Welding fumes in production affects both product quality and the health of employees.

Arçelık, a multinational household appliances manufacturer and a member of Turkey’s largest conglomerate, Koç Group, was facing challenges with welding fumes in their production affecting both product quality and the health of their employees. To improve the working conditions and the product quality, Arçelık turned to Nederman who as well as addressing the immediate concerns also contributed to increased efficiency and reduced operating costs.

A need of increased welding quality, production capacity and improved working conditions

As a specialist in the manufacture of mini ovens, producing approximately 2,500,000 annually at its facilities in Bolu, Arçelık was determined to increase the welding quality, the production capacity and improve the working conditions for their employees. Like most welding facilities, Arçelık was facing challenges with welding fumes spreading into the working environment. Welding fumes can cause hazardous health problems if inhaled by the workers, negatively affect the product quality and damage the production equipment when allowed to build up on workstations. Controlling welding fumes is typically achieved through a combination of extraction and ventilation. The absolute most efficient technique is extraction at the source to capture the fume before it spreads in the area and reaches the welder’s breathing zone, thereby significantly reducing the risk to the welder. Due to the large scale production of wire grids for the mini ovens, Arçelık needed fume extraction at 20 different welding points to ensure the fumes were removed at the source before reaching the product and the operator.

Welding fume extraction at 20 different welding points

Nederman offered the Nederman MCP 6-24S SmartFilter which with its modular design allows for stand-alone solutions as well as multi-filter solutions for extended requirements. Special hoods were installed on the automatic machines at the 20 extraction points, supported by a Combifab F40-R500 with drive configurations tailored to the specific application and the Lime feeder type NFKG-70 integrated into the filter system, dosing a precoat- like lime to enhance the filtration process. The solution significantly improved the working conditions protecting the health of the employees. A more efficient operation of the welding machine has been achieved as well as better welding quality and production capacity. The investment also generates cost savings thanks to less wear and tear on machinery.

 

"According to our Nederman satisfaction in this project,
we are thinking of replacing the non-working systems of other brands with Nederman."
- Arçelık Investment Project Team

 

Benefits with the modular MCP SmartFilter from Nederman

• Complete installation solving the unique needs of the large production
• Extraction at the source to remove the welding fume before reaching the product and the operator
• Prevents automictic welding machine from malfunctioning

The value of welding fume extraction

• Clean and healthy working environment
• Increased production quality
• More efficient operation