Air Filtration in the Automotive Industry

The Auto Industry Manufacturing Needs Clean Air

The automotive industry has been humming along for over a century and has continued to grow to what it is today. Along the way, pioneers developed ways to assemble more automobiles faster and more affordable to the masses. With this came regulations, restrictions and standards. OSHA was created to help control what is being emitted into the environment or inhaled into the body. The need for industrial air filtration or industrial air cleaning has never been more important. Automotive air filtration systems are designed specifically for environments that are cutting, welding and grinding parts in the facility. Inside the facility, the oil, smoke, mist and particulate are emitted in the ambient air reducing the air quality and overall safety of workers.

Keeping the Air Clean and Safe in the Automotive Production Facility

Air pollution from the industrial machinery needs to be controlled in a manner that is safe and lawful. Most industrial air filtration systems have filters, cells or electrostatic precipitators that collect all kinds of impurities that can cause health issues or machine downtime that costs the company millions of dollars in some cases. The facilities that run 24/7 are vulnerable to any issues that prevent production of a product. Orders can be late, not pass inspection or cause parts to fail in the field. A few examples of pollutants that can cause risk are the following:

Metal and Fiberglass Dust – Some can be so fine that they are carried into the air from sanding or friction based processes. The heavier particulate may make it to the floor but combined with oil or mist can be a disaster which can cause a slip and fall.

Fumes and Gasses – The stuff you can’t see may be the most hazardous. Welding and soldering are a common way to join two metals together but that creates fumes. Whether it is a high risk of fire or explosion, the byproduct of certain processes that create issues. Electrostatic precipitators can filter out most of the heavier particulate but the final stage of filtration will attract the particles with electrically charged wires if the system is working correctly.

Oil & Smoke – Aside from the obvious, breathing in either of these during part of a shift is very serious. They also can be suspended in the air for a period of time and get carried into areas where they don’t belong. In most cases if the industrial air filtration system in the automotive factory is not doing a good job the oil and smoke can end up on or in a part that will not work properly if it has impurities on it.

Dirty Air is a Problem, How Do You Fix It or Prevent It

Assuming the automotive air filtration systems are sized properly, the only other variables are keeping the industrial air filters clean and equipment maintained. The parts are usually pretty robust but can fail if the filters are not cleaned, washed or replaced. Most air filtration systems don’t need a replacement filter unless they were neglected and whatever was being filtered from the air is baked onto the electrostatic precipitator itself. It is better to clean and maintain the cells along the way at a frequency that fits the production demand. It could be once a month, quarterly, bi-yearly or yearly. Some machines run 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, while others in a different area of the facility may just serve one purpose and doesn’t run much. That is why it is best to get a professional air filtration expert to evaluate the facility create a maintenance schedule that matches the process.

Your Air is Our Business

The industrial production process for the automotive industry has no shortage of these risks but they can be controlled and managed through our filter exchange program. Air quality control is the key to keeping your employees safe and healthy while adhering to OSHA requirements and by default your facility will be efficient and productive. It all starts with clean air and ASC Industrial Air can help you with the dirty work. Maintaining electrostatic precipitators is hard, dirty work so we created a tried and true program to keep your facility running smoothly with little to no downtime! Give us a call today so we can help you along the way.