Tag: packaging

A Static Application In Ecuador

Published on by Lee EvansLeave a comment

Earlier this week an Ecuadorian engineering firm contacted me about a process disruption one of their clients was experiencing.  On one of their production lines, shown below, the end user conveys plastic packaging material on a conveyor.  When the plastic reaches the final location, there is a static charge on the surface of the packaging.  The next step in the process is to individually pick up each plastic bag, but the static causes the plastic to stick together.  This, in turn, causes a disruption for the next process in line, and the engineering firm sought EXAIR for a solution to the static problem.

Originally, the person with whom I was in contact showed great interest in an Ion Bar.  The size and cost of such a solution were both appealing.  But, using an Ion Bar we had no way to effectively treat both sides of the plastic.  So, we opted instead for a pair of Super Ion Air Knives, sized appropriately to cover the full width of the conveyor (18”; model 111018).

We always recommend to treat static problems at the last possible point before the static causes a disturbance in the process.  In this application, that point is as the plastic bags are stacking up.  So, the recommended solution is to install one Super Ion Air Knife on the top side of the conveyor, and another on the bottom with the airflow coming up between the conveyor and the stacking location (you can see the optimal opening around the 12-13 second mark).  And, we normally recommend a 45° angle of attack, as was the case in this application.

Armed with this solution, drawings, and delivery information, we were able to help this engineering house make a thorough and informed recommendation for their end user.

If you have a static problem in your application, contact an EXAIR Application Engineer.

Lee Evans
Application Engineer
LeeEvans@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_LE

NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler Keeps Vision Inspection Camera Cool

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment

Recently, I visited a packaging manufacturer who specialized in thin-wall, metal containers for such things as paint, oil, thinner, denatured alcohol, etc. On one application the process involved applying a small bead of rubber sealant to the underside of the top portion of a metal spray can to help in sealing the top of the can when assembled. After the sealant was applied, heated air was blown onto the bead to cure it prior to inspection.

The problem was that heat generated from the curing process was collecting in the housing for the inspection camera itself. The enclosure was mounted over top of the track on which the parts were moving by. This lead to overheating of the camera system and resulted in false rejections. The customer installed model 4708 (NEMA 4 Cabinet Cooler System) onto the enclosure to keep it cool for steady, effective operation of the camera. The photo below show the Cabinet Cooler System mounted to the top of the vision inspection system enclosure at the inspection stage.

IMG_0288
Model 4708 Cabinet Cooler System

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
nealraker@exair.com

Super Air Knife Cools Welded and Lacquered Seam in Metal Packaging Production

Published on by Neal RakerLeave a comment
IMG_0290
Can form to be cooled by Super Air Knife

On a recent trip to Europe, I was invited to visit a packaging manufacturer who was using EXAIR equipment in a variety of applications. This particular application dealt with the cooling of metal spray cans after they were welded on the seam that runs the length of the can form and after that same seem had been sprayed with lacquer and dried using hot air to keep the welded seam from rusting.

The cans were formed into their round shape from a flat sheet that had all the artwork applied. Then, using a magnetic conveyor similar to the photo on the right above, the machine moves the can form past a welding head to secure the two sides together. The welding process puts quite a bit of heat into the metal and so the customer immediately cools the can with a 72” Aluminum Super Air Knife for that same distance along the travel of the conveyor. The can then enters an area where there is a small spray applicator to add the lacquer to the welded joint. After that, the can traverses through a heated tunnel to dry the lacquer. Finally, the can is cooled by another set of Aluminum Super Air Knives as you see in the photo below.

IMG_0294
Super Air Knives remove heat from the welded seam of a metal can

 

The heat affected area was quite small in relationship to the airflow area that was generated by the Super Air Knife at a few inches distance away from the can form. So, the cooling power that could be developed with a large quantity of regular, room temperature air was quite sufficient to get the can form to cool to the proper temperature before moving on to the next operation.

The Super Air Knife in this application was operating at 1 BARG inlet pressure and provided continuous coverage all along the cooling length of the conveyor. By cooling this metal seam quicker, the customer was able to increase their throughput on this process by roughly 30%.

Neal Raker, International Sales Manager
nealraker@exair.com

 

Ion Bars Remove Static, Help Improve Labeling Quality

Published on by exaircorpLeave a comment

I worked with a customer recently who was experiencing a static issue when trying to apply a bar coded label to their cardboard box. The boxes travel down a conveyor then passes by a labeler that uses a mechanical arm with air vacuum to hold the label in place. As the box passes by a sensor, the arm applies the label to the corner (front and side) and then the box passes by an applicator brush that ensures the label is firmly applied.

box_label

They were starting to see wrinkles in the label as it passed by the brush and were thinking the label was holding a static charge which was making it be rejected by the box during the process. They were experiencing this about every other box. When it would occur, they would need to stop the line and manually check to make sure the label was seated properly. As a result, this was negatively affecting their production time and increasing wasted labels.

Since they thought it was the label holding the static charge, they wanted to use one of our Ionizing Bars to remove the static from the label as it was attached to the arm. The Ionizing Bar produces a high concentration of positive and negative ions able to dissipate 5 kV in 0.30 seconds, 2” from the object’s surface. It is also UL listed for safety and RoHS compliant.

Ionizing Bars Work

The customer is local, so they asked if someone from EXAIR could visit their location and take a look at their process. I was able to make the appointment for the next morning and brought a few of our Static Eliminating products and a Static Meter to take some measurements. By measuring within 1” of the surface of the product, the Static Meter measures the voltage and polarity up to +/- 20 kV.

Upon arrival, I was directed to the labeler and took a measurement – I was only getting a reading of about 0.2 kV. I then decided to take a reading on the box itself as it traveled down the conveyor. Now I was getting a reading of 3 – 5 kV, which meant that it was the box and not the label that was holding the static charge.

Since the customer could get within 2” of the surface of the box, they were able to mount a 6” Ionizing Bar vertically to remove the static prior to the labeling process.  This helped to greatly reduce the downtime of the line.

If you have a similar issue or would like to discuss your particular application, please contact one of our Application Engineers at 1-800-903-9247.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
JustinNicholl@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_JN