We’ve all experienced it: the sudden “zap” when touching a doorknob, the frustration of plastic wrap sticking to everything but the bowl, or the sight of dust stubbornly clinging to a freshly painted surface.
While static electricity is a minor annoyance at home, in an industrial environment, it’s a productivity killer. It causes materials to jam, ruins electronic components, attracts contaminants, and can even pose a significant fire hazard.
But where does it actually come from? And more importantly, how do you get rid of it?
At its core, static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges on the surface of a material. Most objects are electrically neutral, meaning they have an equal number of positive protons and negative electrons. Static is generated through a process called tribocharging. When two materials come into contact and then separate, electrons are “ripped” from one surface and transferred to the other.
Common industrial culprits include:
Friction: Material pulling off a roll (webbing) or sliding down a conveyor.
Pressure: Objects being squeezed through rollers.
Separation: Rapidly peeling a protective film or label.
In a perfect world, these charges would bleed off into the air. However, in dry environments or when using insulators (like plastics, paper, and textiles), the charge gets trapped on the surface. It stays “static” until it finds a way to discharge—usually into your hand or a sensitive piece of equipment.
So why is static a nightmare for production? If you are running a high-speed line for example, static electricity manifests in three expensive ways:
Dust Attraction: A charged surface acts like a magnet for airborne contaminants, leading to poor paint finishes or contaminated food packaging.
Product Misbehavior: Sheets of paper might double-feed, or plastic parts might “fly” off a conveyor belt due to repulsion.
Operator Shocks: Repeated painful shocks lead to fatigue and safety concerns for your team.
This is where EXAIR’s Gen4 Static Eliminators come in. You can’t always stop the friction that creates static, but you can neutralize the charge immediately after it’s formed. Unlike simple grounded brushes that need to touch the surface, EXAIR products use ionizing technology combined with compressed air to neutralize charges from a distance.
Through the use of the Corona discharge method, EXAIR ionizers create a flood of both positive and negative ions. When this “cloud” of ions hits a charged surface, the surface automatically attracts the ions it needs to become neutral. Several common applications for our products are:
Ionizing Bar: High-speed webs, paper, and flat surfaces.
Ion Air Cannon: Neutralizing parts from a distance or in hard-to-reach areas.
Ion Air Gun: Manual cleaning and neutralizing of parts before painting or packaging.
Super Ion Air Knife: Providing a wide “sheet” of ionized air to clean and neutralize large surfaces simultaneously.
So why choose EXAIR? Our Gen4 technology is designed for rugged industrial use. They are shock less, meaning they are safe for operators to be around, and they require no moving parts, which translates to incredibly low maintenance. By integrating these into your process, you can increase line speeds, reduce scrap, and keep your workplace safe.
Ready to stop the shocks and start the flow? Give us a call!
Al Wooffitt
Application Engineer
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