Anti-static Air Knife

Static Elimination

 

Although our Air Knife Systems are frequently used in the application of removing surface water and liquids, they can also be applied to products and processes that involve the neutralisation of static charges.

ACI’s range of static elimination systems are a very versatile solution to control or remove static electricity from plastic, paper, glass and other non-conductive materials.

The Air Knife Systems utilise the addition of a static bar to the air knife, adjacent to the air discharge, and operate by producing an electrical field that causes air molecules to separate into positive and negative ions. These ions are picked up by the air knife air stream and propelled into the work area where they are attracted to, neutralizing any static charge present on the product.

Typically, the combined effect of the generated airflow and ionization produce a high velocity sheet of ionized air that can be used for a variety of cleaning and static neutralizing applications within the packaging, printing, electronics and automotive industries.

INFORMATION

Overview

 

ACI’s blower-powered De-Ionisation Air Knives produce fast-moving ionised air which neutralises any present static electricity and simultaneously removes any contaminants present.

This style of Air Knife is perfectly suited to clean plastic parts, mouldings, glass sheets, automobiles and other large objects – both removing the dust and eliminating the static electricity to prevent re-attraction.

 

  • Powerful ionisation kills the static charge holding the dust, allowing the fast beam of laminar air to remove it for a thorough cleaning.
  • The laminar airflow limits the recombination of ions in the air and so maximises the static neutralisation performance.
  • Available in a wide range of lengths, all are simple to install and regulate.
  • ‘EX’ bars available for applications in hazardous environments.
In offering the ability to cover a large area and where cleanliness is a priority, the ACI Air knife System is both highly effective and a cost-efficient alternative to compressed air methods.

Where an Air knife System can vary in size and complexity depending on the characteristics of the product being processed, a turnkey solution can be achieved by the addition of blowers ducting and other accessories.

How it works

Benefits and Advantages:

 

A system typically consists of one or more ionised air knives connected to an external centrifugal blower. The blower produces a high volume of air which exits from the Air Knife in a fast laminar flow.

  • Cost saving of up to 70% compared to other systems.
  • De-ionisation power – up to 50% better than competitive systems – to break the electrostatic bond between the dust and surface and to prevent re-attraction of dust.
  • Longer range cleaning power than compressed air systems.
  • More performance per kilowatt of power. For example, competitors offer 7.5kW motors to match the performance of our 5.5kW motors – saving the customer money every minute of operation.

Eliminating Dust Contamination:

 

Dust contamination is a huge problem in many areas of industry – especially where the product needs to be painted, decorated or laminated. Rectifying dust problems can have very large associated costs:

  • A large automotive manufacturer calculated the cost of repainting a car at over €3000.00
  • A dust contaminated bumper cost over €150 to repaint.
  • A company who makes aircraft cockpits calculated the cost of dust included in the lamination could be as high as €50000.00.

What is Ionisation?

 

It is important to understand that static electricity cannot be entirely eliminated.  In fact, the terminology, “static eliminators”, is definitely misleading.

Static eliminators are really ionising units that produce both positive and negative ions to be attracted by the unbalanced material so that neutralisation does occur. However, it does not permanently eliminate the static electricity because, if the material is again rubbed after being neutralised, static electricity will be generated.

In order to gain the most benefit from static neutralising equipment, it is important to understand how they operate and how they accomplish the means of neutralisation.  Most electrical neutralisers are constructed by placing a high voltage on a sharp point in close proximity to a grounded shield or casing.  As the high voltage alternating current pulses through the 50 or 60 cycle operation, the air immediately at the sharp points is actually broken down by corona discharge and, therefore, both positive and negative ions are generated.  Half of the cycle is utilised to generate negative ions.  When operation occurs at 60 Hz, the polarity of ionisation changes every 1/120 of a second.

If the material being neutralised is charged positive, it will immediately absorb negative ions from the static neutraliser and repel the positive ions into space.  When the material becomes neutralised, there is no longer electrostatic attraction and the material will cease to absorb ions.  Conversely, if the material being neutralised is charged negative, it will absorb the positive ions being generated by the neutraliser and repel the negative ions.  Again, once neutralisation is accomplished, the material will no longer attract ions.

Our Range of Products