A wire manufacturer contacted me about a static problem that was occurring with their encoder. The customer explained the application problem involving an encoder used to measure the length of wire running through the process.  An encoder is an electromechanical device that can count segments of revolutions as it turns.  They had a small steel wheel attached to the encoder that would ride on a nylon coated wire.  As the wheel turned, the signal from the encoder calculates the length very accurately.  The issue with the steel wheel was slippage.  The friction between the steel wheel and the nylon coated wire was not high enough due to varying tensions.  The result was the length was not counted accurately, and with large spindles of wire, they were losing money.  To fix the problem, the wire manufacturer decided to change the wheel to a fabric type to increase friction.

They did solve their friction problem, but now the issue became a static problem. The two non-conductive (insulated wire and fabric wheel) materials started to generate enough static electricity that a spark would ground out against the encoder body.  The sparks have a high potential to damage the encoder or cause a false count.  Either way the customer knew he had to remove the static.  Once I understood the problem, I suggested the 2” Super Ion Air Wipe, model 8462.  It comes complete with the Super Ion Air Wipe, power supply, filter, and regulator.  It is designed to provide a uniform 360 degree ionized airstream directed conically to a continuous stream of material such as insulated wire.  With the proper mounting, the Super Ion Air Wipe would remove the static from entire area, the wire and the wheel.  This removed the static issue from the process and allowed the encoder to count correctly and accurately.

Static can become a real issue within processes like this, discharging to sensitive components and operators. If you run into issues with static in your process, no matter the shape, EXAIR has the product to help.  You can discuss your application with us by contacting one of our Application Engineers.

John Ball
Application Engineer
Email: johnball@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_jb