The Importance of Hoods

Hoods are one of the most important parts of a dust collection system. They’re the first point of contact between manufacturing processes and their dust collection systems, picking up dust-laden air and carrying it to the collector.

A well-designed, properly located hood will collect most, if not all, dusty air with the lowest possible airflow required. Poorly designed hoods, on the other hand, will let dust escape and/or require more airflow than appropriate. Unfortunately, the more airflow the hood requires, the bigger and more expensive the rest of the system will be. There is not a universal one size fits all hood; each should be designed around the application and in tandem with the dust collection process.

Some things to consider: Hood Location

The closer a hood is to the location of dust generation, the smaller the airflow, ducting, and energy needed for proper collection. When we think about hood design, it’s important to think about the location of dust generation, and that the goal should be to place the hood where it will draw dirty air away from employees in the environment. This is one way to institute the idea of designing a system around a hood, so that employees are always protected from dust discharge, and that dust discharge is intercepted by a hood in a prime location.

Designing the system with the hood in mind

During the design process, it’s critical to visually understand how the hood fits into the bigger picture of both the manufacturing process and the subsequent dust collection system. If an in-person visit isn’t possible, videos and pictures are definitely required to get the right idea of how and where the hood should sit to be the most effective. A layout of the area generating the dust, including equipment and traffic sources is required so that the hood can be installed as close as possible to the generation point(s).

To summarize, the success of the dust collection system is dependent on the orientation of the hood. Hoods that are poorly designed will allow dust to escape the system and collect in work areas. Additionally, the further they are from the point of generation, the more they have to compensate; the resulting dust collection system will be larger and more expensive to purchase and operate. It is always ideal to have the hood as close to the point of generation as possible.

Although the dust collection system in its entirety is important, the hood is the only part that removes dust from the relevant manufacturing process. All other components deal with dusty airstreams that have already been removed from that process.