It is interesting as the solar energy industry begins to crank up production, we are beginning to see more applications geared toward eliminating static on large pieces of glass prior to being printed with a metallic coating. These large pieces of glass are the beginnings of large solar panels.

One customer in particular had a problem with the quality of their finish when they applied the metallic coating to the glass. The residual static charge on the glass caused the metallic coating to become irregular as it was being pulled by the lines of force created by the static charge on the glass.

Obviously, the irregular coating was a huge problem for our customer. So, after talking the application through, we decided to place two Model 7096 ion bars and one Model 7901 Power Supply into the process, one Ion Bar for each side of the glass to be treated just prior to the coating being applied (You cannot eliminate static through an insulator material).

The ion bars were able to eliminate all static charges on the glass and the metallic coating flowed onto the glass in exactly the way it is supposed to.

Before installation of the Ion Bars into the process, the customer was having problems with the coating quality to some degree on just about every sheet of glass they processed. Now, that problem has been completely eliminated.

This is just another simple idea of how an EXAIR product can be applied to take away the headaches of those involved with trouble-shooting what seems to be a rather difficult issue. Hope this jogs your mind about applications you see on a daily basis that may be similar in nature to this one.

Neal Raker
Application Engineer
nealraker@exair.com