Tag: laminating

Laminate Flooring – Step Up to Protect the Surface

Published on by John BallLeave a comment

A manufacturer of laminated floor planks was having issues with defects prior to packaging.  The planks were made from a high-density fiberboard as the core with a top layer of a picturesque image, then sealed together.  They were getting fine material that was stuck on the surface, making them defective.  The issue was caused after the cutting process.  The fine debris remained on the surface and when the image or the sealing material was applied, it could be seen.  They tried wiping, but the solution caused scratches.  They tried blowing the surface to clear the debris, but due to the static, it would not fall off easily.  They required a good solution to improve the cleaning without slowing the process.  EXAIR’s Static Eliminators are a great product for industrial processes like this. 

In looking at the process, I recommended two pieces of a model 112242 42” Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife Kit.  The planks could come out in two spots or four spots.  (Reference photo above) To reduce compressed air usage, they could turn on or off which side is needed.  The customer asked about the mounting and compressed air attachments.  I mentioned the proper setup for the most effective blowing.  As a benefit, I offered a plumbing kit to help with the compressed air connection.  The PKI option, or Plumbing Kit Installed, has the proper amount of connection to the Super Ion Air Knife to allow for an even force across the entire knife.  I upgraded the model number with the PKI option to a model 112242PKI. 

Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife Kit

This kit will include the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife with a PKI, a power supply, a filter, a regulator and a shim set.  The Gen4 Power Supply creates both positive and negative ions to remove any type of static.  The filter will remove bulk liquids and debris from the compressed air to keep the product clean and to optimize performance.  The Regulator is used to control the force.  This helps to not overuse the amount of compressed air required for the job.  With a regulator, you can make fine adjustments to get the proper amount of air.  For coarse adjustments, you can change shims to increase or decrease the force.  The customer was happy with the properly sized components to operate a non-contact wiping with the Gen4 Super Ion Air Knives. 

Once installed, their defect rate almost dropped to zero.  They were very happy with the cleanliness of the planks; they decided to purchase six more units.  They could place them in different areas of the lamination line to ensure a clean surface.  EXAIR manufactures a variety of Static Eliminator products.  If you feel that static is an issue in your process, you can always contact an Application Engineer to help you.  For the company above, they were “stepping” high.   

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

EXAIR Static Eliminators Remove Static Charge from Print Station

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

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Unrolling plastic into this machine created a static charge throughout the process

One of the most common sources of static electricity in automated processes is friction.  As two (or more) materials move against each other, static is produced due to the triboelectric effect.  By definition, the triboelectric effect is a type of contact electrification in which certain materials become electrically charged after they come into frictional contact with a different material.  If these materials are non-conductive, or if they are not grounded, the static charge will remain.  This was the case for the machine shown above.

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Multiple stations of this machine, all experiencing static problems

This machine is a Chesnut 150 Gravure Print Station.  It is used for printing, coating, laminating, and sometimes die cutting of paper, light paperboard, films, polyester, flexible packaging and aluminum foil.

In this application, a roll of plastic is dispensed, but a static charge is preventing proper printing on the plastic as it travels from roll to roll.  As the film is separated from the roll, a static charge is produced, and this charge is carried through the process at values ranging from 3,000 – 20,000 volts.  The manager for this production area contacted EXAIR to see if there’s a viable EXAIR solution to remove this static charge.  They were interested in a solution that could eliminate static on the full width of the plastic, could be mounted 200-300mm away from the rollers, and could be replicated at multiple places along the machine.

With this in mind, the best solution was to use a series of 18” Super Ion Air Knives installed periodically along the path of plastic within the machine.  Operating at a low pressure of 1-2 BARG (14.5 – 29 PSIG), the Super Ion Air Knives create an evenly dispersed, quiet airflow of static eliminating ions with a low compressed air consumption.  Using the laminar, static eliminating airflow from the Super Ion Air Knife, this solution can be mounted away from the static charge, allowing the ions to “rain” down on the affected areas.

For this application finding a solution meant finding a method to keep production on schedule.  Without static elimination this machine faced defects, downtime, and decreased efficiency.  Using EXAIR Super Ion Air Knives brought this application back up to optimal operating speeds, keeping the revenue generating process of this manufacturer ongoing.

Colder weather is here and static comes along with it.  If you’re experiencing a static related problem in your facility, contact one of our Application Engineers.  We’d love to help you find a solution.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE