Tag: Ion Bar

Static and Inkjet Printing on Bottles

Published on by johnball2014Leave a comment

One of the biggest issues in winter, besides being cold, is static.  An outside sales representative was responsible for selling and servicing industrial inkjet printers.  He started to receive more complaints about the quality of the print, especially from customers that used plastic bottles.  This customer was printing a date code on the outside of a soda bottle prior to packaging.  They noticed that the print on the back side was blurry and could be rejected by their distributor.  We discussed how static can cause issues like this with printers.

We had a good discussion about how to solve their problem because EXAIR is the leader in Static Eliminators. The quality of the image is based on the dots per inch, or DPI.  With very fine droplets, static charges can affect the “landing” area of the small droplets.  For the application above, the plastic bottles were generating static charge by bumping and rubbing against each other.  A static voltage is generated in either positive or negative charges.  The stronger the charge, the stronger the force.  To measure the static charges, EXAIR does offer a Static Meter to quantitatively measure the amount of voltage of the static surface. 

Static

With a decrease in the moisture that is present in the air, static charges are able to build easier and to a much higher level.  Material is the other condition for static generation.  The type of non-conductive material will determine how easily it will pass or except electrons.  The soda bottles above are made from polyethylene terephthalate, or PET.  This material has a moderate ability to generate static electricity.  But the charge was enough to affect the print quality. 

Ionizing Bar
Low cost Ionizing Bars eliminate static cling.

                With the nature of static elimination, we want to target the affected area.  In this instance, it was just before the inkjet printer.  I recommended the model 8003 Gen4 Ionization Bar with the model 7960 Gen4 Power Supply.  The EXAIR Static Eliminators are able to produce both positive and negative ions to neutralize any type of static.  They were able to mount the Gen4 Ionizing Bar alongside the bottle near the print area.  After they added the Ionization Bar, the static was removed and the date code printing was clear.  They were so impressed that they contacted the manufacturer of the inkjet printer to have this as an option for similar applications.  Static is a nuisance, and EXAIR has nine different types of Static Eliminators to handle industrial areas as well as labs and clean rooms.  If you are experiencing static issues, you can contact EXAIR and speak to one of the Application Engineers.  We will be happy to help you select the best solution for your static problems.    

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

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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Quantify the Static Charge in Your Processes w/ EXAIR’s Static Meter!

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment
Static Eliminators

In a recent blog post, I discussed the theory behind how static is generated (if you missed it, check it out here!!). One of the troublesome aspects about static electricity is that it’s hard to measure. The static charge on the surface of a part is not visible, that is unless the charge is high enough to result in a static discharge to nearby equipment or personnel. In most cases, issues related to static aren’t always 100% clear and are impossible to measure without the right equipment. So how do we measure static?

It’s actually simple: EXAIR’s Model 7905 Static Meter is designed to take the guesswork out of the equation when evaluating static charges. It allows for an easy one-hand measurement of the static charge on the surface. This allows you to measure in numerous places in the process to evaluate the true source of the static. In most cases, the highest voltage reading will indicate the source of your static problem.

The 7905 Static Meter is sensitive and responsive, indicating the surface voltage and polarity on objects up to +/- 20kV when measured at 1” from the surface! On the front face of the meter is a hold button, a battery indicator, and a “zero” button to zero out the instrument and ensure an accuracy of +/- 5% of the reading when 1” from the charged surface.

When looking for a method to identify the source of your static woes, EXAIR’s Static Meter is an ideal fit. Since the method used to neutralize this static is also invisible, using a Static Meter in conjunction with any EXAIR Static Eliminator allows you to confirm and quantify the result of the products working as intended. To do this, simply take a measurement of the surface before and after treatment with any EXAIR Static Eliminator. After being exposed to the static neutralizing ions, the residual static charge should be neutralized and able to be confirmed on the display of the Static Meter. For customers and applications that require it, EXAIR also offers an ISO 17025 Accredited Calibration service.

The Static Meter is the only device that will allow you to identify and quantify any static charge. Don’t continue to let static charges wreak havoc in your processes, we have them available to ship today from stock alongside all of our cataloged Static Eliminators!!!

Tyler Daniel, CCASS

Application Engineer/International Trade

E-mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com

Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

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