Location: Denver, Colorado
Customer: Denver Museum of
Nature & Science
Key benefits: Tool reliability and longevity
Case study
Requirement
Dinosaurs weren't the only "fossils" at the
Denver Museum of Nature & Science. An
ancient compressor and air distribution
system were causing tool damage and
downtime in the fossil prep lab where
specimens are cleaned and preserved. A
single mainline air filter was not adequate
to prevent oil and contaminants from the
compressor from reaching the tools – imagine
jack hammers and sand blasters on a tiny,
millimeter scale. Contaminants made the
tools' operation inconsistent, increasing
risk of damage to fragile fossils. And the
contaminated tools had to be taken offline,
disassembled, cleaned and reassembled
every few months. The lab needed an air
preparation upgrade.
Solution
The timing was right when a like-new
compressor and mainline filter were moved from
another part of the Museum. A lab volunteer,
a retired IMI Norgren application engineer,
recommended point-of-use filter/regulators
at each work station. Even though the air is
filtered at the compressor, the IMI Norgren B07
miniature filter/regulators protect the expensive
tools from contaminants picked up in the old
pipe system – a mix of copper and black pipe.
The filter/regulators enabled the lab volunteers to
regulate the pressure according to the specific
tool requirements, ranging from 130 psig down
to 40 psig, something they were not previously
able to do. Since the addition of point-of-use
filtration, the lab has seen a significant decrease
in the number of tools that need to be repaired
or replaced.
Point-of-use filtration
protects fossil cleaning tools
Engineering
GREAT
Solutions
Lab image © Denver Museum of Nature & Science
© Norgren, Inc. 2018
