Tag: static control bar

Application Database: Super Ion Air Knife Provides Multiple Benefits For Hand Cleaner Producer

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

When plain old soap & water just don’t do the trick, there are a number of hand cleaners available on the market to remove even the most stubborn dirt & grime. Some are lotion-like, and leave your skin moisturized. Others have abrasive grit, and don’t. They come in all sorts of containers, too, from small jars that you dip a portion from, to large jugs with pump dispensers. The latter is oftentimes found in industrial repair shops…and they’re made on the production line of a company who needed our help getting rid of static charge.

After the extrusion process, these jugs are conveyed through a series of prep stations before they’re labeled & filled. The static charge generated along the way was causing issues with labeling: it made them skew one way or the other, or wrinkle up at certain points, instead of being applied straight & smooth on the side of the jug.

Now, all it takes to generate a static charge is contact and separation of non-conductive surfaces. Every time a roller sent a jug moving on the conveyor, or a bumper changed its direction, the static charge built up. In most applications, the best place to remove static charge is right before it becomes a problem. There was a tunnel immediately prior to the labeling station that was an ideal location to install a Static Eliminator…so they did.

Non-conductive materials “trade” electrons when they contact & separate, resulting in a static charge on both surfaces.

The tunnel was 29″ wide inside, so this was a great fit for a Model 112224 24″ Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife Kit. Blowing ionized air across the jugs as they moved through the tunnel eliminated the static charge, and their label problems.

Super Ion Air Knives come in lengths from 3″ to 108″. Kits include a Shim Set, Filter Separator, Pressure Regulator, and Power Supply.

They also noted an additional benefit: this wasn’t a huge problem, but occasionally, a jug would have some plastic chips or shavings clinging to it. Those would get rejected during quality inspection…they’d have to remove those labels and put them back in the line. Again, it wasn’t a huge problem, and was within their quality tolerances…but they went to ZERO after they started using the Super Ion Air Knife.

If you’ve got a problem with static charge, EXAIR has a variety of solutions that’ll take of them, and perhaps even others. Through the end of February 2023, we’ll even give you a free AC Sensor with any qualifying Static Eliminator Product purchase. Give me a call if you’d like to find out more.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Ionizing Points for Static Elimination Without Airflow

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

I almost wore three socks this morning: one on each foot, and one inside the sleeve of my shirt. I don’t know if it got in there through the agitation & spin of the washing machine, or the tumbling action in the dryer, but I know how it stayed there through the removal from the dryer, folding, and placing in my shirt drawer: static charge. This was evident from the ‘snap, crackle, and pop’ it made when I pulled it out.

Static charge is all around us. It’s mildly annoying in the clothes we pull from the dryer or the packing peanuts we can’t shake from our hands when unpacking from that new whatever-I-just-ordered from that website. It’s surprisingly uncomfortable when we touch the light switch after walking across a carpeted floor. And it’s terrifying when a lightning bolt hits so close that there’s no discernible delay for the thunder.

It’s also prevalent in many industrial processes: molding, trimming, wrapping (or unwrapping), bag & bottle filling, printing…just to name a few. Some materials are more prone to it than others, but all it takes is contact, and separation, of non-conductive surfaces to generate a static charge. The faster and/or more frequent the contact & separation, the higher the charge, and oftentimes there’s no better way to build up static electricity than sliding or rubbing those surfaces together.

EXAIR has a wide variety of Static Eliminator solutions: Super Ion Air Knives for webs or sheets up to 9 feet in width, Ion Air Cannons or Jets for more focused, conical ionized air blowing, Ion Air Guns for handheld operations, Super Ion Air Wipes for tube, pipe, extruded shapes, etc., and Intellistat Ion Air Guns & Nozzles for laboratory or clean room situations. Two of our Static Eliminator Products – Ionizing Bars & Ionizing Points – require no compressed air at all for operation, and one of those is the point (‘pun intended’ or ‘spoiler alert’ – you decide) of today’s blog.

The EXAIR Gen4 Ionizing Point is compact, versatile, and easy to install. It’s perfect for applications where even a light breeze worth of air flow would be disruptive or problematic. It’s also great for ionizing an existing air flow, like in a blower duct or air conveyance line. If limited space is a problem, it’s got the smallest footprint of just about any static eliminator on the market.

The EXAIR Model 8199 Gen4 Ionizing Point packs a LOT of static elimination in a small package.

They have impressive static dissipation performance as well, as seen in the table below. The only maintenance that’s required is a periodic cleaning of the emitter point (with the Power Supply OFF, using a soft bristled, dry brush). Should the emitter point become fouled, it can also be easily replaced.

If you’ve got problems with static charge, EXAIR has a comprehensive offering of solutions…give me a call to find out more.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Intellistat: EXAIR’s Newest Static Eliminating Juggernaut

Published on by Jordan T ShouseLeave a comment

EXAIR’s Intellistat Ion Air Gun and Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle have both earned a Class 5 Clean room Rating making them ideal for static elimination in clean rooms for sensitive processes. There are manufacturing processes that require certain cleanliness standards for operation, such as scientific research, solar panel manufacturing or biotechnology industries. This means that any tool or material you use in this process has to meet a certain standard. EXAIR’s Intellistat was engineered to do just that.

  • 8505 Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle
  • 8500 Intellistat Ion Air Gun

The Intellistat Ion Air Gun is a patented handheld air gun for static elimination in sterile environments and clean rooms. This lightweight tool provides rapid static decay with a simple squeeze of a short-throw trigger reducing 5,000 volts to 500 in under second. Furthering the Intellistat’s utility, it has now been awarded the ISO 14644-1 Class 5 rating for clean rooms and controlled environments making it the perfect tool for electronics manufacturing, testing facilities and laboratories.

Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle: The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle boasts the same abilities as the Intellistat ion air gun above, however this system comes on an easily adjustable bracket to aim and lock into place for hands off operation. It’s also been awarded the ISO 14644-1 Class 5 rating for clean rooms and controlled environments making it the perfect tool for electronics manufacturing, testing facilities and laboratories.

The Intellistat product offering is the ideal solution for static elimination in your sensitive processes. Learn more about the Intellistat’s as well as the rest of EXAIR’s large line of static elimination products at www.EXAIR.com or by contacting any of our Application Engineers.

Jordan Shouse
Application Engineer

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Two Types of Ion Air Guns

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

Right now in many parts of the US, Winter is causing lots of dry air in manufacturing facilities. This dry air can be a large contributing factor combined with production speeds being increased to meet deadlines that are constantly being pulled in all result in static charge. This static charge, can be detrimental to production and operator morale. The good news is, your operators don’t need to feel like they could power a light bulb. More importantly, there are two options that will fit the process needs in your facility.

That’s right, EXAIR offers two different static eliminating air guns. The first, is ideal for precision/delicate work and is rated Class 5 for clean rooms and controlled environments per ISO 14644-1. The goal of the IntelliStat Ion Air Gun is to reduce static charges and leave a balance on the surface that is below +/- 30 Volts.

This ergonomic safety air gun operated of 120/240 VAC power supply that outputs 24 VDC to the gun through a 10′ long cable. The compressed air supply is cataloged for 30-125 psig inlet pressure. When operating at 30 psig inlet, the gentle breeze of air from the engineered nozzle will eliminate a 5kV charge in 1.2 seconds and only utilize 2.7 SCFM of compressed air. If a more forceful blast is needed, at 80 psig inlet pressure the same 5kV charge will be eliminated in 0.6 seconds and only utilize 5.8 SCFM of compressed air. This gun is ideal for clean room, intricate assembly, and precision work. If you need more impactful air in a more industrial environment, then our Gen4 Ion Air Gun may be the better solution.

A powerful blast of static eliminating ionized air, literally at your fingertips.

The Gen4 Ion Air Gun provides ionized air that is ideal for industrial assembly or manufacturing areas where operators are seeing issues with production cause by static. The gun can eliminate a 5kV static charge within 0.18 seconds when operated at 80 psig inlet pressure. When operated it will utilize 22 SCFM of compressed air and give a forceful blast to remove material that is stuck on with static cling. The Gen4 Ion Air Gun includes a 10′ high voltage power cable and requires an external Gen4 Power Supply. The Power Supply is offered as a 2 outlet or 4 outlet version so multiple units can be plugged into a single power supply.

If you want help determining which static eliminator is right for your application, please contact an Application Engineer today.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF