Static is problematic in the manufacturing environment. Static causes dust and this in return comes with its own set of problems. From dealing with the nuisance of products clinging to each other, plastic sheets not separating property to managing possible damage to electrical products. There is also the real hazard of a possible fire which can be caused by a spark in a chemically sensitive environment.
SMC Pneumatics is able to offer a solution to these ‘every day’ manufacturing problems by means of the three different types of ionizers available from its product range. When working with plastics you often have an unwanted but unavoidable charge of electricity. There are various options of ionizers available depending on the application and the environment.
The bar type is equipped with nozzles which generates charge and air then blows the charge onto the application. This could work in a PET environment for example. It would also be suitable for lamination and web printing. The bar type varies in length and performance options. The nozzles can be equipped with condition monitoring and therefore easy maintenance and replacement of the nozzles are not a problem.
The unique thing about the SMC ionizer is that it can be ordered in a variant which is equipped with a sensor. The sensor has a feedback device which is able to determine if a positive or negative charge is required, and then it will generate accordingly. The charge relates back to a voltage so that the unit can measure the charge. This is communicated back to ionizer and ionizer will generate ions to balance out the charge.
An option without a sensor is also available. In this case, the unit will generate alternate charge which ‘bombards’ the application with positive and negative ions until it neutralizers the application. This would however be a less energy efficient option. A great example of this application can be found at a dairy PET manufacturer which uses this type of solution to assist them in managing the static generated when the bottles come off the plastic injection moulding station and onto the shrink wrapper.
The static makes the products difficult to handle by clinging to the feeding mechanism of the shrink wrapper. The bar type ionizer will be deployed to combat this problem. The ionizer is also available in two other variants. The fan type would generate a charge and blow it over the affected area. This would work very well especially in an area where polystyrene is involved.
The nozzle type consists of a single nozzle and is for concentrated applications where a single area needs to be neutralised. The air supply is blown onto area that is required. With 50 years of commitment to the Australian manufacturing economy, this Japanese-owned company has offices in a total of 81 countries, the company boasts more than 12,000 components in their product range and an international market share of 36 percent. The Australian market share of SMC is at around 40 percent.
It is investments in R&D and new products such as the ionizer which has seen this Japanese multinational win the Forbes Innovation Prize for a third time. visit.
Details, smcworld.com/ionizer/en/use.jsp
