In practically every industry and branch of industry we encounter the phenomenon of electric charge formation due to static electrification. This problem is of great importance in the electronics industry, because it contributes to the damage of assembled components, and consequently increases the risk of producing a faulty device. However, the negative impact of this phenomenon is also visible in the plastics, printing, varnishing, textile, food production and optics industries.
There are a number of factors that influence the creation of the ESD effect, i.e. electrostatic discharge defined as the transfer of charges between objects with different electrical potentials. Charges are usually generated when two different insulating materials are rubbed together or move away from each other. An example is automatic transport, although the speed of friction, the type of carrier on which the materials are transported and the roughness of the surface must still be taken into account. Another factor can be sweating wounds on synthetic parts of clothing, moving plastic containers or unwinding the plastic tape.
The issue of air humidity, room temperature and atmospheric conditions during the electrification process is also important. So how to protect production against the risk of financial losses caused by a defective product or stopping the entire production line?
Ionizers in electronics
Air ionizers allow to protect production lines and workstations from the harmful effects of ESD, which leads to a decrease in the quality of produced electronics, an increase in its failure rate and consequently an increase in customer dissatisfaction. During service work and production of electronics, the value of electrostatic charge increases on the surface of the material, which causes contamination and dust to settle on the surface.
In turn the discharge itself has a destructive influence on electronic components. For this reason, a table ionizer such as the Panasonic ER-F, for example, is an ideal supplement to the EPA workstation for manual maintenance or assembly work.
Due to its compact size and the absence of compressed air supply, the ionizer can be used in virtually any workspace. Two easily replaceable grilles allow the ioniser to be selected for use in any ioniser mode – either a straight grille for long range or an angular grille with a wide working area.
In some service jobs, only the use of a gun ionizer can effectively dispose of loads. The EC-G02 gun ionizer, which requires a compressed air supply, ensures that the effect is achieved in less than half a second. The „gun solution” ensures direct emission of ionized air onto components and PCBs.
Another product that combines the advantages of a fan and slatted ionizer in one housing is the DC ionizer ERTF. The ionizer is available in three dimensions, which makes it very easy to adjust the ionizer to the width of your working field. Interestingly, this solution has the ability to adjust the direction of the exhaust air even after installation.
Transport Lines
The problem of electrostatic discharge also affects the printing industry and all companies that use transport lines. The mechanism of feeding paper sheets or films can contribute to the problems, which leads to their sticking together and to „pushing” the paint off the ground. Such phenomena reduce print quality or, as is often the case, lead to stopping the printing machines for service purposes. ER-VS and ER-VW series ionizers are solutions that can solve such problems with proper configuration and installation. Both models use the method of generating ions with opposite loads.
It creates a discharge by applying alternating voltage to the discharge needle, producing both positive and negative ions.
The ER-VS model is characterised by the highest degree of application flexibility. By using suitable adapters for nozzles, ionizing bars and flexible arms, it is possible to use the ionizer for virtually any application. The ER-VW model is a product with two built-in heads that can be freely adjusted vertically – even after installation.
This solution allows for vertical or horizontal installation of the ionizer itself, which is important for lines used in limited space. An unquestionable advantage of the ER-VW series is the possibility to combine 5 consecutive devices and any arrangement of them, which is useful in case of wide transport, or two lines working in circles.
From an economic point of view, the speed and efficiency of the production line also counts for the production and assembly of electronic devices. In order to ensure the highest possible safety for sensitive ICs, in accordance with current ESD standards, combined with very high production efficiency, it is necessary to use ionizers with a large operating zone and high performance, such as models from the ER-X series. The extremely short discharge time of electrostatic charges eliminates the danger, even with fast moving materials and already at air pressures below 0.5 bar (0.05 Mpa).
Other ionizer applications
It is worth adding that companies with pneumatic transport lines also face the effects of electrostatic discharges.
Electrification may cause the transported material to stick to the walls of the pipelines, create blockages and require frequent maintenance of the installation. In the plastics industry, on the other hand, there are known cases where moulded parts remain in the mould or attract dirt during the injection moulding process. Likewise, in the process of coating different surfaces, the parts attract dirt and the resulting coating is not smooth.
This makes either the product unsuitable for further processing or requires polishing and recoating. In other cases, an accumulated electrostatic charge can cause the product to stick together
threads, warp ripping, dirt collection when packing small products, bad pills when packing in blisters, for example. All such defects occurring on production lines are associated with downtimes, expensive service actions and, consequently, financial losses. It is therefore clear that the use of ionizers is not limited to the electronics market alone.
Together with the help of Panasonic’s technical and commercial advisor and technical support, it is worth considering the option of minimizing the risk caused by electrostatic discharge by installing an appropriate ionizer.