As the colder dryer months are upon us, static electricity will be more frequent and will become a real nuisance.  Machines will start jamming, alignments will be difficult, dirt will collect to surfaces, and hazardous sparks can shock personnel.  EXAIR manufactures a line of Gen4 Static Eliminators to remove this nuisance.

EXAIR manufactures eight different product lines in two different styles within our Gen4 Static Eliminators.  In this blog, I will be covering the Super Ion Air Wipe.  This product blows ionized air in a 360-degree pattern.  They are engineered to remove static and debris from the outside of hoses, plastic pipe, extrusions, and coated wires.  With a split design, the Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe can easily mount around the product without having to re-thread.  EXAIR stocks two different sizes with a 2” (51mm) and 4” (102mm) inside diameter. The Super Ion Air Wipes give a fast static-decay, a shockless and non-radioactive design, variable flow and force, low air consumption and no moving parts.

The Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe can be purchased as a kit which will include the power supply (required for ionization), a filter separator (to clean contamination from the compressed air), and a pressure regulator (to control the blowing force).  The filter and regulator are properly sized to avoid any air flow restrictions or loss of performance which can occur when using components which are not suited for the application.

Generally speaking, static is generated from non-conductive surfaces being “rubbed”.  This could be from going over rollers on a conveyor, stacking product onto each other, sheet feeding, and even peeling away a backing material.  When non-conductive surfaces, or insulators, are moved or separated, electrons are “stripped” and redistribute on to different areas of the surface.  Static charges are typically measured in kilovolts (kV), or 1,000 volts, and they can be either positive or negative.  The higher the charge, the stronger the static force.  In reference, at 10 kilovolts, a spark can jump one inch (25 mm) from the surface.   EXAIR offers a Digital Static Meter, model 7905, to measure the amount of static voltage on a surface.  It is a great tool for finding problem areas in your process as well as determining the effectiveness of the treatment.

These ionizers are powered by a 5,000V AC power supply.  The alternating current, AC, will create both negative ions and positive ions.  So, no matter the polarity of charge on the surface, the Gen4 Static Eliminators will be able to remove it.  The power supplies come in either a 2 port or 4 port design so you can power multiple Gen4 Static Eliminators with one power supply.  The input power is selectable from either 115VAC or 230VAC in both 50/60 Hz.   Two armored and electromagnetic shielded cables connect the Super Ion Air Wipe to the power supply. This will help to protect the cable from abrasions, cuts and splits which can be common in rugged industrial areas.

Static can be a real nuisance with shocking operators, “sticking” debris, and jamming processes.  If you run into these issues in your application, no matter the shape, EXAIR has a Gen4 Static Eliminator for you.  Even if you have cylindrical objects like tubes, pipes, hoses and extrusions; EXAIR can provide the Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipes in stock.  For more information, you can contact one of our Application Engineers at EXAIR.

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