How it works
Rather than utilizing a complete duct system, which is unnecessary in this case, the dust collector is hooked up directly to the router. The sawdust is vacuumed off of the router table as the cutter cuts and moves and travels to the collector itself where it eventually drops into the collection bin – in this setup, it is a 55 gallon barrel.
Maintenance
So, what happens with all the dust that is collected? It is very important to empty the dust collector on a regular basis not only to prevent a back up, but also to ensure our CNC operator can take it out and empty it! Joshy, our CNC operator has a specific dust collector emptying routine he follows each time it needs to be emptied. He first starts by beating the bag to break up any dust that may have accumulated on the fabric. Once he has checked to make sure excess dust has been cleared from the bag, he jostles the lid to the 55 gallon drum to empty the excess dust he broke loose from the bag and any dust that may have been trapped on the lid. He then disconnects the drum from the dust collector and loads it up on the dolly to be taken out to the dumpster. Once at the dumpster, with one large, fluid motion, he hoists the barrel up and dumps all the saw dust into the dumpster. To complete the process, Joshy hauls the barrel back into the shop and reassembles the dust collector.