Project managers often make this mistake when searching for an industrial ventilation fabrication company.

Many project managers find themselves in a predicament after hiring the lowest bidder over the most detailed. They may need another metal fabrication contractor to come in after the first and do it correctly, effectively doubling or tripling their budget.

This guide helps you avoid the all-too-common pitfalls.

Tip #1: Ask about history and metal fabrication experience

There is no way around it: To become a skilled metal fabricator; one needs years of experience.

A competent custom industrial ventilation fabrication company will have a dense portfolio of projects, a long history of being in business and an experienced team. When you put in an inquiry, this should be one of the first questions you ask.

Tip #2: For custom metal fabrication, solicit a transparent, detailed project scope

Too often, when project managers sign with a company that offers the lowest bid, they later find the contractor was not detailed enough in their scope of work. That often results in a flurry of change orders or project rework. One way to avoid this mistake is by asking for a bid sample up front. This will allow you to see the detail at which a project is scoped and to provide feedback in advance of the bid being sent.

Tip #3: Ask if the company offers more than metal fabrication services

Engineering and design are typically handled by separate organizations. When different organizations handle various parts of the same project, disconnects in communication, process and progress can result.

IVI, on the other hand, is a full-service industrial ventilation design, engineering, manufacturing and installation company. That means the ��һ��ݶ�team oversees both engineering and design of your industrial ventilation system. This cuts the lags between handoffs lowering the risk of miscommunication. The result: Projects are more efficient and effective.

Ask the question up front, “Is your team capable of managing this project from start to finish? If not, what aspects are you willing to cover and how do you manage the transitions?”

Tip #4: Confirm metal fabrication equipment upgrade schedules

Any custom industrial ventilation fabrication company will be regularly updating and upgrading equipment for two reasons:

• Poorly updated equipment creates subpar products
• Equipment failures cause delays in project progress

Be sure and ask any prospective industrial ventilation manufacturer about current equipment, planned upgrades and if they have contingencies in place to mitigate equipment failure.

Tip #5: Find out how and when their project managers will be communicating with you

Last but not least, set clear expectations around how and when you will hear from your project manager. At what points in the project will they be communicating with you? How and when will delays or scope changes be addressed? Creating clear guidelines for communications up front sets you and your new project manager up for a successful professional relationship.

Bonus tip: safety plan

Does your prospective industrial ventilation fabrication company have a safety plan in place? Because safety incidents on a jobsite can affect your productivity, it’s critical to ask about safety training, safety plans and safety record.

Industrial ventilation company selection

Gathering the information outlined above can help you ensure the industrial ventilation company you select is the partner you want.

��һ��ݶ�has proudly been in the metal fabrication business for over 30 years, uses the most up-to-date equipment, and offers start-to-finish industrial ventilation design, engineering, custom metal fabrication and installation services on all of our custom projects.

Are you looking for an industrial ventilation fabrication company that can bring your idea to life? Get a quote today.

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Where can sheet metal ductwork fabrication go wrong? It starts with improper material selection. If an abrasive particulate such as silica isn’t matched with an abrasive-resistant duct material, the duct will not withstand wear and tear over time. Incorrect thickness can also lead to premature wear when the duct is too thin for the application’s pressure or abrasiveness. Poor welding can also affect the structural integrity of the duct, which causes premature failure.

Inferior ductwork fabrication comes with hidden costs

Problems often arise when sheet metal duct fabrication doesn’t meet quality standards. Time may pass before leaks and corrosion are identified, leading to more extensive damage and frequent repairs. Risky, expensive and time-consuming issues may include:

• Structural failure: Ductwork could fail and fall out of the ceiling causing damage to buildings, equipment, and creating safety risks
• Subsequent costs: Wasted materials and downtime needed for repairs result in material replacement costs and lost revenue.
• Potential health issues: When ductwork is faulty, employees may be exposed to dangerous particulates that lead to hazardous health problems.
• Increased energy costs: Improper ductwork may not be able to handle necessary air flow, causing energy inefficiency.
• Compliance violations: Faulty ducts may cause noxious fumes to be released into the air or harmful particulates to remain in employee work areas. These compliance violations may result in costly fines.

Expensive system replacement may be needed when these issues go by undetected for long periods of time. When dust settles within ductwork, it can decrease the capture effectiveness of the hood, resulting in costly replacements.

How to ensure quality for your application

A quality industrial ventilation partner will conduct a thorough evaluation of your industry, products and air stream condition to help ensure proper sheet metal ductwork fabrication. The right ductwork material and design will be determined by whether your product is sticky, moist, dry or in vapor form. An assessment of the speed of materials passing through the ductwork also determines the proper design requirements.

Common ductwork materials per industry include:

• Foundry: Mild steel (hot/cold rolled)
• Paper: Aluminum and stainless steel
• Mining: Abrasion-resistant or stainless-steel
• Silica: Abrasion-resistant steel

Materials may vary based on individual applications.

Enjoy the lasting benefits of ductwork fabrication done right

Properly fabricated ductwork helps ensure employee health and stringent regulation compliance. On-target ductwork fabrication stands the test of time to minimize issues, repairs and downtime. It also delivers a low-maintenance solution and energy efficiency for industrial ventilation.

���ձ�’s unmatched craftsmanship delivers excellence

With 30 years of expertise, ��һ��ݶ�brings knowledge learned from numerous projects to industrial ductwork fabrication, including design, engineering, fabrication, installation and maintenance. ���ձ�’s trained sheet metal workers complete an apprenticeship program with hands-on application and written classwork to achieve a journeyman position. ��һ��ݶ�journeyman continue to train in and be tested on numerous weld processes to meet the fabrication needs of our customers. Plus, laser-cutting and other CNC controlled equipment delivers more exact cutting and better welds during
fabrication.

Get started with quality sheet metal duct fabrication

Contact IVI for proper duct fabrication that lasts.

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Transcript

��һ��ݶ�Engineers Share the Keys to Proper Industrial Ventilation Hood Design

Hood design is very important and actually crucial for the functionality of a collection system. Improper hood design can cause a lot of issues and probably the most common one is the placement of the hood in relation to where the contaminant is being generated. A lot of times the hoods are too far away from the contaminant generation point to be effective.

Industrial Ventilation Hood Design: What Sets ��һ��ݶ�Apart?

��һ��ݶ�takes the design of hoods very seriously. One of the things that sets us apart the most I believe is just our experience. And two things that we do to ensure that hoods are going to function properly when they’re installed are to first look at them through Computational Fluid Dynamic Modeling to see where air is going within the hoods. And the other thing that we do is we have built a test lab for trying out some of these hoods to ensure that they’re properly collecting the contaminant that we’re trying to capture.

The Science and Art of Hood Design

Hoods are kind of a unique balance of science and art. We use a lot of equations from industry publications on sizing and determining volumetric flow rate for our hoods. But there’s also an art to ensuring that these hoods fit within the applications and the needs of our customers.

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Transcript

Industrial Dust Collection Systems Start to Finish (And Beyond)

We design, build and install our own dust collection systems, as well as maintain other dust collection systems and ductwork and HVAC systems all around the country. It really sets us apart from any other contractor in the country, because there’s a lot of contractors that deal with just the engineering piece and rely on another company to install it.

There are some contractors that can just do the installation but not the engineering. Because of that we have a lot more experience than the average contractor when it comes to installation.

Dust Collection Installation Experience Across Industries

We have a rigorous safety program within our own industry as well as we are up to date and follow protocols for each individual industry. Many of our staff in the field are trained on cranes, rigging, multitude of lifts, forklifts, material moving equipment. Due to the experience and the vast amount of collection systems we work with all around the country, pretty much everybody knows how to do all of these various aspects of the project. So that enables us to get by with fewer people.

I think one of the reasons we can do that is we just have guys that have been around for a lot of years and know what they’re doing and we can get the jobs done safely, efficiently and ultimately it’s going to result in a more cost effective job for you.

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���ձ�’s investment in a fiber optic laser has expanded our sheet metal fabrication services. With the addition of our 4.0 kW Mazak Optiplex Nexus 3015, we are able to accelerate production, cut costs, reduce waste and produce precision parts that require very little to no post-processing. We utilize state-of-the-art nesting software to maximize efficiency while minimizing waste for everything from low-volume prototypes to high-volume production runs.

Laser cutting capabilities

While customers frequently request mild steel and stainless steel components, we are capable of cutting most grades and alloys of steel, stainless, aluminum, copper and brass.  Common materials include A36 “mild” steel—304/304L and 316/316L stainless steel—5052, 6061 and 7075 aluminum. (See below for maximum thickness capabilities by material type).

Maximum material thickness:

• Mild steel: 1.000 in
• Stainless steel: 0.750 in
• Aluminum: 0.630 in
• Copper: .0375 in
• Brass: 0.375 in

In addition to the more expansive list of materials we now have the ability to process, the laser allows us to do so with precision, at high speeds:

• Rapid Travel Speed – X,Y axis – 2,362 ipm (3,340 ipm  45° vector)
• Positioning Accuracy – X, Y axis – 0.0002 in/19.68 in
• Repeatable Accuracy – Z axis – 0.0004 in/3.94 in

��һ��ݶ�takes a great deal of pride in the products and services we offer, as well as the talented workforce that makes our laser cutting possible. The addition of our fiber laser has made a clear and nearly immediate impact. For example:

• Skilled tradesmen can focus on their craft, rather than grinding or deburring parts.
• It’s opened the door for innovation in design, assembly and tooling.
• We’ve provided more cost-effective solutions, with a quick turnaround, to any customer seeking high-quality laser cut parts.

Thinking beyond the technology

The technology opens the door to offering new or unique designs and allows us to think beyond our capabilities as we develop customer solutions and specialty components.

The laser cutter enables us to cut any two-dimensional shape out of metal. Whether you need one or hundreds of laser-cut metal parts or components, ask us about our capabilities. We have the ability to work with a number of different file formats, or software platforms. Our most commonly used are listed below. If you have something other than those listed below, we are happy to look for alternative solutions.

• ���ܳٴǰ䲹��®
• DXF
• ���Ա���Գٴǰ�®
• ���DZ�����´ǰ����®

Let’s get started

If your business would benefit from our custom laser cutting capabilities or if you’d like to know more about how our fiber laser is driving our industrial ventilation system solutions, contact us or call (920) 727-6001.

The post Designed for Precision: ��һ��ݶ�Adds Custom Laser Cutting Capabilities appeared first on IVI, Inc..

At IVI, we pride ourselves in having the needed in-house fabrication equipment and staff to complete jobs on time to a high standard of quality. In fact, with our industrial dust collector manufacturing capabilities, we are able to complete 95% to 100% of projects in house.

On-time dust collection solutions

When you’re looking for an industrial ventilation solution, our multiple fabrication facilities in Wisconsin and South Carolina are staffed and equipped to meet your needs across the country within the timeframe you require to keep your operation running efficiently.

• Equipment and facilities: Our four plants, totaling 77,200 square feet of manufacturing space, house everything from plate shears and rolls to iron workers and plasma tables. We have the equipment needed to fabricate parts from different types of steel in varying thicknesses and lengths.
• Team members: If you were to total the number of years of experience our fabrication team has at all four plants, it would reach into the hundreds. We employ sheet metal journeymen, many of whom have been with ��һ��ݶ�for 15 to 20 years or more, as well as sheet metal apprentices and pre-apprentices.

With these capabilities, we are able to build everything from replacement ductwork—including dust collection pipe and fittings—to a complete custom dust collection system.

Steel fabrication

Because we are a custom design and build dust collection manufacturer, we stock a wide variety of steel to ensure the best product for your job and meet your timely needs of quick turn-around projects. Our stock includes:

• Galvanized steel
• Stainless steel
• Hot rolled steel
• Abrasion-resistant (AR) plate steel
• Various sizes of square and round tube, angle iron, flat bars, channel, wide flange beams and rods
• Flanges and rings (ring sizes of 3-inch to 72-inch)

Our plants are equipped to fabricate ductwork, dust collectors, scrubbers, industrial exhaust stacks, storage tanks, structural steel, bucket elevators, conveyors and chutes to customer specifications:

• We are capable of fabricating everything internally, which contributes to better turnaround, quality and efficiency
• Our high-definition plasma table has the ability to burn a steel sheet six feet wide and up to 23 feet long and with thicknesses from 24-gauge to one-inch
• We can shear, roll and bend steel up to one-half-inch thick

With our inventory and equipment, we fabricate and install round and square ductwork in any size, as well as all associated parts of a dust collection system. We also order steel sheets in custom sizes—sometimes up to 50 feet long—which require the least amount of welding. This means you’ll receive a product with the highest quality with a fast turnaround.

Prepping and painting

We also ensure you an excellent product with our steel prep and painting services. All of the structural steel we use is bead-blasted in house to remove mill scale. This provides for better paint adhesion for a longer lasting, better-looking product.

We have three paint booths, the largest being 25 feet wide by 20 feet high by 120 feet long, to apply paint to baghouses and other parts of the dust collection system, when specified. We stock common paint colors but have the ability to match colors to your specifications.

Finally, we offer hot-dipped galvanized steel for industrial exhaust stack support structures, including stairways and handrails.

Call us about your dust collection fabrication project

Whether you are looking for ductwork replacement or an entire dust collection system, contact us about our steel fabrication capabilities. Our four plants service all of the United States, as well as Canada and Mexico. We’ll find a custom design-build solution for you.

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Transcript

Why ��һ��ݶ�Excels at Plan and Spec Projects

��һ��ݶ�excels at plan and spec projects because we have the experience of engineering and designing projects as a design-build contractor. When we’re awarded a project that is plan and spec our field crews, our project managers bring their experience on our own design-build projects to that project.

Industrial Ventilation Experience Across Industries

IVI’s worked on a number of different projects in a number of different industries. From foundries, to the pulp and paper, automotive, mining. We’ve even done some commercial HVAC work as part of bigger projects so there’s not many plan and spec projects we haven’t been a part of.

Making Industrial Ventilation Installation Easier

On plan and spec fabrication, ��һ��ݶ�with their experience on the field install side, fabricates to the knowledge that that field crew needs a quality product to install. Something that has been reviewed through our quality process to make sure ninety-degree elbows are 90 degrees, and that everything fits and is aligned properly for an easier install. Making sure that the fabrication matches the prints.

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Transcript

Industrial Ventilation Design to Find Solutions

A design-engineered solution is a project that does not have a defined scope. It can be as small as a duct work problem that has a moisture issue and is plugging to as large as a greenfield construction site that needs a completely designed and engineered ventilation system.

Leaders in Industrial Ventilation Design

What really sets ��һ��ݶ�apart in the industry is our full staff of engineers ranging from mechanical, environmental and civil engineers. Having this whole team of engineers in-house allows our customer to have one point of contact for their engineer solutions. Not only does ��һ��ݶ�have a full line of engineers on staff, we also have eight full-time designers that bring the engineered solutions to life.

During many plan and spec projects IVI’s engineering design services can aid the customer with unforeseen delays and obstructions within the project. ��һ��ݶ�can react quickly and come back with a engineered solution to correct the problem to keep the project on track.

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Benefits of proper industrial airflow by dust collection type

• Dust collection systems: Proper airflow contributes to high air quality and a clean work environment.
• Fume collection systems: Proper airflow helps mitigate hazardous airborne particles (HAPs).

Design methods for industrial airflow

• Blast gate/orifice plate method: This method is somewhat flexible. Flow rates can be changed, and it’s easier to make additions and changes using this method. The location of blast gates depends on the location of elbows, hoods, straight duct and access. This is the most common method of design.
• Balance by design method: This method achieves a “balanced” airflow system without blast gates or orifice plates. The method calls for calculating static pressure of airflow in each segment. Factors that influence static pressure include duct sizes, elbow radius and hood design. This method is best for hazardous materials. Adding, removing or adjusting a collection point requires a complete system redesign.

Duct Network Design

Either the blast gate or balance method can be used to design the industrial duct network.

• Tapered system: The ductwork gets larger closer to the collector as additional airflows are added. Tapering the ductwork helps ensure the velocity at each branch is constant.
• Plenum system: The ductwork is generally larger, the airflow velocity is lower and there’s low resistance for airflow to the air cleaner or fan. A plenum system is typically used on supply air systems.

Distributing airflow in duct routing

Ductwork design plays a big role in improving and maintaining airflow. Ductwork designed for maximum airflow efficiency:

• Minimizes pressure drop across the system
• Is routed to reduce potential wear spots
• Takes aesthetic appeal into consideration

For more details on optimized airflow design and duct network design, reference . Learn more about how to maintain proper airflow with ���ձ�’s blog: “Maintain proper industrial airflow for dust collection systems”

���ձ�’s Experience and Innovation

At IVI, We help design, build and install industrial dust collection systems for any operation. Read more about ���ձ�’s fume collection systems and dust collection systems. Start on these pages to answer basic questions, and contact  IVI, Inc. to dive deeper into industrial ventilation solutions.

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Hood Types

Enclosing hoods:

An enclosing hood will completely or partially surround the point where contaminants are generated. An enclosing hood is typically preferred but may not be practical due to potential interference with employee workstations.

• A partial enclosing hood has two to three sides where an inward flow of air through the opening will contain the contaminant within the enclosure and prevent its escape. Examples include paint spray booths or grinder station.
• A completely enclosing hood has all sides and is preferred whenever possible. A laboratory hood is an example of this use.

Exterior hood:

Exterior hoods are placed next to the point where contaminants are generated without creating an enclosure. An exterior hood may be an opening on a welding table or slots on the side of a tank. The exterior hood should be located in the path of the emission if transferring larger particulates such as sand.

There are four main types of exterior hoods:

• Canopy: A one- or two-sided overhead hood that receives upward airflow from hot air or gas.
• Close-capture: Mounted directly over the source of a contaminant.
• Push-pull: A hood placed on the side of a push-pull ventilation system.
• Side-draft (also called lateral exhaust hood): This is not as efficient as other containment or down-draft hoods.

Hood Velocity Considerations

A specific velocity is required, depending on the type of contaminant being captured. To achieve the required velocity, carefully consider the hood’s shape, size and location.

• Face velocity: Velocity right at the hood opening.
• Capture velocity: Velocity at the dust generation source to capture the contaminant and transfer it into the hood.

Ergonomic Considerations:

An industrial ventilation system hood is one of the most important components of an individual’s workstation. A worker will be more likely to use the hood and the ventilation system properly if ergonomic elements are considered. Among these considerations are:

• Accessibility to parts within the hood
• Size, design and weight of objects handled
• Safety cables
• Overhead clearance
• Sharp edges
• Lighting
• Ease of cleaning

���ձ�’s engineering and design team has years of experience designing and sizing industrial ventilation systems.  ��һ��ݶ�can assist in the design of a new system or the redesign of an existing system.

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