Tag: intellistat

RoHS, EXAIR, And You

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

The 20th century was an amazing time for technological advances. In just 70 years, the science & engineering communities went from believing that powered flight was impossible, to actually powering a flight that took three astronauts all the way to the Moon…and back. In the 50 years or so since then, the computers with the power required for space travel went from needing a whole room, to being able to fit on our desks, and eventually, our pockets.

All three of these: a state of the art computer from 1962 (left), the desktop computer I’m writing this blog on (middle), and a smart phone being used for its most popular function (right) all have about the same amount of computing power, believe it or not. (full disclosure: I believe it because I used my smart phone to look that up on the internet)

Along with these amazing advances in technology came exponential increases in the materials it takes to make devices like desktop (or laptop) computers and smart phones…and some of those materials don’t get along well at all with the environment, and by extension, those of us who live in said environment. This doesn’t normally matter as long as those materials are housed inside an operating computer or cell phone (or myriad other electronic devices), but it DOES become a concern when they’re disposed of. When stuff like that ends up in landfills, for instance, it has a bad habit of making its way into the water table…and that’s not good for anyone.

In 2002, the European Union (EU) started pursuing legislation to restrict the use of certain hazardous substances, to get out ahead of disposal issues by keeping them out of products from the very beginning. This led to the creation & implementation of the RoHS Directive. It’s been revised, amended, and updated over the years, because it turns out there are no viable substitutes for SOME of those substances in SOME situations. Among these exceptions:

  • Mercury is used extensively in a number of energy efficient CFL light bulbs and fluorescent tubes, so there are exemptions for that, and it works because there’s a whole industry devoted to the proper recycling of these products.
  • My personal favorite is the specific exclusion for lead in the manufacture of pipe organs. Seems that the lead based alloy that’s been used for centuries is critical to the tonal qualities of the sound that the pipes produce. Since disposal rates of these are negligible (the use of this alloy is one of the reasons they LAST for centuries), pipe organ pipes don’t have to be RoHS compliant.

Compliance with the RoHS Directive is so important to EXAIR, it’s part of our Sustainability Plan. All of our products that are subject to the Directive have certificates of compliance (available upon request) that document their compliance. Per the specifics of the Directive, these are comprised of certain products in our Optimization, Static Eliminators, and Cabinet Cooler System product lines:

  • Optimization:
    • EFC Electronic Flow Control Systems
    • Digital Flowmeters
    • Digital Sound Level Meters
    • Ultrasonic Leak Detectors
  • Static Eliminators:
    • Super Ion Air Knives
    • Standard Ion Air Knives
    • Ionizing Bars
    • Super Ion Air Wipes
    • Ion Air Cannons
    • Ion Air Guns
    • Ion Air Jets
    • Power Supplies
    • Intellistat Ion Air Guns
    • Intellistat Ion Air Nozzles
    • Static Meters
  • Cabinet Cooler System products:
    • Electronic Temperature Control Systems
    • Thermostats & Capacitors
    • Solenoid Valves

These are all of our products that are electrical or electronic in nature. Our broad line of engineered compressed air products are not subject to the Directive, as they have no electrical or electronic components. We DO make sure these comply with other regulatory directives, as applicable, such as:

  • Conflict Mineral Free: All compressed air products
  • CE: All products
  • UL: Static Eliminators and Cabinet Cooler Systems are UL Listed, HazLoc Cabinet Cooler Systems are UL Classified
  • ATEX: These are a brand new line (as of this writing) of Cabinet Cooler products

If you’d like to find out more about EXAIR’s commitment to compliance with any of these standards or directives, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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New Product: New Clean room Rated Static Eliminator

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

 

           EXAIR’s new Intellistat® Ion Air Nozzle™ is the latest solution for static elimination in sensitive areas. Like the Intellistat® Ion Air Gun™, this new nozzle provides a lightweight solution rated for Class 5 clean rooms and controlled environments per ISO 14644-1. The Ion Air Nozzle comes equipped with a mounting bracket to assist with remote attachments or bench top assembly for hands-free use. It will reduce 1000 volts of static electricity to less than 100 volts in 0.6 seconds and up to 24” (610mm) away.  The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle is a comprehensive solution for neutralizing static in sensitive processes like scientific and electronic testing, cleaning medical or pharmaceutical products and packaging, or removing debris from sensitive electronics.

            The compact stainless steel adjustable bracket can easily be installed into a customer’s process.  Hands-free operations that require both hands to package, test, or assemble parts are now possible. The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle is equipped with an LED indicator to assure proper functionality and employs an EXAIR engineered Air Nozzle to maximize efficiency and meet OSHA requirements for sound level and dead-end pressure. The replaceable emitter point generates both positive and negative ions to eliminate either polarity of static electric charge.  They are made from durable, static-dissipative polycarbonate and feature a non-marring nozzle.  The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle assures its usefulness in applications such as PCB or electronics manufacturing.

            The EXAIR line of Intellistat products is UL listed and CE compliant, along with the rest of EXAIR’s full line of industrial static eliminators. Shop these, as well as our line of Gen4 Static Eliminators, like our Super Ion Air Knives, Ion Air Cannons, Ion Air Guns, and more, on EXAIR.com. If you wish to talk about your static problems, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR.  We will be happy to help.    

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

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

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Static Eliminators: The Blog!

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

Over the years we have expanded our Static Eliminator’s product line time and time again. Since its close to Christmas and I’m in the giving mood let’s do a full overview!!! Buckle up this is going to be a long one!!

GEN4 Super Ion Air Knife!

The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife floods an area or surface with static eliminating ions. With a uniform airflow across its length, misalignment to critical surfaces like webs is avoided.  The force can be adjusted from a light breeze, to a full out blast of air. The Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife is electrically powered, is shock less and has no moving parts.

How It Works

gen4siak_hwrks_800x

GEN4 Standard Ion Air Knife!

Similar to the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife, this product has a good compressed air efficiency.  It utilizes the Coanda effect to draw in ambient air at a 30:1 amplification ratio.  They come in stocked lengths from 3” (76mm) to 48” (1.22 meters).  The Gen4 Standard Ion Air Knife are used in similar applications as well as mold releasing, package cleaning, label applications and plastic bag opening.

Gen4 Standard Ion Air Knife

GEN4 Ion Bar (NO COMPRESSED AIR NEEDED)

This rugged design is for industrial use to remove static cling from flat surfaces. They range from a length of 3” (76mm) to 108” (2.74 meters).  Without the assistance of air, the product has to be within 2 inches (51 mm) from the surface to remove static charges.  The Gen4 Ionizing Bar is shock less and works well in applications where blowing air could be a detriment for the process.  This would include screen printing, labeling, and large printing process.

Gen4 Ionizing Bar

GEN4 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 the split design, the Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe can easily mount around the product without having to rethread.  They come in two different sizes with a 2” (51mm) and 4” (102mm) inner diameter. The ionized air has a fast static decay for speedy transfers.

Gen4 Super Ion Air Wipe

GEN4 Ion Air Cannon

Just like the name, this product will shower an area with ions to remove static. It can reach distances up to 15 feet (4.6 meters).  They are used in multiple areas including pre-paint car bodies, containers, shrink packaging, lenses, etc.  As an Air Amplifier, a small amount of compressed air will draw in a large amount of ambient air.  The ions are carried to the surface from the Gen4 Ion Air Cannon in a laminar air steam.   Once the ions coat the surface area, the air flow can gently remove any debris held by static forces.

Ion Air Cannon

GEN4 Ion Air Jet and Gun

For manual static removal to target specific areas, the Gen4 Ion Air Gun will work great.  This product comes standard with 10 feet (3 meters) of shielded cable for maximum reach.  An ergonomic air gun is attached to a Gen4 Ion Air Jet to manually remove static in difficult areas and from “shock” zones.  The Ion Air Guns work great for small batch processes used for quality checks or label applications.

Similar to the Ion Air Gun, this product is used for “hands-free” operations. They use a small amount of compressed air to “shoot” the ions onto a surface.  They can be operated with a solenoid valve or foot pedal to blow ions during specific times and situations.  They can easily be attached to a Stay Set Hose and Magnetic Base for best “hands-free” positioning for optimal cleaning.  They work well on small targets for automated systems or inspections areas prior to packaging.

GEN4 Ionizing Point

This single point design is manufactured to remove static on small targets in tight spots.  Utilizing the same rugged design of the Gen4 Static Eliminators, this product can remove static in spot areas and help to stop jams in slitting operations. They can also be panel mounted to neutralize duct air.

Intellistat Ion Air Gun

This is one of EXAIR’s newest product that is a lightweight solution for static and particle removal.  The patent-pending air gun comes complete with a 24Vdc power supply and a 6mm compressed air tubing.  There is a red and green LED lights to signify the production of ionized air for visual feedback.  The engineered air nozzles are quiet and OSHA safe.  The emitter point inside that creates the ions can be easily changed for replacement.  The applications range from circuit boards, electronic manufacturing, laboratories, clean rooms, and scientific testing.

Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle

And if you need a hands-off product that meets all the requirements the Intellistat Ion air guns does. The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle is your answer!

If you find that static is creating process problems, wasting time, and costing you money, EXAIR has a large line of Static Eliminators that can help you.  If you have an application, you can contact an Application Engineer at EXAIR to help select the correct model and remove that static nuisance.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Find us on the Web 
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Twitter: @EXAIR_JS