshop shows -3. How to be?
I read thematic forums. People write that you can safely paint even in frost, as long as the paint is not water-based and there is no condensation on the parts. And if the paint is with a hardener, then do not steam at all.
I found an old, slightly thickened Hammerayt jar in the zagashniki, which I used to paint a horizontal bar in the summer cottage -. The paint is quite expensive, so I decided to test it in extreme conditions. Instead of the expensive original solvent, Hammerayt added some regular degreaser to it to make it a little thinner, stirred it to the desired consistency and began to paint.
In the summer, this paint dried in one hour. It is difficult to say how much it dried in winter, but when I returned to the workshop in the evening next day the paint has dried. True without the promised hammer effect. Probably, the degreaser is to blame, and not the negative temperature. Otherwise, no other problems were found. The coating both looks and feels reliable. Perhaps it is not in vain that this paint costs almost 2,500 rubles in the store.

The cyclone body is made of good plastic and has fairly thick walls. But the attachment of the filter to the barrel lid is rather flimsy - four self-tapping screws screwed into the plastic. In this case, significant lateral loads can occur on the hose, which is attached directly to the filter. Therefore, the fastening of the filter to the barrel must be strengthened. The people have different approaches to solving this problem. Basically, an additional stiffening frame for the filter is assembled. The designs are very diverse, but the idea is something like this:

I approached this in a slightly different way. A holder for pipes of a suitable diameter was welded onto one of the rods.

In this holder, I clamp the hose, which is responsible for all the twists and jerks. Thus, the filter housing is protected from any stress. Now the unit can be pulled straight behind the hose without fear of damaging anything.

I decided to fix the barrel with lashing straps. When I was choosing locks in a hardware store, I made an interesting observation. A five-meter lashing strap with a foreign-made ratchet lock cost me 180 rubles, and a naked Russian-made "frog" -type lock lying next to it would cost me 250 rubles. This is where the triumph of domestic engineering and high technologies lies.

Experience has shown that this mounting method has an important advantage. The fact is that on the forums dedicated to these filters they write that barrels, like mine, when connecting a powerful vacuum cleaner, can be crushed due to the vacuum that occurs when the inlet hose is clogged. Therefore, during testing, I deliberately blocked the hole of the hose and the barrel shrank under the influence of the vacuum. But thanks to the very tight grip of the clamps, the barrel did not shrink completely, but only in one place below the hoop there was a dent. And when I turned off the vacuum cleaner, the dent itself straightened with a click.

In the upper part of the unit there is a platform for a vacuum cleaner

As a household vacuum cleaner, I acquired a bagless, almost two kilowatt monster. I was just thinking, and at home I would be useful.
Buying a vacuum cleaner on an ad ran into some inexplicable human stupidity and greed. The people sell used things without a guarantee, with a depleted part of the resource, defects in appearance at prices lower than store prices by some 15-20 percent. And okay, it would be some kind of common things, but used vacuum cleaners! Judging by the term of placing ads, this trade sometimes drags on for years. And one has only to start bargaining and call an adequate price, as you come across rudeness and misunderstanding.
As a result, after a couple of days I still found an excellent option for myself for 800 rubles. Well-known brand, 1900 watts, built-in cyclone filter (already the second in my system) and another fine filter.
I couldn’t think of anything more elegant to fasten it than to press it down with a lashing strap. In principle, it holds securely.

I had to be a little clever with the connection of the hoses. As a result, we have such an installation. And it works!

Usually, when you read reviews from the first use of such gizmos, people are choking with delight. Here is something similar and I experienced it when I first turned it on. It's no joke - vacuuming in the workshop! Where everyone walks in street shoes, where metal shavings and sawdust fly everywhere!

I have never seen this concrete floor, which is impossible to sweep due to the dust stuck in the pores, so clean. Persistent attempts to sweep it lead only to an increase in the density of dust in the air. And such purity was given to me for a couple of light movements! I didn't even have to wear a respirator!

We managed to collect in the barrel what was left after the previous cleaning with a broom. During the operation of the device, due to the translucency of the filter, it is possible to observe streams of dust swirling inside. There was also dust in the dust collector of the vacuum cleaner, but there was an insignificant amount of it and these were especially light and volatile fractions.

I am very pleased with the result. There will be no more dust storms in the workshop. You can say I'm going into new era.

Advantages of my design:
1. Takes up the minimum area, due only to the diameter of the barrel.
2. The unit can be dragged and pulled by the hose without fear of pulling out the filter.
3. The drum is protected from crushing when the inlet is clogged.

After some time of using the installation, I still faced the problem of lack of barrel rigidity.
I got a more powerful vacuum cleaner. Household, but sucks like a beast - sucks stones, nuts, screws, tears off the plaster and pulls out bricks from the masonry))
This vacuum cleaner slammed the blue barrel even without clogging the inlet hose! The tight girth of the barrel with clamps did not help. I didn't have a camera with me, it's a pity. But it looks like this:

On the thematic forums, they warn about such a possibility, but still I did not expect this. With great difficulty, he straightened the barrel and sent it, pretty crumpled, to the dacha to store the water. She is not capable of more.

There were two ways out of this situation:
1. Buy a metal barrel instead of a plastic one. But I need to find a barrel of a very specific size so that it fits exactly into my setup - diameter 480, height 800. A surface search on the Internet did not give any result.
2. Self-assembly the box the right size from 15 mm plywood. This is more real.

The box was assembled for self-tapping screws. Sealed the joints with double-sided foam tape.

The cart had to be altered a little - to digest the rear clamp for a square tank.

The new tank, in addition to strength and increased volume due to right angles, has another important advantage - a wide neck. This allows a waste bag to be placed in the tank. It greatly simplifies unloading and makes it an order of magnitude cleaner (tied the bag right in the tank and took it out and threw it away without dust). Old barrel did not allow it.

The cover was sealed with foamed insulation for windows

The lid is held in place by four frog locks. They create the necessary interference to seal the lid on the foam gasket. A little higher, I wrote about pricing policy on these frog locks. But I had to fork out.

It turned out well. Nice, functional, reliable. How I love.

In the woodworking industry, the dust and shavings removal system is an integral part of the general technical equipment of workshops and therefore must be calculated, designed and installed in accordance with a number of established rules.

Why is a dust extraction system so important?

Carpentry processing is always associated with the abundant formation of side material. It would not be an exaggeration to call the amount of dust and shavings emitted as mind-boggling, because dust suspension in woodworking workshops is a real scourge that both home and professional craftsmen overcome with varying degrees of success.

But what is really the necessity and complexity of wood waste disposal? They are represented by a combination of a number of factors, each of which requires solving rather specific problems:

• Problem number 1: low weight of waste products. Unlike the metalworking industry and even working with polymeric materials, wood chips and dust are very light, they slowly settle under the influence of gravity, and the particles bond extremely poorly with each other due to static electricity.
• Problem number 2: the complexity of the technological process. Even in a modest carpentry workshop, there is an impressive list of processing equipment: planing, thicknessing, sawing, milling and grinding machines - each technological unit serves as a source of chips and dust. With such a variety, it is extremely difficult to organize an aspiration system.
• Problem # 3: high variety of waste fractions. During the processing, chips, coarse and small shavings, sawdust, dust and powder can be formed. It is difficult to imagine a single filtration system, at each stage of which particles of a certain size are retained, while the creation of a universal filter is seen as an even less likely prospect.
• Problem # 4: Impact on processing quality. Both chips and microscopic dust can build up on the cutting edges or stick to the surface of the part. All this negatively affects the cleanliness of the surface, in addition, the likelihood of contamination of the functional units of the equipment increases.
• Problem # 5: The hazard of processing by-products. This is not at all about the fact that a colossal amount of dust settles on tools and materials or harms the respiratory organs. And not even that the abundance of flammable particles is a negative factor. fire safety... Explosions in woodworking workshops are truly catastrophic, because a suspension of fine combustible particles in the air is nothing more than an aerosol-type explosive, similar in destructiveness to an air-gas mixture. No kidding.

The conclusion from the above is that any object of the woodworking industry should be equipped with a dust and chip removal system, and it is desirable that the execution of such a system be performed at a professional level.

General configuration

In general, two types of aspiration systems can be distinguished. The first one is the local filtering complexes, which are completed with each of the units of the installed processing equipment. The advantages of local installations are most obvious when the equipment is far away on spacious sites. There is no need to lay main channels, there is no need to organize an air pumping unit with increased power. At the same time, there is an obvious benefit in energy saving, because the local filtration unit works only when a certain part of the equipment is involved.

Centralized chip and dust removal systems are also not without their advantages. They are most beneficial to use in cramped workshops, where space is limited, and the layout of the equipment is made as compact as possible. Each piece of processing equipment is connected to a main exhaust stack, which operates almost all the time the workshop is in operation, at least if at least one of the machines is involved. The advantages of centralized aspiration systems are most obvious with a high workload of production, but this approach requires a high-quality organization of the technological process. It is worth noting that the general system for the removal of woodworking by-products requires less investment in the organization, but entails more significant costs in the process of use.

At the same time, the organization of hybrid systems is not prohibited. Let's say the most involved parts of the complex, such as a circular saw, thickness gauge, milling machine and others like them can be combined with a common dust removal system. At the same time, machines that are used from time to time, for example, grinder or drum grinding, have their own local filtration units. The key rule is this: the issue of organizing a system for removing chips and dust should be put at the forefront when creating a closed woodworking workshop and carefully thought out before the final decision on the placement of equipment and the approval of the technological cycle.

How to choose an air pump

The heart of the entire suction system is the air pump. Regardless of whether the system is local or centralized, its efficiency depends entirely on the performance of this node. You can offer several options: an industrial vacuum cleaner, one or more channel vane fans, or one centrifugal.

In home workshops, vacuum cleaners are used most often as the central unit of the aspiration system. This is explained quite simply: firstly, the performance of such equipment is often quite enough, well, and secondly, the vacuum cleaner itself can be used to clean the workshop, or to quickly clean the workplace and tools. For such purposes, both industrial (construction) vacuum cleaners and household electrical appliances with a capacity of over 2-2.5 kW can be successfully used. It should be noted that there is a big difference between a vacuum cleaner and a chip sucker, but we will touch on this topic in more detail a little later.

Another type of aspiration system involves the use of duct fans high power. In fact, this option represents an attempt to adapt equipment for uncharacteristic purposes, nevertheless, such projects have the right to life and, moreover, are successfully used in home and small production workshops. It must be remembered that inline vane fans are extremely vulnerable to the presence of solid particles in the pumped air stream, therefore they are always installed at the end of the cleaning cycle, in other words, such an air pump pumps already purified air, while all elements of the system operate in a vacuum mode. but not pumping.

It is better to talk about the key parameters of the pumping unit in the context of comparing modern vacuum cleaners and chip suckers. There are three such parameters in total: power consumption, volume of transported air, or simply productivity, as well as created vacuum. If you do not go into technical details, the vacuum cleaner is more intended to tear off particles from the surface, while the chip suction is focused on capturing particles suspended in the air that have flown out from under the working body, be it a milling cutter, saw blade or sanding belt. Among other advantages of the chip suction, it is necessary to highlight the presence of a collection bag of impressive volume, as well as the undemandingness of the presence of a separation unit, that is, a cyclone separator, in the system. Wherein centrifugal fans, which are used in the vast majority of chip extractors, greatly lose in performance if there is a narrowing of the section in the piping system. Vacuum cleaners, on the other hand, as part of a general aspiration system, require jamming of outputs on equipment that is not currently being used. Therefore, systems based on vacuum cleaners are best used in tandem with hand tool or, for example, grinding machines, where the gripping area must be located as close as possible to the processing area for maximum effective removal fine dust, which is the most dangerous. In turn, centrifugal fans are especially useful because of the ability to pump air even with a high content of coarse particles, because the "snail" motor is located outside the flow.

Pipeline and flexible ducts

Both centralized and local aspiration systems require connecting pipelines through which the waste is moved from the capture zone to the filter unit. The list of materials suitable for the installation of a piping system is very wide.

Initially, flexible ventilation ducts are of the greatest interest. They consist of a polyethylene or polyurethane sheath reinforced with a spiral reinforcing cord. Flexible pipelines are so widely used due to ease of installation, low cost, no need to use swivel fittings and the ability to quickly change the configuration of the system. One of the most important advantages of flexible channels is the smoothness of the turn of the stave, which reduces the total aerodynamic resistance.

However, flexible piping is not without its drawbacks. We must not forget that a sufficiently strong vacuum operates inside the channel, especially if the system is connected to a powerful air pump. If most of the outlets of the aspiration system are plugged, the pipeline can simply collapse, such cases are by no means rare. Also due to the small mechanical strength ducts are not recommended to be laid on the floor or in areas where they are potentially damaged. The most budgetary representatives of corrugated hoses have an internal ribbed surface, due to which, when the aspiration system is operating, the pipeline begins to whistle quite noticeably, while the resistance to air flow increases. It is also very common for them to stick to the walls of dust due to the accumulation of static charge.

The advantages and disadvantages of rigid pipelines are exactly the opposite. Yes, in this case, a reliable fastening system is required, there will be more connections, however, thanks to the internal smooth surface pipes in them there are no blockages, adhesion of wet chips and a decrease in the flow rate. However, it must be remembered that in terms of cost, rigid steel will cost significantly more than flexible, besides, the equipment connected to the aspiration system will remain immobilized. In view of the latter, a combination of rigid and flexible pipelines is often practiced: a dust extraction system is installed along the ceiling from metal or PVC channels of a round or square cross section, and then, with the help of special branch fittings, a transition is made to corrugated hoses for connecting equipment.

Filtration systems

The most important functional element aspiration systems after the air pump - a unit for filtration, absorption and disposal of processing by-products. In this regard, there are a fairly large number of variations, but only a few are suitable for home workshops.

The first and most important element is a separation filter, otherwise called a cyclone. Its main purpose is to separate the largest fragments, such as shavings and wood chips, so that only a suspension of small particles enters the further cleaning cycle. The cyclone filter device is primitive, which is why many craftsmen make it on their own, however, the purchased option provides additional benefits. For example, due to the distributed feeding, more efficient particle settling is achieved, in addition, in some models, the possibility of wet absorption is provided, which reduces the amount of fine dust at the exit.

Sometimes aspiration systems do not have a filter element other than a cyclone filter. For example, if air is discharged outside, a fine filtration system is simply not required. This approach is not always reasonable: in winter, when working exhaust system with a powerful air pump, heat is thrown out of the room almost instantly, which forces the installation of fine filters. In the simplest case, these are conventional collection bags that retain the bulk of fine dust, this option is most typical for local installations. The highest quality of air purification is characterized by dust removal systems, the main unit of which is a vacuum cleaner with two or more cleaning stages. Trunk vacuum cleaners can also be equipped with a wide range of cleaning elements, although paper bags and corrugated ones are most often used air filters by type of automobile.

Catchers and other accessories

In conclusion, it is worth talking about those elements that are given the least importance, although their importance can hardly be overestimated. We are talking about all kinds of sockets, receiving funnels and casings, as well as the appropriateness of their use with one or another type of equipment.

As already mentioned, when working on grinding machines an impressive amount of microscopic dust is formed. When connecting an aspiration system to such equipment, the main focus is on capturing precisely the smallest particles, while large chips can freely fall on the floor and then be collected manually or with a vacuum cleaner. If you use receiving funnels in such cases, the air flow from the working body itself will create turbulence and the capture of fine dust will become possible only if there is a sufficiently strong suction. It would be most sensible to eliminate the suction spigot and place the suction nozzle in close proximity to the treatment area.

But where sockets are really needed, it is in milling, turning and sawing machines, as well as on planing equipment. Here, the main emphasis is on drawing in large shavings and sawdust, therefore the best option will equip working area a receiving casing that repeats the shape of the working body as accurately as possible and adjoins stationary surfaces as tightly as possible. Please note that the optimal total cross-section of the gap on all sides of the casing should be 1.5-2 times the nominal bore of the channel with which the machine is connected to the dust removal system. At high values, the use of sealing brushes is recommended, this is especially important for milling equipment.