Extraction equipment for flying boots

Haynes & Cann, long-established suppliers of flying boots for the British Ministry of Defence, recently contracted J B Thorne, Leicester, to design and install extraction equipment at their Northampton factory. The company, established in 1919, have been involved in making military footwear since 1940. Thorne specified fans and associated ducting to vent rubber fumes from a bank of direct vulcanising presses with extraction via a canopy hood. Thorne also installed a three-station downdraught extraction bench to remove solvent vapour created in sealing stitched seams, to prevent ingress of water in wear. Thorne are long-established suppliers of dust-control equipment to the leather industry, both at home and abroad. As well as dealing with fumes, the control of fibrous dusts produced during leather buffing is more important than ever. Thorne's Nonflam wet dust collection units are frequently specified for this function, as well as in many other leather buffing and grinding processes. Operating without pumps, jets or nozzles, these highly efficient but simple units are virtually maintenance-free. They are based on a water-filled tank through which dust is drawn by an impeller fan, forming a sludge. This may be removed from the bottom of the tank, either manually or automatically, or removed in a hopper. Water level in the unit is automatically controlled; water may be constantly recycled with the addition of a bactericide supplied by Thorne. The equipment can be specified in mild steel with hammered enamel finish, or in GRP or stainless steel where there is a risk of high water acidity. Nonflam units can be ordered in a range of sizes to suit all applications.