Tag: anti static

Intelligent Compressed Air: Static Electron Theory

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

Did you know that the discharge you’ve likely felt on a cold winter day after walking across a carpeted surface and touching a door knob is a result of static electricity? To understand how this static electricity is generated, let’s first go back to basic chemistry class and talk about the atomic structure of an atom.

An atom consists of three basic particles: protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons (positively charged) and neutrons (neutral charge) form the nucleus. Outside the nucleus, electrons (negatively charged) are quickly zipping around in orbits at specific distances from the nucleus. These electrons are bound to the nucleus due to electromagnetic force. Opposite charges attract, since the protons in the nucleus carry a positive charge this acts on the negative charge of the electrons and keeps them in orbit. The closer the electron to the nucleus, the stronger the bond and the more energy required to break that electron from its original orbit.

When an atom gains or loses an electron, it affects the balance that occurs within an atom. If an atom gains an electron, it now has more electrons than protons. This results in a negatively charged atom. The opposite can be said if an atom loses an electron, it now carries a positive charge. This charge imbalance is where static electricity comes from. Both positive and negative charges will remain statically charged until contacted by or comes into close proximity to a conductive or grounded surface.

The strength of this charge will depend on a few different factors: the types of materials, surface area, environmental conditions, etc. will all play a role in the generation of a static charge. The triboelectric series is a scale, listing various different materials and their tendency to become positive or negative. Those at the far end of the spectrum have an increased propensity to gain or lose an electron, while those in the center are more likely to remain balanced. When two materials on opposite ends of the spectrum come into contact with one another, it poses the greatest risk of generating high levels of static electricity. The chart below shows some common materials and where they fall on the tribolectric series.

When materials carry a static charge, a variety of problems can ensue during manufacturing. These can manifest in the form of painful shocks to operators, materials jamming or tearing, sheet feeding problems, discharges causing imperfections in the material appearance, etc. To remove the charge, we need to introduce static eliminating ions to balance out the charge on the material. EXAIR’s line of Static Eliminators create an equal number of both positive and negative ions to saturate the surface of the material and neutralize any charge present.

With a wide range of different solutions all available from stock, EXAIR has the solution to your static problems this winter. Give us a call and we’ll be happy to discuss the application and help to identify the best method to mitigating any static issues in your processes. Take advantage of EXAIR’s current promotion (now through the end of March) and receive a free AC Sensor with your Static Eliminator purchase!

Tyler Daniel, CCASS

Application Engineer
E-mail: TylerDaniel@exair.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

Atom photo courtesy of janjf93 via Pixabay Creative Commons License

Video Blog: EXAIR’s Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle has been used in clean room applications. These have been used most commonly to keep contaminants away from packaging and labeling areas. The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle has a clean room classification: ISO 14644-1 Class 5, operational.

Please enjoy the Video below where I introduce and demonstrate EXAIRS newest addition to the Static Eliminator product line!

If you have any questions on the Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle or have a static problem you’d like to discuss, give us a call or shoot us an email

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Gen4 Ion Air Cannon Explained

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

When larger areas need to be covered with an ionized air stream and the surfaces needing to be covered are not flat, then an array of Gen4 Ion Air Cannons can often be the solution. This is something that the automotive industry as well as many others have been using since before I have been a part of the EXAIR team. So just how does the Gen4 Ion Air Cannon achieve this?

At its core, the Gen4 IAC is designed around a 2″ Super Air Amplifier, and then we add ionization and a stand. The largest benefit to this is the ability of the Super Air Amplifier to entrain large volumes of free ambient air while using small amounts of compressed air. By entraining large volumes of free ambient air and then directing it down through the throat of the IAC and ionizing it upon exit of the barrel, we maximize the potential to eliminate static on the target surfaces and provide a good blowoff at the same time. To give a visualization of the performance, check out the video below.

When adding ionization to this airstream, complex shapes can easily have static elimination as they are being conveyed. Take an automotive body for example, as it travels down the assembly line, before paint or primer, they get blown off to ensure any debris from the facility is removed before they are coated. An array of Ion Air Cannons can be installed at a distance from the surface to fit multiple vehicle models and still target the entire surface needed.

Three Gen4 Ion Air Cannons are used to blow off the debris and remove unwanted static charge from a primer vehicle body before painting.

By arranging the blow-offs to utilize the large volume of ambient air entrained and direct the airflow at an angle in which once it hits the surface, it expands in the direction needed to remove the debris it is easy to cover irregular shapes. The setup shown above will utilize 15.5 SCFM per IAC when operated at 80 psig and give a forceful blast to remove any debris on the surface; the total consumption would be 45.5 SCFM at 80 psig to remove all debris from the top surfaces of this vehicle body before it goes into the final paint area. A centrally located 4 port Gen4 Power Supply, model 7961, can simplify cabling and installation while powering all three Ion Air Cannons. To optimize compressed air usage, an Electronic Flow Control can easily be installed to shut the air off whenever a car is not present; adding something like this ionized blowoff station to existing equipment is easier.

If you would like to discuss what the Gen4 Ion Air Cannon kit or any of our point-of-use engineered compressed air products can do for you in your facility, please contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Static Problem on your Packaging Line?

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Pretty much every consumer grade product comes in packaging, so It’s safe to say most manufacturing processes end in a final packaging of the final product! One of the most common issues with Form, Fill, Seal and other general packing systems is Static! That pesky force you can’t see, but you know and can feel the effects! So how can you address those issues? With EXAIR’s line of static eliminators! With a dozen different configurations an Application Engineer can help you pick one to fit into your process and eliminate the static that’s wreaking havoc!

But let’s take a look at a couple of the most common applications!

Bottle Sleeves

Unlike the Coke bottles below, most bottoms now have the thermo shrink on the cap to secure the lid and keep it clean. (You may ask why I used the Coke photo…. well I just liked it!!) But typically a flat sheet of thermo sensitive plastic is fed through a forming block to connect the ends to make a sleeve. Then they are fed over the bottle cut and thermo formed around the bottle. There are a lot of things there that can create static! Check out this blog by Tyler. His customer used a Super Ion Air Wipe to rid the static prior to the forming!

Image courtesy of Kevin Trotman, Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

Filling

Filling a container with product is one of the most common packaging situations we encounter! Why? Because there are so many different operations that go into it. First you have to form the packaging, then clean it, then move it, then fill it, then seal it, then clean before bulk packaging. You guessed it each one of those tasks have the ability to build and be affected negatively by static.

Below is a photo of a line to fill vials with a vaccine, but first these need to be cleaned. Static can cause dirt and dust to stick inside the vial. This is a common use of the GEN4 Super Ion Air Knife, it can eliminate the static, then provide the force to dislodge the dust and dirt. Then you can push it into the air and dispose of it with a downdraft system. And just like the bottling line, they cap the vials with a thin cap cover, you can use the same product to eliminate that static to keep the flaws to a minimum.

Image courtesy of Vaccines at Sanofi, Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

As the temperatures begin to decline, so does the humidity in the air. Drier air results in an increase in static problems. Get ahead of it this year and check out EXAIR’s complete line of Static Elimination products, all available to ship same-day from stock!

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

Send me an Email
Find us on the Web 
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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS