PROJECT · UTILITY TIE-INS · AIR + ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS
Dust Collection and Air Handling System Installation
The collector is 20% of the project. The other 80% is ductwork, structure, and holes in your building.
Dust collection and environmental system installation, and large-scale process enclosure and air handling installation, from the M3E project portfolio.
Project photography
DUCT AND PIPE — HUNG AND BRANCHEDM3E-PRJ-07 · FIG 01 ACCESS PLATFORM — CONVEYOR AND HOPPERM3E-PRJ-07 · FIG 02 COLLECTOR PACKAGE — RIGGEDM3E-PRJ-07 · FIG 03 DUCT RISER — EQUIPMENT TIE-INM3E-PRJ-07 · FIG 04 PROCESS SKID — PIPED AND VALVEDM3E-PRJ-07 · FIG 05 TANK FARM — ACCESS AND WALKWAYM3E-PRJ-07 · FIG 06
Everyone budgets the collector. Almost nobody budgets the rest.
A dust collection quote from an equipment supplier covers a collector, a fan, and maybe a hopper. It is a clean number and it is roughly a fifth of what the installed system costs.
The rest is:
The full detail
Ductwork. Hundreds of feet of it, routed through a building full of existing pipe, conduit, sprinkler mains, and lighting, sized correctly for transport velocity so the material does not settle out and plug the run.
Structure. The collector needs a support structure or a foundation. The duct needs hangers and supports every few feet. Roof-mounted equipment needs curbs and a roof that can carry it.
Penetrations. Every wall and roof the duct passes through is a detail, and on a rated wall it is a fire damper and an inspection.
Make-up air. Pull 20,000 CFM out of a building and 20,000 CFM has to come back in, conditioned, or you create a negative pressure problem that shows up as doors that will not open and combustion appliances that backdraft.
Electrical and controls. Starters, interlocks with the process equipment, and the sequence that keeps the collector running when it needs to.
The tie-in. Connecting to existing process equipment that is still running.
Which is why the honest way to price this is as a project, not as a piece of equipment.
What M3E covers
| Scope | Detail |
|---|---|
| Air and environmental systems | A defined part of our utility tie-ins mechanical scope |
| Dust collection and air handling systems | A defined installation category |
| Ductwork fabrication and installation | Fabricated in house where the design calls for custom work |
| Structural supports and platforms | Collector supports, duct hangers, and access. See steel fabrication |
| Rigging and setting | In-house rigging for collectors and fans. See rigging |
| Process enclosures | Where the collection is part of an enclosed process. See specialized enclosures |
| Equipment integration | Tie-in to the process equipment generating the dust |
| Utility coordination | Electrical, air, and process services |
Ask it before you buy the collector, not after
A large share of industrial dust is combustible. Grain and seed dust, wood dust, sugar and flour, many plastics and metals, and a long list of chemical powders all carry a deflagration hazard once suspended in air, which is exactly what a dust collection system does by design.
That changes the project. Explosion protection, isolation, venting, collector location, and duct design all become governed by the hazard rather than by convenience, and a system designed without that consideration can concentrate a risk that was previously diffuse.
We build hazardous-area enclosures including explosion rooms and we install collection systems, so the question gets asked early rather than after the equipment is purchased.
Where this work shows up
| Industry | Typical source |
|---|---|
| Seed processing | Cleaning, handling, conveying, and drying |
| Manufacturing | Grinding, cutting, welding fume, and finishing |
| Food processing | Dry ingredient handling, mixing, and packaging |
| Chemical processing | Powder handling, mixing, and transfer |
| Universities | Shop, lab, and facilities exhaust |
| Packaging | Trim, dust, and paper waste collection |
Divisions
Related services
Utility Tie-Ins and Process Piping
Process utility piping, industrial plumbing, secondary containment, air and environmental systems. Bundled with a project or contracted standalone.
Industrial Equipment Installation and Integration
Industrial equipment installation inside live plants. Structural supports, rigging, utility tie-ins, and commissioning support. 600 miles from Sacramento.
Industries
Industries this work runs in
Seed Processing and Conditioning Equipment
Seed processing and conditioning equipment: dryers, priming rooms, cleaners, conveyance. Designed, fabricated, and installed by one accountable team.
Food and Beverage Processing Equipment Installation
Food and beverage processing equipment installation inside live plants. Sanitary supports, utility tie-ins, washdown design. 600 miles from Sacramento.
Manufacturing and Assembly Line Equipment Installation
Manufacturing and assembly line equipment installation in live plants. Rigging, structural supports, utility tie-ins, commissioning support.
Common questions
Do you design the dust collection system or just install it?
Both are available. Engineering and design are available nationwide, and we regularly install systems designed by a collector manufacturer or a process engineer. If a supplier has sized the collector and the duct, we build to that design and flag anything we believe will not work before fabrication. If you have a dust problem and no design, that is engineering work we can take on.
Can you install a collection system while we are running?
Usually most of it, with the tie-ins scheduled into a defined window. Ductwork, structural supports, and the collector itself often go in around production. The connections to process equipment are what require the plant down, and prefabricating duct sections and supports in the shop is how that window gets compressed.
Who handles the roof penetration?
It has to be coordinated, because a badly detailed roof penetration is a leak that shows up next winter. We fabricate and install the curb and structural support, and the roofing and flashing tie-in is coordinated with the roofing contractor or the building's roofing warranty holder. Cutting a hole in a warrantied roof without involving them is a common and expensive mistake.
What about make-up air?
It has to be part of the project. Exhausting significant airflow from a building without replacing it creates a negative pressure condition with real consequences, including doors that will not open, combustion appliance backdrafting, and infiltration of unconditioned outside air. Air and environmental systems, including make-up air, are within our mechanical scope.
Is our dust combustible?
That is determined by testing the actual material, not by assumption, and the determination drives the entire system design. If a dust hazard analysis has already been performed for your process, send it with the RFQ. If not, it should be part of the project's front end rather than a question raised after equipment is ordered.
Tell us what generates the dust and where it can go
The source equipment and the available route for duct and collector location shape everything else.