# Building a Dust Collector Cabinet



## jgreiner (Oct 23, 2010)

I plan on building a Thein baffle system and adding a Wynn filter to my Jet DC1100 dust collector and while I do all of that I'm considering also building a noise canceling cabinet around the just collector to help with the noise level in my garage.

Currently I put on ear protection whenever I turn on the DC because it is so loud and I know many people keep their dust collector in a small shed or building outside their main workshop. Since my workshop is my garage, moving my dust collector out of the garage isn't really an option. I've looked at noise canceling cabinets for air compressors and wondered if the same could be applied to dust collectors.

The full cabinet would close up with a Y box that would have 3 6'' outs on it that can be opened/closed depending on where I want air to be directed. The top contains the output for the air I have a better picture of that. The 









The front would be double doors allowing for full access to clean out when needed.









The entire box would be lined with noise canceling material, and the top part where the air would exit would also be lined with noise canceling material and have the zig zag pattern shown below that is supposed to also improve noise removal (something about the sound waves bouncing and absorbing etc..)









I have 2 questions really.
1.) This setup assumes that all/most of the noise is comming from the impeller and the air blowing through the filter. To be honest I don't know if this is true or not?

2.) Would having the zig zag output for the air cause a problem with suction, I would immagine if the hole in the top is big enough (currently the hole is 8''x22'') .. and the gap between peices is 6'' .. that should be enough space for the air to exit the box without impeeding suction I would think, but honestly have no idea.

Has anyone tried something like this? am I wasting my time?


----------



## fussy (Jan 18, 2010)

I think it's a waste of time. The zig-zag air path would cut your suction to nearly zero. Every 90* bend has a drastic effect on cfm even if it's smooth. I count eight hard 90* turns. Restricting the output has the same effect as restricting the input. You don't want sound absorbant material in the air path at all as this would slow air flow drastically. You have to keep it moving to be effective.

You're right that most of the sound comes from the motor and inpeller. The second greatest source is the exhaust, but your big filter acts as a big muffler. Your biggest problem is therefor the motor and impeller. Enclose them and only them in a box designed to fit of 3/4"ply lined top, bottom and sides (inside) with cheap acoustic tiles glued on. The ends need to have sufficient openings to allow cooling air for the motor to pass. You'll get a little sound from here, but your goal is noise reduction, not total elimination. Make the intake and exhaust slots for the motor portion of the box with multiple curves at angles (like 25*down or up to direct that portion of the noise away from you.

The Thein separator is a very good idea. I put mine in the collector ring of my HF dc and in two years have gotten only 2 or 3 cups of dust out of my Wynn 35A filter.You will find it to be very efficient, but you have to be diligent and build it to fit accurately. The size of the drop slot and the proximity of the edges to the inner edge of the ring are critical. Still, it's only a 1-2 hour build if you're slow.

Good luck, and let us know how you're doing.

Steve


----------



## 559dustdesigns (Sep 23, 2009)

Jeremy,
You might concider getting some Sound Board for lining the walls of your cabinet. 
I used it in a room for demonstrating car stereo products, it works quite well. 
If you apply it on the back of the doors of your cabinet you wont be adding a lot of weight. 
Its designed to be installed between the studs and the drywall but can be used in different ways. 
I don't know much about the stuff I used, it was purchased a long time before I worked for that shop. 
The boards didn't have any brand names on them. 
I really like your labyrinth (zig zags), it will effect the flow of air exiting the cabinet when your DC is running. There are things you could do to get more flow. 
The lay out of you labyrinth with more flow (less hair pin turns / more opening). 
You could incorpoarate another low profile labyrinth under the cabinet. 
I think you are less likely to hear the sound exiting at the floor. 
This would add stucture similar to a torsion box below your heavy collector. 
You could build a cart at the same level to assist you when emptying your bin. 
Good luck with your project it looks to be a well thought out design. 
Don't forget to blog your progress, I look forward to it.


----------



## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Take casters off the bottom of the DC and set it on a foam pad in the base of the cabinet. Keep all physical contact between the DC and the cabinet to an absolute minimum, flex where possible. Remove the baffles in the outlet, but do line the outlet with dense foam. The length of the outlet path should be at least 10 times its cross section.


----------



## jgreiner (Oct 23, 2010)

What about expanding vertically instead, the output is much larger, and the zig zag isn't as sharp/prominent?

My other option is to box off the impeller/motor .. that wouldn't effect air flow .. but would that be enough to reduce the noise?


----------



## 559dustdesigns (Sep 23, 2009)

I rethought this flow thing. This is entirely based on my opinion. I would think if you are using a single 4" pipe with an area of 12.57 square inches from your machines. Then you should have a opening at least 3 times that area for the exit of your cabinet. To calculate the area of a pipe you take the diameter of the pipe multiplied by pie so 4 times pie is 12.57 SQ inches or 12.56637061435917 to be exact. 12.57 sq inches times 3 is 37.71 square inches. So you could build your exit 4×9.4275. As long as your exit is larger than three times the size of your pipe it seams like there wouldn't be a restriction in flow that would effect the performance of your collector. What would Jet say if asked about the air flow needed to run this collector?


----------



## jgreiner (Oct 23, 2010)

Hi 559,
Thanks for the math, so if I prepared for 6'' just in case, .. 
6×3.14 = 18.84
18.84 * 3 = 56.52

So a 6×11 opening (66 sq inches) .. would be good?


----------



## 559dustdesigns (Sep 23, 2009)

Yes, what do you think of my theory?


----------



## jgreiner (Oct 23, 2010)

It sounds right, but I honestly have no idea


----------



## Manitario (Jul 4, 2010)

That is a fine design Jeremy; check out my build for my Clearvue DC:
http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/2451
The "box" in the front of the closet is for the airflow out of the closet, it contains baffles inside, similar to your plan. The cross sectional area at every point in the outflow must be larger than the area of the inflow; eg. I use 6" ducting into the DC, the cross sectional area of the outflow is equal to an 8" diameter pipe. I have absolutely no problem with airflow!!
There is a community forum on the clearvuecyclones.com website; most of the guys there have done some sort of baffle box like you are proposing.


----------



## jgreiner (Oct 23, 2010)

Does anyone know where you can get a CFM meter that isn't 100$+ ? I'd like to take measurements and make sure that this doesn't become an issue.

I think the overhead baffle system should provide enough space for airflow, but I'd feel better with a meter to test with.


----------



## Tomj (Nov 18, 2011)

You could measure the amps using an amp meter. It's not completely accurate but it can tell if there's a big difference between having the sound inclosure and not. I have never done this although I have read it is a cheaper method for measuring CFM as amps are in direct proportion to CFM. I am in the process of building a new cart for my Delta 50 760 so I can fit my top hat thien separator under it. I was planning on doing something about the sound from the dust collector myself while I'm at it building the cart. Problem with the sound coming from a dust collector is it's mostly low frequency which are the hardest to get under control because they travel allot farther than highs. Crank49s idea of removing casters and placing foam under the structure/collector is a good idea. I was thinking about doing the same thing with the new cart I'm building. I would definitely like to see pics of whatever you do and hear your results when your done if it's possible. Good luck to you.


----------



## Tomj (Nov 18, 2011)

You could measure the amps using an amp meter. It's not completely accurate but it can tell if there's a big difference between having the sound inclosure and not. I have never done this although I have read it is a cheaper method for measuring CFM as amps are in direct proportion to CFM. I am in the process of building a new cart for my Delta 50 760 so I can fit my top hat thien separator under it. I was planning on doing something about the sound from the dust collector myself while I'm at it building the cart. Problem with the sound coming from a dust collector is it's mostly low frequency which are the hardest to get under control because they travel allot farther than highs. Crank49s idea of removing casters and placing foam under the structure/collector is a good idea. I was thinking about doing the same thing with the new cart I'm building. I would definitely like to see pics of whatever you do and hear your results when your done if it's possible. Good luck to you.


----------



## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Area of a circle (pipe) is Pi X®^2.

So radius of a 4" pipe is 2" so: area = 3.14159 X 2 squared = 12.566 square inches

Radius of 6" pipe is 3" so: area = 3.14159 X 3 squared = 28.27 square inches


----------



## Tomj (Nov 18, 2011)

I was going to point that out That's what I thought, pi x radius squared.


----------

