A filter only works reliably if its housing suits the application too. Connection positions, installation space, sealing faces, flow routing, maintenance access and the mounting for the filter element all have to be matched precisely to one another.
stainlesstec makes customer-specific stainless steel filter housings to drawing and CAD data – as one-offs, bespoke builds or recurring small batches.
Filter housings · filter pots · housings for filter elements · process filters · special housings
The housing is part of the filter function
A filter housing does more than hold the filter element. Depending on the application it takes on several duties at once:
taking in the medium and guiding it
positioning the filter element precisely
providing sealing faces
withstanding pressure or vacuum
allowing maintenance
making the connections to the plant
distributing the flow sensibly
keeping filter elements exchangeable
So the housing has to be more than tight – it has to suit the filter system as a whole.
To drawing rather than from the catalogue
Many filter housings can be bought as standard components. We become interesting where:
the dimensions are unusual
existing connections have to be carried over
standard filters will not fit the installation space
special materials are required
hygiene requirements apply
several filter elements are combined
an existing design is to be replaced
A standard product then becomes a customer-specific manufacturing task.
Round or rectangular
Filter housings do not have to be cylindrical. Depending on the plant, different forms make sense:
round filter housings for filter pots, cartridges or cylindrical filter elements
rectangular filter housings for larger filter areas, air routing or customer-specific internals
multi-chamber housings where several filter stages or elements are combined
special geometries where installation space, pipe routing or machine design leave no room for a standard form
We make the geometry to the requirements of the filter system in question.
Connections decide the integration
The filter housing is the interface between process and filter element. Typical connections:
pipe stubs and flanges
inlet and outlet connections
drains and vents
sensor and differential pressure ports
cleaning connections
fixing points
The position and orientation of these interfaces have to be exactly right. On replacement or retrofit projects in particular, that matters more than the shape of the housing itself.
Maintenance has to be designed in from the start
Filter elements have to be changed or cleaned. Access for maintenance therefore belongs in the design. Depending on the application, the options are:
removable lids
hinged lids
clamp fasteners
bolted covers
flanged joints
quick-release openings
withdrawable filter inserts
Sealing faces, fasteners and space have to be arranged so that the filter element stays accessible in practice. A sound technical solution has to be maintainable as well as functional.
Filter element and housing have to match
What matters is which filter element is used – strainer baskets, wire mesh, perforated plate, filter cartridges, filter plates, filter mats or bespoke inserts.
The housing has to take account of their dimensions, sealing faces, fixing, flow direction and exchangeability. Here our experience from sieves, sieve frames & filter components feeds straight into housing construction.
Flow begins before the filter
A filter housing has a considerable effect on the flow. Unfavourable inlets or abrupt changes in cross-section leave a filter element unevenly loaded. The design points to consider are:
inflow direction
changes in cross-section
dead spaces
changes of direction
filter area
the distance between connection and filter element
The flow design is yours to supply – we put the design into production.
Sealing faces and transitions
A filter housing seals only as well as its interfaces: lid seals, flange faces, filter seats, connection faces and welded transitions.
With maintenance repeated again and again, these areas have to keep working. Flatness, clean machining and dimensionally accurate production are therefore central quality characteristics.
Stainless steel for hygienic and corrosive applications
Filter housings often sit where media are corrosive, where high cleanliness is required, where there is product contact, where cleaning happens regularly or where high-grade surfaces are specified. Stainless steel suits that particularly well.
On filter housings the surface is functionally important. Depending on the application, what counts is:
ground internal surfaces
a defined roughness
burr-free transitions
dressed welds
readily cleanable interiors
high-grade external surfaces
In food and pharmaceutical applications especially, it should be stated unambiguously which areas are in product contact.
When pressure or vacuum comes into it
Filter housings may run at atmospheric pressure or form part of a system under pressure or vacuum. The requirements then change markedly: pressure rating, material, wall thickness, weld execution, tightness, testing and documentation.
For applications like these we bring welding qualifications and experience from pressure vessel construction. Whether a given housing counts as a pressure-bearing component we establish per project.
Air, liquids or process media
Filter housings look very different from one application to the next: for liquid filtration we build housings for strainer baskets, cartridges or other filter inserts; for air and extract systems, box-shaped or bespoke housings to hold filter stages.
Food processing technology
Filter housings with requirements for surface, cleanability and product-contact areas.
On request, the work goes beyond the bare housing. Depending on the project, we integrate:
filter inserts and strainer baskets
lids and fasteners
seals
brackets
connection parts
sensor mountings
A welded housing thus becomes a system component that is largely ready to install.
From CAD model to finished housing
Review the design – analyse geometry, filter element, connections and installation situation
Make the individual parts – laser cut, punch and bend the plate
Weld the housing – join shell, flanges, nozzles and reinforcements
Integrate the filter mounting – fit seats, brackets and internals
Finish the surface – complete internal and external surfaces to specification
Complete and inspect – fit and check lids, fasteners and project-specific components
Replacement housings, existing plant and repeat parts
Filter housings are often needed when existing plant is to stay in service or be modernised – because the housing in place is damaged, the original manufacturer is no longer available, the filter technology is changing, connections need adapting, maintenance has to improve, or material and surface are to be optimised.
Where drawings or reliable measurements exist, the design in place serves as the basis. Older plant can then stay in use without rebuilding the whole filter system.
And bespoke builds rarely stay one-offs either: they go into several identical machines, are held as spares, are needed in variants or are reordered regularly. With stored CAD and manufacturing data we build them again repeatably.
What we need for your enquiry
STEP data or drawing
filter element or filter type
housing dimensions
material
wall thicknesses
medium
volume flow, where relevant
operating pressure or vacuum, where relevant
connection sizes
how the filter is to be changed
sealing requirements
surface requirements
product-contact areas
testing requirements
quantity
For replacement housings, photographs and reliable measurements of the existing component help as well.
The filter element is given. We build the housing around it.
Filter pot, box-shaped filter housing or bespoke system component: send us the design, the filter element and the technical requirements.
We will assess how a housing that fits precisely, can be maintained and can be made repeatably is best developed from them.
Let’s talk about your project.
Send us your drawing or CAD data by email – together with material, batch size and your requirements. We will come back to you with a sound assessment.
