Static Control & Web Cleaning Achieving fluid production:
controlling static and contamination By Iain Cameron, marketing director, Meech Static Eliminators.
C
ompanies in the label and packaging industry and converters have come under serious pressure in recent times – unprecedented demand due to panic buying and stockpiling, production challenges due to social distancing requirements, staff shortages and supply chain issues have dominated the sector. With its critical presence in modern day life, helping to dramatically reduce food waste and protect products from contamination, flexible packaging’s seamless production and flawless quality control measures have never been more important.
However, there are numerous threats that can impact upon the consistent, high quality delivery of products – one of which being static generation.
THE THREAT TO QUALITY CONTROL Static, when untreated, can cause web materials to become statically charged. This primarily happens when the web –– is moving at high speed and can occur in a few ways; for example – through friction when the web makes contact with converting machinery, or through ‘separation’ – the unwinding of web rolls. Electricity from surrounding machinery can also lead to static generation through induction. The presence of static can lead to a myriad of problems – contamination being one of the most significant. Static charges attract airborne dust and dirt to the web’s surface, potentially hindering the material’s final presentation but also greatly impacting on the hygiene of the finished product, which is almost guaranteed to be discarded before entering the next phase of production.
Statically charged webs can also impact on print performance; ink drops may be repelled away from the intended surface target, leading the print job to appear faded or blurry, affecting the overall appearance of the product. But a web moving at speed can also become contaminated without static’s presence. This is caused by the ambient air that the web drags along when in motion – it creates a boundary layer that can trap debris within or beneath the surface of the layer. The faster the web moves, the thicker the layer becomes and the greater the chances of contamination.
Regardless of the cause, contaminated web materials can lead to higher levels of wastage, extended downtime and additional costs for maintenance repairs. Fortunately, there is sophisticated technology available in the shape of static control and web cleaning, which can counter the threats that static charges and contamination pose for converters.
STATIC CONTROL
Designed to remove static from a moving web, static control uses ionisation, where a voltage is fed to an array of emitter pins mounted on an ionising bar, which releases a high-energy “cloud” of positive and negative ions. Any statically charged surface passing close to the cloud is quickly neutralised. Static control devices are a highly effective solution when installed just after the unwinding process and before the printing stage.
Meech’s Hyperion range, containing highly advanced static control products designed for short, mid and long-range ionisation, are made for today’s modern, fast-paced production environments and are engineered to include monitoring technology as well as control over output voltage, frequency and balance. Recently developed technology from Meech allows the user to remotely monitor and adjust the performance of connected Hyperion equipment through a mobile phone, tablet or desktop. This allows for optimum flexibility of usage, no matter the time of day.
WEB CLEANING Web cleaners act to effectively resolve contamination issues. Available in two forms – contact and non-contact – they are highly efficient at removing loose, dry debris from the web’s surface.
A contact cleaning system, such as Meech’s TakCleanTM, is suitable for slower, narrow web lines,
such as those found in labeling. These cleaners incorporate twin elastomer contact rollers and perforated adhesive rolls which pick up and remove contamination from the web’s surface. While highly effective at removing low to moderately contaminated web materials, contact systems are not ideal for highly saturated webs. Non-contact systems, such as Meech’s CyClean, can remove all types of contamination from a variety of surfaces. Utilising advanced computational fluid dynamics, CyClean subjects the web to a strong but harmless force of turbulent air that breaks through the web boundary layer, releasing the contamination into the vacuum air flow, where it is removed. Meech has also developed a non-contact web cleaning system for webs running in low tension. CyClean RTM incorporates all the sophistication of the original CyClean and bypasses the challenges presented by low tension webs by cleaning the web on the roller. The CyClean-R’s shape forces the air into a precise direction at the web at extremely high velocity.
Increased demand is likely to result in shorter turnaround times, which will lead to incremented production speeds. This can create problems on various parts of the line, impacting on flow and ongoing business costs.
Investing in equipment that can counter static charge and contamination will help converters keep up with the demands on businesses and ensure the consistent manufacturing of high quality label and packaging products.
Xwww.meech.com
www.convertermag.com
November 2021
37
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