Due to a change in legislation, smoke detector manufacturer Ei Electronics had to find a solution for the extraction of 43 soldering stations where PCBs are produced. Lybover AIR developed a tailor-made solution for the dirty and sticky fumes generated during the soldering process.

The Lybover Way

Ei Electronics is a global leader in the manufacture of residential fire and carbon monoxide detection products. With headquarters in Shannon, Ireland, it is one of the biggest electronics companies worldwide with more than 800 employees. Ei Electronics manufactures over 10 million alarms annually and ships to customers in over 30 countries worldwide. All of the products are manufactured at a state-of-the-art and fully integrated manufacturing facility Ei electronics has 10 production halls for the production of printed circuit boards and the assembly of the smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors.

Modified production process provides an answer to new legislation.

Ei Electronics contacted Luksal to work with them in solving an environmental challenge. A change in legislation meant that fumes, smoke, solvents and odours from their soldering processes could no longer be discharged to the outside environment unfiltered.  With 4 production halls containing a total of 43 soldering stations producing the printed circuit boards (PCB’s), the main challenge was to effectively collect and aspirate the fumes generated in the production of the PCB’s.

3D scan lays the foundation for further engineering

Ei Electronics instructed Luksal to undertake a 3D scanning process of the existing production facility. Taking reference points from multiple positions in order to obtain a complete point cloud served as a basis for further engineering. With the 3D scans, Luksal could effectively design the complete ducting system from all production halls and soldering stations.  The other advantage of the 3D scanning was that the entire point cloud could be supplied in various CAD files to be used by the customer for future projects and their constantly changing production requirements.

This solution not only meets the legal requirements but also improves the entire extraction capacity and air quality in our factory environment
– David Keating, Ei Electronics

Ingenious combination of filter techniques delivers durable and reliable solution

With the design of the complex ducting system complete, the next challenge was dealing with the fumes emitted.  Using an Activated Carbon Filter (ACF) from our partner Desotec, the odours & VOC’s could be very effectively removed before being discharged into the outside environment.

Another critical aspect that needed to be addressed was that the fumes generated in the soldering process were very dirty (dust) and sticky. To protect the ACF and to prolong its life span, Luksal installed a Keller filter. The Vario 5 eco dust filter with its high efficient KLR bran filter technology utilises a dosing system where by the filter plates are pre-coated with a loam powder to protect the filter plates from blocking prematurely with sticky dusty vapours and dust.

The result of our cooperation is a clean working environment with a sustainable and reliable production process
– David Keating, Ei Electronics

Due to the critical nature of this process Luksal incorporated a duty stand-by fan arrangement to carry VOC charged air from the dust filter to the ACF . This is a precautionary feature to enable production to continue in the unlikely event of a fan failure.