Air-powered vacuum helps heavyweight coating company knock out shocks
Nature abhors a vacuum and so do the operators in a powder coating area of a metal fabrication shop after they get shocked while using an electric shop vacuum during their cleanup routine. To stop the static, the company brings in an air-powered vacuum that not only gets rid of dust, but also eliminates jumpiness in the maintenance crew.
Miller Welding & Iron Works, Washington, Ill., a custom job shop fabricator and finisher, likes living large. The company manufactures parts for off-road equipment, mining machinery, oil fields and offshore oilrigs, broadcast antennas, and farm equipment. "We're pretty diversified in whom we do work for," Sam Miller, company vice president, said. The parts it manufactures and finishes weigh as much as 4,000 pounds. As if that's not heavy enough though, the shop will be coating parts that weigh in close to 15,000 pounds once a new finishing booth is installed in its paint and powder coating area.