Tag: ionization

Static Eliminator Product Configurations

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I recently had the pleasure of discussing an Ion Air Jet application with an engineer at a company that makes medical devices. They needed to remove static charge, and statically clung dust, from certain parts as they’re being packaged and sealed. Because of the specific geometry of the parts, they wanted to use two Model 8194 Gen4 Ion Air Jets, aimed directly at the geometric features of the part where the clinging dust was most problematic. The engineer started the conversation with questions about two Model 8494 Gen4 Ion Air Jet Kits, and was quite pleased when I recommended only one Kit, and an additional Ion Air Jet.

The Model 7960 Gen4 Power Supply that comes with the Kit has two ports, so it can be used to energize any two EXAIR Gen4 Static Eliminators. That’s two Ion Air Jets, two 3″ Super Ion Air Knives, two 108″ Super Ion Air Knives, one Super Ion Air Knife and one Ion Air Gun, etc.

The only exception is our Super Ion Air Wipes, which come in two sizes: 2″ and 4″ (left). Since they have two emitter points and hence, two cables, they’ll use both ports on the 2-Outlet Model 7960 Power Supply (right). If you want to run two of them (or one of them and any two other Static Eliminators), you’ll want the 4-Outlet Model 7961 Power Supply (far right).

Why would you need more than one Static Eliminator? Well, the most popular answer comes from the fact that static charge is a surface phenomenon. You can expose one side of a statically charged film to ionization all day long, and it won’t change the static charge that resides on the other side one bit. Super Ion Air Knives and Ionizing Bars are oftentimes operated in pairs for this very reason.

Two Gen4 Ionizing Bars + one Power Supply = Static elimination on both sides.

It also may be necessary to eliminate static, on the same material, more than once. Remember, all it takes to develop a static charge is contact & separation of non-conductive materials. I worked with a user once who had a machine that die cut shapes from a sheet of open cell foam…similar to the stuff that you wrap fragile items in for moving or transport, but a little thicker. Anyway, this foam sheet came off the roll with enough static charge to make it bunch up instead of moving smoothly into the cutting chamber, so it passed through an “over/under” pair of Ionizing Bars (similar to the photo above). Then, the die cutting caused enough static charge to make the pieces stick to the dies (think “cookie cutters” because that’s EXACTLY what they looked like), so two strategically aimed Ion Air Cannons were used to blow the “cookies” into the collection bin at the outlet of the machine. It was pretty compact (the foam sheet was only 10″ wide, and the “cookies” were “bite sized”) so all four Static Eliminators were energized from one Model 7961 4-Outlet Power Supply.

The “one Super Ion Air Knife and one Ion Air Gun” that I mentioned earlier is another popular answer to that question. The laminar, even flow from a Super Ion Air Knife is ideal for sweeping across a flat surface, but if there are any features to your statically charged material that might be “hidden” from the Super Ion Air Knife’s curtain, another dedicated device can be used for static elimination and blow off from those areas.

EXAIR Gen4 Static Eliminators have 5ft (1.52 meters) cables, except for Ion Air Guns, which have 10ft (3 meters) cables. As long as the cables will reach the Power Supply, you’re in business. If the Static Eliminators will be farther away than that, though, you don’t necessarily have to use separate Power Supplies for them. We can make any Static Eliminator with a custom length cable, up to 50ft (15 meters) in length.

If static charge is causing you problems, we’ve got solutions. To find out more, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

Ion Air Jet Applications

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

While writing my blog last week on all of the features & benefits of the Gen4 Ion Air Jet, I couldn’t help but think of some of the very interesting and successful uses I’ve seen in my nine years (as of this past Monday) as an Application Engineer at EXAIR Corporation.  In honor of my workaversary, this week’s edition is Russ’ Top 9 Ion Air Jet applications:

  1. A medical device manufacturer uses Ion Air Jets to remove dust from plastic extrusion as it goes through a puller belt.  The small diameter (0.05″ to 0.10″) made the Ion Air Jet a more efficient fit than the Super Ion Air Wipe, which is commonly used for extrusions like this, but is most effective for larger diameters.
  2. A maker of large scale automated machinery has provided Ion Air Jets (as well as other EXAIR quiet, efficient, and safe compressed air products) on machines they’ve been selling their customers for years.  When they started machining their own plastic parts, the Ion Air Jet was their first thought for a solution when plastic chips started sticking to their drill bits.
  3. A commercial printer makes displays, signs, etc. from a variety of static-prone materials such as acrylic, polycarbonate, and styrene.  They use CNC routers to cut them to size & shape, form the edges, and add dimensional detail.  Ion Air Jets blow the dust & shavings away, and keep them away, greatly reducing the prep time between routing and assembly.
  4. A weather sealing/stripping manufacturer uses Ion Air Jets to remove statically charged dust from their rubber & foam product extrusions, allowing for increased line speeds and better cuts for the products they cut for specific seal packages for the residential & commercial door and automotive industries, among others.
  5. A major provider of electrical and electronic contactors uses Ion Air Jets to blow off contact strip as it rolls off large reels to remove protective film and static.
  6. A manufacturer of wire marking machinery installs Ion Air Jets on their machines that are used to print on products with especially static-prone jackets, to ensure clean and crisp markings
  7. A cable manufacturer that caters to the computer & electronic industries uses Ion Air Jets to remove static & dust as foil is applied to PVC coated wire.  This eliminates the static charge that was causing inconsistencies when the adhesive was heated to activate.
  8. A wholesale food equipment distributor uses Ion Air Jets to blow out bottles during the sterilization process, prior to filling.
  9. A maker of specialty polymers uses Ion Air Jets to keep fine powders from accumulating in the entries into their hoppers.

Some applications call for a fixed-in-place solution, like the (above, from left) Super Ion Air Knife, Super Ion Air Wipe, Ion Air Jet, and Ion Air Cannon.) Others are best suited to the hand-held convenience of the Ion Air Gun.  Whatever your static problem is, though, EXAIR has a solution for you!

If you have a problem with static, the Ion Air Jet is just one of the solutions EXAIR Corporation can provide.  If you’d like to find out more about how we can help, give me a call.

Russ Bowman
Application Engineer
EXAIR Corporation
Visit us on the Web
Follow me on Twitter
Like us on Facebook

Cleaning Honeycomb with a Super Ion Air Knife

Published on by Dave WoernerLeave a comment

This week I worked with a gentleman, who was having a problem cleaning a honeycomb web after a sawing operation. The honeycomb was a paper based material, and the sawing operation would create a large amount of dust. This dust filled his honeycomb, which made the product appear inconsistent to his customer on incoming inspections. This was leading to the customer questioning the quality of the product.

honeycomb

His process featured a blower that was incredibly noisy and still left some material on the product.  During the winter, the problem was further exasperated by the dry air, which led to the dust being statically charged and clinging to the honeycomb even more.  In spite of his quality and production issues, the customer was looking to expand his production to meet demand. The blower he was using had been custom-made for his machine, so he was open to any ideas. Also, the blower had no way of removing static electricity from the material.

I recommended he use an 84″ Super Ion Air Knife to clean his 80″ honeycomb web. The customer mounted the air knife perpendicular to the surface of the honeycomb 4″ away from the surface. One of my concerns with the operation was creating even flow. To do this on a long span, I recommended he use have the plumbing kit installed at EXAIR, which allows the air knife to create an even flow along the length of the knife y preventing any restrictions which may occur from poorly sized inlet fittings, hose or tube.  The Super Ion Air Knife cleaned the honey comb with ease, while maintaining a quiet 69 dBA, and without the expensive maintenance required by the blower.

PlumbingKit-bg

Dave Woerner
Application Engineer
Davewoerner@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_DW

Dust Removal With Super Ion Air Knife and Light Duty Line Vac

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

Cap De-duster

We always enjoy solving problems for the end users of our products.  Last fall I worked with a company in Lebanon needing to remove static dust from small caps as they travelled down a conveyor line.  We discussed the needs of the application, I made model number recommendations, and the system was installed.  Using a 3” Super Ion Air Knife and a Light Duty Line Vac, the end user was able to eliminate the static, remove the dust, and vacuum away the dust as needed.

Now, this same end user is aiming to repeat the application, only this time for a larger cap.  The setup is identical – the caps travel left-to-right on the conveyor track, they are blow off with ionized air from an EXAIR Super Ion Air Knife, and the dust is collected with a Light Duty Aluminum Line Vac.  The only revision to this system (and retroactively applied to the last) was to reposition the Super Ion Air Knife so that the caps spend more time in contact with ionized air.  This allows for increased throughput, should the application ever require increased production.

It’s great to solve problems for our customers.  It’s even better when the solution worked so well that it leads to repeat business.

If you have an application in need of an EXAIR device, but aren’t sure which one to use or where to start, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

Audi Update:  The holiday break was slated as a perfect time to dive back into the engine concern on my latest project car, but, sadly, it didn’t happen.  Check my blog post next week for a full report.