Explosion Proof Ceiling Mounted Fume Extraction for Drone Manufacturing: Haven Aerotech
Haven Aerotech needed adhesive fume capture over a bonding bench at its drone production facility in Bingen, Washington. Labs USA supplied an ATEX rated, static grounded ceiling mounted extraction arm with a domed capture hood so solvent vapor is removed at the source.
The Situation
Haven Aerotech builds unmanned aircraft in Bingen, Washington, in the Columbia River Gorge. Drone production involves a lot of bonding. Composite structures, motor mounts, and electronics enclosures are joined with adhesives and solvent based primers, and much of that work happens by hand at a bench rather than inside a machine.
Those adhesives release solvent vapor while they are applied and while they cure. At a single joint the quantity is small. Across a production shift, with several parts on the bench and a curing rack nearby, the vapor accumulates in the breathing zone of the person doing the work. General room ventilation dilutes it slowly and unevenly, which means the highest concentration stays exactly where the operator’s head is.
Two constraints made a standard approach unworkable. First, many bonding solvents are flammable and their vapors can be ignited by a spark or by a static discharge, so a conventional extraction arm with a plain plastic tube and an ordinary motor is the wrong equipment. Second, the bench sits in an open production area with parts and carts moving around it, so nothing could be mounted on the floor or take up work space beside the bench.
The Solution
Labs USA specified a ceiling mounted extraction arm built for hazardous vapor. The arm is four inches in diameter and 76 inches long, so it reaches over the full bonding bench from above and leaves the floor and bench edges completely clear.
The tube segments are carbon impregnated conductive polypropylene joined by five inch polypropylene joints, so the entire arm conducts static charge to its grounding point instead of holding it. The assembly is certified to EN 61340-5-1 for electrostatic discharge control and complies with the ATEX directive for category 2 gases and dusts, which is the relevant classification for a bench where flammable solvent vapor is present during normal operation.
The arm hangs from a 30 inch anodized aluminum ceiling bracket in the explosion proof version, with a five inch side exhaust inlet and a mounting plate sized for structural attachment overhead. A 20 inch round domed hood in the same ATEX version finishes the arm, giving a wide capture area over an irregular assembly instead of a narrow nozzle that only works on one spot.
A manual damper on the arm lets the operator balance the airflow for the task. Light solvent wiping does not need the same volume as an open adhesive pot, and a damper means the shop is not running full exhaust, and paying to condition replacement air, every hour of the day.
Features
Advantage
The default answer to adhesive fumes in a production shop is more room ventilation. It is the least effective option per dollar, because it treats the whole building volume to fix a problem measured in inches around a person’s hands. Source capture removes vapor where it is generated, before it reaches the breathing zone or spreads across the floor.
The second default is a bench enclosure or fume hood. That works chemically, but it fights the process. Drone airframes and assemblies are awkward, they are handled from several angles, and they often have to stay in place while adhesive cures. Reaching into a fixed enclosure with a large part is slower and, in practice, gets skipped.
What separates this installation from a standard extraction arm is the hazardous location rating. A plain arm can accumulate static on its tube wall, and a static discharge next to flammable solvent vapor is an ignition source. Specifying the ATEX and ESD certified version removes that risk path instead of managing it with procedure. Review the full ceiling mounted exhaust snorkel range and the wider exhaust snorkels and extraction arms line.
Benefits
- Solvent vapor is captured at the joint, so it never reaches the operator’s breathing zone.
- Static charge is conducted to ground rather than accumulating next to flammable vapor.
- Floor and bench space stay clear because the arm is carried overhead.
- The arm parks out of the way, so parts and carts move through the area normally.
- A damper matches airflow to the task instead of running maximum exhaust all shift.
- Hoods, joints, and dampers are replaced individually, so the system is maintained in parts.
A wide domed hood held just above the joint captures adhesive vapor while the operator keeps both hands and full sight lines on the part.
Return on Investment
The clearest return is on exposure. Adhesive and primer vapor exposure is cumulative and it is regulated, so a shop that solves it at the bench avoids the slower and more expensive paths: rotating people off a station, adding respiratory protection with the fit testing and training that comes with it, or reworking the building’s air handling.
There is a fire and insurance dimension as well. Removing flammable vapor at the source and eliminating static accumulation on the extraction equipment reduces the ignition risk in the area where solvents are actually open. That is a smaller and more defensible hazard footprint than a shop that relies on dilution.
Operationally, a single arm is a modest capital item with a long life and no consumables. It does not slow the bonding process the way an enclosure does, and it does not need the labor of moving parts in and out of a hood. The productivity cost of the safety control is close to zero, which is the main reason source capture holds up over years instead of quietly falling out of use.
Project Process
Identify the Hazard
Confirm which adhesives and solvents are used, how they are applied, and how much vapor is released.
Classify the Area
Establish that flammable vapor is present in normal operation, which sets the ATEX and ESD requirement.
Choose the Mount
Verify overhead structure and bench position so the arm covers the work zone from above.
Specify the Assembly
Select arm diameter and length, ceiling bracket, hood size, and damper for the task.
Supply and Support
Deliver the arm, bracket, and hood as one matched package with exhaust connection guidance.
Serving Manufacturers Across Bingen and the Columbia Gorge
Haven Aerotech is in Bingen, Washington, on the Columbia River across from Hood River, Oregon. The gorge has become a real cluster for unmanned aircraft, composites, and outdoor product manufacturing, and those processes share one exposure problem: bonding and finishing with solvent based materials at open benches.
Labs USA supplies extraction arms, fume hoods, laboratory casework, and lab tables to manufacturers and laboratories in Bingen, White Salmon, Hood River, The Dalles, Stevenson, Vancouver, Portland, and across the Pacific Northwest, and works nationwide on projects like this one.
Related equipment for the same kind of facility includes laboratory fume hoods for enclosed chemical work, lab tables and workbenches for assembly and test stations, and lab furniture and casework for chemical storage.
Shop Explosion-Proof Exhaust Snorkels Online
The ESD/EX conductive arm eliminates static and spark risk near solvents and coatings, in stock and ready to ship.
Exhaust Snorkel ESD/EXConductive-material arm that eliminates static buildup and spark risk near solvents. · $1,450
Exhaust Snorkel OriginalAll-around articulating arm with dome hood for general fume and dust capture. · $1,260
Exhaust Snorkel Chemical ResistantCorrosion-resistant arm built for aggressive-chemical environments. · $1,535ESD Safe, ATEX and Standard Arms: What the Difference Means
Three specifications get used loosely in extraction arm enquiries and they are not interchangeable. Getting this wrong is expensive in both directions: over-specifying adds cost that buys nothing, and under-specifying puts either the product or the operator at risk.
- Standard arms use ordinary plastics and steel. They suit general laboratory fume, odour and vapour capture where static and flammable atmospheres are not a factor.
- ESD safe and conductive arms use conductive plastics with a defined path to ground, so static cannot build up on the arm or the hood. They protect the product being assembled, not the operator: electronics, aerospace assembly and semiconductor work. Critically, the arm, the tube segments and the hood all have to be conductive and grounded together. A conductive hood on a standard arm does not give you a grounded path.
- ATEX and explosion proof assemblies address a flammable or explosive atmosphere. That specification extends beyond the arm to the fan, the motor, the electrical classification and the grounding of the whole system. It is a building and systems decision, not an accessory choice.
How to tell us which you need
Describe the atmosphere and the product rather than naming a specification. Is there a solvent vapour concentration that could ignite? Is the product static sensitive? Is there a classified area drawing for the space? Those answers determine which of the three applies, and they also determine what documentation has to ship with the equipment for your own compliance file.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an ATEX rated extraction arm do differently?
It is built so the extraction equipment itself cannot become an ignition source in an area where flammable vapor or dust may be present. That covers the tube material, the joints, and the way static charge is handled, not just the fan motor.
Why does an extraction arm need to be static grounded?
Air moving through a plastic tube can build an electrostatic charge on the tube wall. Next to flammable solvent vapor, a discharge from that charge is an ignition risk. Conductive carbon impregnated tubes carry the charge to a grounding point instead.
What is EN 61340-5-1?
It is the standard for protecting against electrostatic discharge. Certification to it means the assembly has been evaluated for controlling static, which matters wherever solvents or combustible dusts are handled.
Why mount the arm from the ceiling instead of the wall?
A ceiling mount keeps the work area open. In a production cell with carts, parts, and people moving around a bench, an overhead arm covers the bench without taking wall runs or floor space, and it parks clear when it is not in use.
Is a 20 inch domed hood better than a small nozzle?
For assembly work, yes. A wide dome captures vapor across an irregular part and tolerates the operator shifting the piece. A small nozzle only performs when it stays precisely on one point.
Do adhesive fumes in drone manufacturing really need source capture?
Solvent based adhesives and primers release vapor during application and curing, and hand bonding puts the operator directly over it. Room ventilation dilutes slowly, so capture at the joint is the control that actually lowers exposure at the bench.
Does Labs USA supply hazardous location extraction equipment nationwide?
Yes. Labs USA specifies standard and explosion proof extraction arms, hoods, brackets, and fume hoods for laboratories and manufacturers across the country.
Need Fume Extraction Over a Bonding or Finishing Bench?
Labs USA specifies ceiling, wall, and portable extraction arms, including ATEX and static grounded versions, sized to the process and the area classification.
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