Cold, Dry Climates are a Recipe for Static Problems

Cold, Dry Climates are a Recipe for Static Problems by Tyler Daniel A few weeks ago, for the first time this season, I had to scrape ice off of my windshield before heading to work. Living in the Midwest, this is the first sign that winter is coming. The colder climate doesn’t just alter my typical morning rituals but it also brings with it much drier air. This dry air can create static problems in your facility that will wreak havoc on your processes and sometimes the operators. Empty PET dishwashing liquid bottle I recently had the pleasure of working with a customer in Vietnam that was having some issues with static electricity in a labeling process. The company makes dishwashing liquid and before bottling they must label the PET bottles. They were not able to get the labels to properly adhere to the bottle. This forced them to periodically stop the line and have two operators manually rub the surface of the label to get it to stick properly. They knew there had to be a better way. After spending some time searching the internet for solutions, they stumbled upon the EXAIR website and reached out to us for help. Operators fixing the labels on the PET bottles The solution was to install (2) 112012 12” Gen4 Super Ion Air Knives, one on either side of the bottles. They were installed at about a 45° angle with the airflow pattern against the direction of travel of the bottles. This counter-flow as we call it, maximizes the time in contact that the bottles have with the static eliminating ionized airflow. Mounting them in this manner gives the best possible chance of success in any static eliminating, cleaning, drying, or blowoff application. The airflow is able to reach the bottles much earlier up the line than if it were to be simply blowing perpendicular to the bottles. Unfortunately in this case the customer was unable to quantify their production gains. But they were able to remove the additional process of manually fixing the labels and could operate continuously without interruption. By eliminating the tedious step of inspecting bottles and fixing the labels, worker morale and job satisfaction was significantly improved. A 6" Gen4 Super Ion Air Knife removing static from labels If the cold, dry winter climate has you worried about static issues in your facility, give us a call. An Application Engineer will be happy to determine a solution from our wide range of Gen4 Static Eliminators. Distribuidor em Portugal : Tecmer;Lda  Contacto:José Garcia Araújo Tel: +351 252317314 /+351 932308640 Email:geral@tecmer.pt www.tecmer.pt