Lighting for a Powder Booth

Q. We do not have very good lighting in our powder booth and the manual operators have trouble seeing into some areas of our parts. We have two fluorescent fixtures on the top of the booth but they do not help the manual operators very much. As a result, we often have light areas and some heavy film builds. What are our options for adding light to the powder booth?

A. You should consider adding light fixtures that are mounted vertically at the manual stations. You can mount the fluorescent fixture against the wall of the powder booth if you follow a few simple rules. The fixture must be a Class 1, Division 2 light made for dust-tight installations. The lens is mounted flush with the booth wall. You will need to clean the lens periodically, as it will build up with powder during production. You could also mount more lights on the top of the booth if you think they are needed.