Working with any material in an industrial or home setting usually leaves you with some type of waste. It can be in the form of dust, metal shavings, fumes, or smoke. Cleaning up can be a hassle, but the real problem with very fine particles in solid or gas form is that they contaminate the air.
This is where down draft tables can be very important to the worker and everyone around a work site.
Downdraft Table Description
Dual Draw describes that the most basic downdraft table looks like an ordinary worktable that had a fight with neat-freak giant wasp. It has many holes on the surface, and underneath is some type of vacuum system. The main idea is to draw whatever loose dust or fumes over the table down before it has a chance to escape into the air into the container and keep it there.
Depending on the work process, there is some type of filter to catch the particles and keep it from blowing out the other end of the vacuum. The filter can be a fine mesh, or it could be just water.
Sneaky Health Hazards
Downdraft tables are important to protect you from dust. Even if you wear safety masks and goggles, very fine particles can hang around for a long time. You and anyone else in the area may be breathing in very fine particles of wood, for example, or the fumes from welding metal without knowing it. A good simile for this is breathing in the wonderful smell of barbeque. It smells good because there are particles of oil in it that comes from the fat hitting the hot coals.
You might think that it is harmless, and an occasional whiff will not kill you. However, when you are in a work setting, multiply that amount by about a thousand times, and you can find yourself struggling for air in a very short time.
Downdraft tables keep the air in your workshop clean and you and your workers safe. They are good investments if you want to keep your lungs and airways clean and working.