Today we will tell you about a cyclone filter for a vacuum cleaner in a workshop, because one of the problems that you have to deal with in woodworking is dust removal. Industrial equipment is quite expensive, so we will make a cyclone with our own hands - it is completely easy.
What is a cyclone and why is it needed
In the workshop, there is almost always a need to clean up garbage of a fairly large fraction. Sawdust, small scraps, metal shavings - all this, in principle, can be captured by a regular vacuum cleaner filter, but it is highly likely to quickly deteriorate. In addition, it will not be superfluous to remove liquid waste.
The cyclone filter uses aerodynamic vortex to bind together different sized specks. Spinning in a circle, the garbage manages to stick together to such a consistency when it can no longer be carried away by the air flow and settles at the bottom. This effect almost always occurs if the air flow passes through the cylindrical container at a sufficient speed.
Filters of this kind are included in the set of many industrial vacuum cleaners, but their cost cannot be called affordable for the layman. At the same time, the range of tasks solved with the help of home-made devices is not at all narrower. The handicraft cyclone can be used both in conjunction with planers, punchers or jigsaws, and for removing sawdust or shavings from various kinds of machines. In the end, even simple cleaning with such a device is much easier, because the bulk of the dust and debris settles in a container, from where it can be easily removed.
Difference between wet and dry cyclone
To create a swirling flow, the main requirement is that the air entering the tank does not follow the shortest path to the exhaust port. For this, the inlet pipe must have a special shape and be directed either to the bottom of the tank or tangentially to the walls. By a similar principle, it is recommended to make the exhaust duct rotatable, optimally if it is directed towards the cover of the device. The increase in aerodynamic drag due to pipe bends can be neglected.
As already mentioned, the cyclone filter has the potential to remove liquid waste as well. With the liquid, everything is somewhat more complicated: the air in the pipe and the cyclone is partially rarefied, which contributes to the evaporation of moisture and its breakdown into very small droplets. Therefore, the inlet must be placed as close to the surface of the water as possible, or even lowered under it.
In most vacuum cleaners, air is drawn into the water through a diffuser, so any moisture in it is effectively dissolved. However, for greater versatility with a minimum amount of rework, it is not recommended to use such a scheme.
We make from scrap materials
The simplest and most affordable option for a cyclone container would be a bucket of paint or other building mixtures. The volume should be comparable to the power of the vacuum cleaner used, approximately one liter for every 80-100 watts.
The lid of the bucket must be intact and fit tightly on the body of the future cyclone. It will have to be finalized by making a couple of holes. Regardless of the material of the bucket, the easiest way to make holes of the correct diameter is to use a homemade compass. Two self-tapping screws must be screwed into the wooden lath so that their points are at a distance of 27 mm from each other, no more, no less.
The centers of the holes should be marked 40 mm from the edge of the lid, it is desirable that they are as far away from each other as possible. Both metal and plastic are perfectly scratched out with such a homemade tool, forming smooth edges with virtually no scoring.
The second element of the cyclone will be a set of sewer elbows at 90º and 45º. We draw your attention in advance that the position of the corners should correspond to the direction of the air flow. They are mounted in the housing cover as follows:
- The knee is inserted all the way into the flare rim. A silicone sealant is preliminarily applied under the side.
- From the reverse side, the rubber sealing ring is pulled with force onto the socket. To be sure, it can be additionally squeezed with a screw clamp.
The inlet pipe is located with a narrow turning part inside the bucket, the bell is on the outside almost flush with the lid. The knee should be provided with one more turn at 45º and directed obliquely downward and tangentially to the side of the bucket. If the cyclone is made with the expectation of wet cleaning, the extreme knee should be extended with a pipe cut, reducing the distance from the bottom to 10-15 cm.
The exhaust connection is in the reverse position and its mouth is located under the bucket lid. You also need to insert one elbow into it so that the air intake occurs at the wall or make two turns for suction from under the center of the lid. The latter is preferable. Do not forget about the O-rings, for a more reliable fixation and to prevent the knees from turning, they can be wrapped with plumbing tape.
How to adapt the device for machine tools and tools
To be able to draw in waste when working with hand-held and stationary tools, an adapter system is required. Typically, a hose for a vacuum cleaner ends in a curved tube, the diameter of which is comparable to the fittings for dust bags of power tools. As a last resort, you can seal the joint with several layers of double-sided mirror tape wrapped in vinyl tape to eliminate stickiness.
With stationary equipment, everything is more complicated. Dust collectors have a very different configuration, especially with homemade machines, so you can only give a few useful recommendations:
- If the machine's dust extraction is designed for 110 mm or larger hose, use plumbing transitions 50 mm in diameter to connect the corrugated hose of the vacuum cleaner.
- It is convenient to use press fittings for HDPE pipes 50 mm for joining with a dust catcher of home-made machines.
- When designing the hood and dust trap, use the convection flow created by the moving parts of the tool for greater efficiency. For example: the sawdust outlet from the circular saw should be directed tangentially to the saw blade.
- Sometimes it is required to provide dust extraction from different sides of the workpiece, for example, for a band saw or router. Use 50mm sewer tees and corrugated drain hoses.
Which vacuum cleaner and connection system to use
Usually, a vacuum cleaner for a homemade cyclone is not chosen independently, but the one that is available is used. However, there are a number of limitations in addition to the power mentioned above. If you want to continue using the vacuum cleaner for domestic purposes, then at a minimum, you will need to find an additional hose.
The beauty of the sewer elbows used in the construction is that they ideally fit the diameter of the most common hoses. Therefore, the spare hose can be safely cut into 2/3 and 1/3, a shorter length should be docked with the vacuum cleaner. Another, longer section, as it is, is fed into the flare of the cyclone inlet pipe. The maximum that is required in this place is to seal the connection with silicone sealant or plumbing tape, but usually the fit is quite high. Especially with an O-ring.
The video shows another example of making a cyclone for dust removal in a workshop
To pull a short piece of hose over the exhaust pipe, the edge of the corrugated pipe will have to be leveled. Depending on the diameter of the hose, it may be more convenient to tuck it inward. If the straightened edge does not fit a little on the pipe, it is recommended to warm it up a little with a hairdryer or indirect flame of a gas burner. The latter is considered an excellent option, because this way the connection will be located optimally in relation to the direction of the moving stream.
If a person has his own workshop, then one of the most important issues is cleaning the premises. But unlike cleaning dust in an apartment, an ordinary household vacuum cleaner will not help here, since it is not designed for construction waste and sawdust - its garbage container (dust collector or bag) will clog up very quickly and become unusable. Therefore, a homemade cyclone filter is often used, which, together with a household vacuum cleaner, will help clean up the workshop.
Introduction
Wood dust and other technical debris, although it seems harmless at first glance, in fact, are fraught with many different dangers, both for the master and for the equipment. For example, prolonged work without protective equipment that prevents dust from entering the respiratory system can cause serious complications with the respiratory tract, impair the sense of smell, etc. In addition, an instrument that is exposed to dust in a workshop can quickly fail. This is due to the fact that:
- dust, mixing with the lubricant inside the tool, forms a mixture that is completely unsuitable for lubricating moving parts, which as a result leads to overheating and further breakdown
- dust can impede the rotation of the moving parts of the tool, which leads to additional loads, overheating and failure,
- dust clogs the air ducts designed to ventilate the heated parts of the tool and remove heat from them, resulting in overheating, deformation and failure of them again.
Thus, the issue of the quality of removal of sawing products and, in general, cleaning the room is very acute. Modern power tools are equipped with systems for removing dust and chips directly from the sawing area, which prevents dust from spreading throughout the workshop. In any case, a vacuum cleaner (or chip sucker) is needed for the dust removal process!
There are good industrial vacuum cleaners and if possible, it is better to choose the most optimal option in terms of price and quality and buy a construction vacuum cleaner.
Nevertheless, there are times when there is already a household vacuum cleaner and it is easier to upgrade it and solve the problem of collecting construction waste indoors. To do this, you need to use a cyclone filter - it is done in half an hour with all the necessary elements.
Principle of operation
There are a great many different designs of cyclones, but all of them are united by the same principle of operation. All designs of cyclonic chip suckers consist of three main parts:
- Household vacuum cleaner
- Cyclone filter
- Garbage collection container
Its design is such that the flow of the intake air is directed in a circle and its rotational movement is obtained. Accordingly, a centrifugal force acts on the construction waste contained in this air stream (these are large and heavy fractions), which presses it against the walls of the cyclone chamber and, under the action of gravity, it gradually settles in the tank.
The disadvantage of a cyclonic vacuum cleaner is that only dry garbage can be collected in this way, but if there is water in the garbage, then there will be problems with the suction of such a substance.
The vacuum cleaner must be powerful enough, since in its normal operation it is supposed to suck in air through a standard hose. If an additional cyclone filter is used, an additional filter appears in the air path, and the total length of the duct is more than doubled due to the additional duct. Since the design is as maneuverable as a separate vacuum cleaner, the length of the last hose should be sufficient for comfortable work.
Preparatory work
As mentioned above, you can make a cyclone filter for a workshop in half an hour, but for this you need to check the availability of everything you need for the production of a chip sucker with your own hands, namely: tools, materials and consumables.
Instruments
For the production of work, tracking tools will be needed:
- electric drill,
- screwdriver,
- jigsaw,
- compass,
- clamps,
- Phillips screwdriver,
- pencil,
- for wood (50-60mm),
- kit .
Materials and fasteners
Materials can be used both new and used, so carefully review the list below - you may already have something in stock;
- The air duct (hose) for the vacuum cleaner is corrugated or in a textile braid.
- A sewer pipe with a diameter of 50 mm and a length of 100–150 mm, at one end of which the air duct of your household vacuum cleaner must be inserted.
- Sewer outlet 30 or 45 degrees, 100-200 mm long, at one end of which the air duct specified in clause 1 will be inserted in the future.
- Bucket ("large") plastic 11-26 liters with a hermetically sealed lid.
- Bucket ("small") plastic 5-11 liters. Note. It is important that the difference between the two maximum diameters of the buckets is about 60–70 mm.
- Sheet 15–20 mm thick. Note. The sheet size must be larger than the maximum diameter of the Large Bucket.
- Self-tapping screws for wood with a flat wide head and a length of 2/3 of the thickness.
- Gel sealant is universal.
Table of standard sizes of round plastic buckets.
| Volume, l | Cover diameter, mm | Height, mm |
| 1,0 | 125 | 115 |
| 1,2 | 132 | 132 |
| 2,2 | 160 | 150 |
| 2,3 | 175 | 133 |
| 2,6 | 200 | 124 |
| 3,0 | 200 | 139 |
| 3,4 | 200 | 155 |
| 3,8 | 200 | 177 |
| 3,8 | 200 | 177 |
| 5,0 | 225 | 195 |
| 11 | 292 | 223 |
| 18 | 326 | 275 |
| 21 | 326 | 332 |
| 26 | 380 | 325 |
| 33 | 380 | 389 |
Making a cyclone filter
Creating a homemade chip sucker consists of a number of stages:
- Create anchor ring and shaped insert
- Installing the retaining ring
- Installing the side pipe
- Top entry setting
- Installing curly insert
- Assembling the cyclone filter
Create anchor ring and shaped insert
It is necessary to cut off the side of the small bucket, which is used to fasten the lid. As a result, you should get such a cylinder (well, a little on a cone).
We do the markup - we put a small bucket on and draw a line along the edge - we get a circle.
Then we determine the center of this circle (see the school geometry course) and mark another circle, the radius of which is 30 mm larger than the existing one. Then we mark out the ring and the curly insert, as shown in the figure.
Installing the retaining ring
We fix the ring on the edge of the small bucket so that we get a side. We fix it with self-tapping screws. It is advisable to pre-drill the holes so as not to split.
We mark the roof of the large bucket. For marking, you need to put the bucket itself on the lid of a large bucket and circle its outline. It is better to do the markings with a felt-tip pen, since the trace is clearly visible.
It is important to note that all joints must be sealed, respectively, before installing the cover, you need to coat the joint with sealant. You also need to grease the junction of the wooden ring and the small bucket.
Installing the side pipe
The side pipe is made from a sewer outlet of 30 degrees (or 45 degrees). To install it, you need to drill a hole in the upper part of the small bucket with a crown. Note that the bottom of the small bucket is now the top.
Top entry setting
To make the top entry, you need to drill a hole in the upper part of the chip sucker (small bucket), that is, in the center of the former bottom.
To firmly fix the inlet pipe, you need to use an additional strength element in the form of a 20 mm thick square billet with a central hole for a 50 mm pipe.
The fixing of this workpiece is carried out from below with four self-tapping screws. Before installation, for tightness, the joint must be greased with a sealant.
Installing curly insert
The shaped insert is a very important component of a homemade chip sucker, it must be fixed inside the cyclone filter, as shown in the photo.
Assembling the cyclone filter
Then it is necessary to correctly connect the air ducts:
- Upper branch pipe - to a household vacuum cleaner
- Angled elbow entering at an angle from the side - to the hose.
Homemade cyclone vacuum cleaner (chip sucker) is ready.
Video
Video used for this review:
A very simple Cyclone made from scrap materials, it copes well with its job of servicing a homemade CNC router.
In the video: the first turn on, the test showed that the lower bottle needs to be stiffened, which was done.
Materials and tools:
1. An old working vacuum cleaner and two hoses to it
Sewer pipes PVC D = 100mm, D = 40mm
Sample pipes
2. Thin sheet metal ~ 0.2-0.5mm or roofing metal profile (must be straightened with a hammer)
3. Two plastic bottles of 2.5 liters with corks, an eggplant of 5 liters.
4. Scissors for metal, el. drill, drills, paper scissors, knife, PVC electrical tape, hot glue gun, riveter and rivets
5. Welding electrodes or similar rods 6 pieces, wide adhesive tape, pencil
Purpose:
The Cyclone filter is designed for rough cleaning of the intake air; it removes heavy fractions before the air enters the pump turbine impeller. Thanks to this, it is possible to suck in sufficiently large debris, shavings, chips and it will not damage or clog the pump impeller when using a vacuum cleaner without a bag or bag.
Application:
For collecting shavings from the working area of the machine, drill, electric planer, saw, etc.
An example of the use of this homemade Cyclone
Works with CNC router
The principle of operation of the Cyclone is shown in the figure below.
The sucked-in air with debris swirls into a spiral vortex of high speed, large particles are pressed by centrifugal force against the pipe wall and spiral under their own weight slide into the bottle collector.
Manufacturing:
We cut pipes with a diameter of 100 mm from PVC. straight section 400-500 mm. , a flat area without fasteners, this will be the Cyclone body.
Cut off from a pipe with a diameter of 40 mm. a section of 100 mm. shorter than the body (this is the exit to the vacuum cleaner) and a segment with a length of 150 mm. (garbage suction). On sheet metal, we draw three identical circles, with a diameter equal to the inner diameter of the body pipe, it is convenient to circle it directly through the pipe with a pencil, in the center of these circles we draw more circles equal to the outer diameter of a thin pipe, circle it along the pipe with a pencil.
[u] Scheme
Cut out the circles with metal scissors, then cut the circles to the middle, as in the diagram, cut out the inner circles. We connect the resulting circles with the help of rivets into a single spiral. We put it on a thin pipe, distribute the turns evenly and additionally glue everything with hot glue from a pistol.
Now we put the neatly obtained construction of the spiral into the body, if necessary, cut the hooks, leave the protrusion outward as in the diagram.
In the upper part of the body pipe, we drill a hole for the pipe (suction), we straighten with a knife to get the correct oval, for tight fastening of the pipe.
We insert the pipe and direct it as in the diagram, tangentially, we glue everything well from the pistol.
We cut out the cap from a five-liter eggplant with scissors, remove the threaded neck, adjust the hole for the tight fit of the D-40 mm pipe, put it on the body and glue it at the top and bottom with hot melt glue.
Cut off 2/3 of the length of the 2.5 liter bottle and put it on from the bottom of the body, glue it.
Today we will tell you about a cyclone filter for a vacuum cleaner in a workshop, because one of the problems that you have to deal with in woodworking is dust removal. Industrial equipment is quite expensive, so we will make a cyclone with our own hands - it is completely easy.
What is a cyclone and why is it needed
In the workshop, there is almost always a need to clean up garbage of a fairly large fraction. Sawdust, small scraps, metal shavings - all this, in principle, can be captured by a regular vacuum cleaner filter, but it is highly likely to quickly deteriorate. In addition, it will not be superfluous to remove liquid waste.
The cyclone filter uses aerodynamic vortex to bind together different sized specks. Spinning in a circle, the garbage manages to stick together to such a consistency when it can no longer be carried away by the air flow and settles at the bottom. This effect almost always occurs if the air flow passes through the cylindrical container at a sufficient speed.
Filters of this kind are included in the set of many industrial vacuum cleaners, but their cost cannot be called affordable for the layman. At the same time, the range of tasks solved with the help of home-made devices is not at all narrower. The handicraft cyclone can be used both in conjunction with planers, punchers or jigsaws, and for removing sawdust or shavings from various kinds of machines. In the end, even simple cleaning with such a device is much easier, because the bulk of the dust and debris settles in a container, from where it can be easily removed.
Difference between wet and dry cyclone
To create a swirling flow, the main requirement is that the air entering the tank does not follow the shortest path to the exhaust port. For this, the inlet pipe must have a special shape and be directed either to the bottom of the tank or tangentially to the walls. By a similar principle, it is recommended to make the exhaust duct rotatable, optimally if it is directed towards the cover of the device. The increase in aerodynamic drag due to pipe bends can be neglected.
As already mentioned, the cyclone filter has the potential to remove liquid waste as well. With the liquid, everything is somewhat more complicated: the air in the pipe and the cyclone is partially rarefied, which contributes to the evaporation of moisture and its breakdown into very small droplets. Therefore, the inlet must be placed as close to the surface of the water as possible, or even lowered under it.
In most vacuum cleaners, air is drawn into the water through a diffuser, so any moisture in it is effectively dissolved. However, for greater versatility with a minimum amount of rework, it is not recommended to use such a scheme.
We make from scrap materials
The simplest and most affordable option for a cyclone container would be a bucket of paint or other building mixtures. The volume should be comparable to the power of the vacuum cleaner used, approximately one liter for every 80-100 watts.
The lid of the bucket must be intact and fit tightly on the body of the future cyclone. It will have to be finalized by making a couple of holes. Regardless of the material of the bucket, the easiest way to make holes of the correct diameter is to use a homemade compass. Two self-tapping screws must be screwed into the wooden lath so that their points are at a distance of 27 mm from each other, no more, no less.
The centers of the holes should be marked 40 mm from the edge of the lid, it is desirable that they are as far away from each other as possible. Both metal and plastic are perfectly scratched out with such a homemade tool, forming smooth edges with virtually no scoring.
The second element of the cyclone will be a set of sewer elbows at 90º and 45º. We draw your attention in advance that the position of the corners should correspond to the direction of the air flow. They are mounted in the housing cover as follows:
- The knee is inserted all the way into the flare rim. A silicone sealant is preliminarily applied under the side.
- From the reverse side, the rubber sealing ring is pulled with force onto the socket. To be sure, it can be additionally squeezed with a screw clamp.
The inlet pipe is located with a narrow turning part inside the bucket, the bell is on the outside almost flush with the lid. The knee should be provided with one more turn at 45º and directed obliquely downward and tangentially to the side of the bucket. If the cyclone is made with the expectation of wet cleaning, the extreme knee should be extended with a pipe cut, reducing the distance from the bottom to 10-15 cm.
The exhaust connection is in the reverse position and its mouth is located under the bucket lid. You also need to insert one elbow into it so that the air intake occurs at the wall or make two turns for suction from under the center of the lid. The latter is preferable. Do not forget about the O-rings, for a more reliable fixation and to prevent the knees from turning, they can be wrapped with plumbing tape.
How to adapt the device for machine tools and tools
To be able to draw in waste when working with hand-held and stationary tools, an adapter system is required. Typically, a hose for a vacuum cleaner ends in a curved tube, the diameter of which is comparable to the fittings for dust bags of power tools. As a last resort, you can seal the joint with several layers of double-sided mirror tape wrapped in vinyl tape to eliminate stickiness.
With stationary equipment, everything is more complicated. Dust collectors have a very different configuration, especially with homemade machines, so you can only give a few useful recommendations:
- If the machine's dust extraction is designed for 110 mm or larger hose, use plumbing transitions 50 mm in diameter to connect the corrugated hose of the vacuum cleaner.
- It is convenient to use press fittings for HDPE pipes 50 mm for joining with a dust catcher of home-made machines.
- When designing the hood and dust trap, use the convection flow created by the moving parts of the tool for greater efficiency. For example: the sawdust outlet from the circular saw should be directed tangentially to the saw blade.
- Sometimes it is required to provide dust extraction from different sides of the workpiece, for example, for a band saw or router. Use 50mm sewer tees and corrugated drain hoses.
Which vacuum cleaner and connection system to use
Usually, a vacuum cleaner for a homemade cyclone is not chosen independently, but the one that is available is used. However, there are a number of limitations in addition to the power mentioned above. If you want to continue using the vacuum cleaner for domestic purposes, then at a minimum, you will need to find an additional hose.
The beauty of the sewer elbows used in the construction is that they ideally fit the diameter of the most common hoses. Therefore, the spare hose can be safely cut into 2/3 and 1/3, a shorter length should be docked with the vacuum cleaner. Another, longer section, as it is, is fed into the flare of the cyclone inlet pipe. The maximum that is required in this place is to seal the connection with silicone sealant or plumbing tape, but usually the fit is quite high. Especially with an O-ring.
The video shows another example of making a cyclone for dust removal in a workshop
To pull a short piece of hose over the exhaust pipe, the edge of the corrugated pipe will have to be leveled. Depending on the diameter of the hose, it may be more convenient to tuck it inward. If the straightened edge does not fit a little on the pipe, it is recommended to warm it up a little with a hairdryer or indirect flame of a gas burner. The latter is considered an excellent option, because this way the connection will be located optimally in relation to the direction of the moving stream.
A home vacuum cleaner is so common in the household that no one thinks about the principle of its operation. Since the invention of this assistant in cleaning premises, the only possible way to separate dust from clean air has been used - a filter.
Over the years, the filter element has been improved, from a banal bag made of thick tarpaulin, it has turned into high-tech membranes that retain the smallest particles of debris. At the same time, it was not possible to get rid of the main drawback.
Filter designers are constantly looking for a compromise between mesh density and air throughput. In addition, the more contaminated the membrane, the worse the air flow through it.
30 years ago, physicist James Dyson made a breakthrough in dust extraction technology.
He invented a compact dust separator based on the principle of centrifugal force. I must say that this idea was not new. Industrial sawmills have been using cyclone-type centrifugal collectors of opal and shavings for a long time.
But no one thought to apply this physical phenomenon in everyday life. In 1986 he registered a patent for the first cyclone vacuum cleaner, called G-Force.
In general, there are three ways to separate dust from clean air:
- Filtering membrane. The most massive and cheapest way to remove dust. It is used in most modern vacuum cleaners;
- Water filter. Air with debris passes through a container of water (like in a hookah), all particles remain in the liquid medium, and a perfectly clean air flow enters the outlet. Such devices gained popularity, but their use did not become widespread due to their high cost.
- Centrifugal dry filter of the "cyclone" type. It is a compromise in terms of cost and quality of purification in comparison with a membrane and a water filter. Let us dwell on this model in more detail.
How the cyclone works
The illustration shows the processes taking place in the cyclone filter chamber.
Contaminated air enters the cylindrical filter housing (2) through the branch pipe (1). The branch pipe is located tangentially to the walls of the housing, due to which the air flow (3) is twisted into a spiral along the walls of the cylinder.
Under the action of centrifugal force, dust particles (4) are pressed against the inner walls of the housing, and under the influence of gravity they settle into the dust collector (5). Air with the smallest particles of debris (which are not affected by centrifugal force) enters the chamber (6) with a conventional membrane filter. After final cleaning, they exit into the intake fan (7).
The membrane filter is minimally contaminated and only needs to be cleaned occasionally after cleaning. All the dirt is simply poured out of the drive, and the vacuum cleaner is ready to work again.
Vacuum cleaners with such a filter are cheaper than water vacuum cleaners, but still more expensive in comparison with membrane ones. Therefore, many craftsmen make a cyclone-type filter with their own hands, and connect it to the entrance to an ordinary vacuum cleaner.