Dust Collection for Electronics Manufacturing

Dust is inevitable, regardless of how meticulous the plan to combat it. However, managing dust with the right dust-collection system can increase efficiency and eliminate side effects of dust and the electro-static discharge it can cause.

Air quality should be a concern for OEM’s who don’t have the proper dust-collection program in place. The long list of hazardous materials involved in creating electronic components poses a serious risk to workers along the manufacturing line.

Materials used in refining, etching and washing of electronic components—such as arsenic, trichloroethylene and even hydrochloric acid—each create significant health risks. These risks can be exacerbated when dust particulates become airborne. A high quality dust-collection system can reduce exposure to these materials, protecting workers’ health and increasing productivity on the factory floor.

Electronics are especially sensitive to static electricity and can be compromised by dust attraction that happens in even the cleanest facilities. Understandably, OEM factories have equipment to ionize and dry the air. This can give the illusion of a clean environment, but dust particulates in the ambient air can be easily attracted to the static charge along the product line. Ideal dust collection pulls dust particles that might be drawn to a static charge and compromise end-product integrity out of the air completely, either at the source or location of delicate processes (as with a source-capture option), or from the surrounding air (with an ambient-air option).

Another factor with dust in any manufacturing environment is dust combustion. Along with being attracted to static electricity, particulates suspended in the air create friction when moving around each other. This expands the gases between the particles. When this expansion occurs, it can create a chain reaction that causes combustion. This chain reaction within an enclosed space, such as a manufacturing facility, could ultimately lead to an explosion. With the materials and dry environment present in most electronics plants, the risk of explosion is a significant concern.