Blown film extrusion is used to produce packaging film, much of which is multi-layered. This is done to improve mechanical, transport, and thermal properties, as required by the food or medical industry. The height of the “bubble” of the blown film line is needed to cool down the material, before the nip rolls / top rolls. You can recognise static charges by experiencing shocks or seeing sparks as a discharging effect.
After the material passes the nip (top) rollers on the blown film line it is generating static electricity and building up high static charges. This due to friction by passing several rollers and temperature fluctuation because the material is cooling down. If the material passes a corona treater, a massive static charge is created on the material. Here an extra section of static eliminators, preferably with inline static measuring (Close Loop Feedback), is recommended.
On the final winder(s) long range static elimination bars are installed to neutralise the material during winding. Applying the ThunderION 2.0 IQ static eliminator will guarantee that the complete material is neutralised. Starting as small diameter to end as large diameter rolls.
This will prevent dust-attraction, telescoping of the end roll and unpleasant static shocks to the operator. When winding double layer (tube) material, static elimination is essential to be able to open the material after unwinding. Sometimes discharging before winding is needed to reach a low static charge on the end roll. Normally 24V static eliminators are used for discharging here.
The pollution of the static eliminators is a critical issue. To avoid a drop in efficiency this level can constantly be monitored by the Manager IQ System.
If the efficiency drops below a pre-defined level, the operator/PLC receives a warning. Maintenance will be indicated on the polluted static bars.
For more intelligence, the Manager IQ System can be directly connected to the Blown film line via a Fieldbus connection. This is how all essential information is collected regarding the efficiency and required maintenance of the static equipment. Also the level of static charge on the material is collected and logged.
This all results in high quality, competitive production of blown film.
Commonly Used Products
ThunderION IQ
It offers long distance static elimination even up to one meter. The robust design of the reinforced extruded profile allows the use in industrial environment up to even 5 m length. The T-ridge on the backside of the ThunderION enables the user to position the Simco-Ion universal mounting brackets as desired, allowing optimal mounting flexibility. The disc shaped emitters differ from the conventional emitters. They produce a high and balanced ion output. The emitters are shockless when accidently touched. A flexible and replaceable structure prevents damage to the emitters when hit by foreign objects. The ThunderION has an integrated high voltage power supply and requires only a low voltage input of 24V DC. The new concept for long range static neutralisation is achieved with a combination of pulsed DC and a low frequency. LED’s on four sides visualise bar ON or bar ALARM.
Manager IQ Easy
Manager IQ Easy Introducing a new level of static control; the heart of the new IQ Easy platform is the Manager IQ Easy. It comprises of a Control unit with a 7” LCD touch screen, provides information from all the connected devices and makes it easy to change and monitor status and parameters. Up to 6 IQ devices can be directly connected to the Manager IQ Easy. The 24V DC power distribution is routed via the Manager, so no extra cables! This makes the connection of a device even easier than connection to a single desktop power supply.
Sensor IQ Easy
A sensor that measures the electrostatic charge of a web can be added to the IQ Easy platform. The Sensor IQ Easy is a bar type device that can hold op to 16 sensor heads. Each sensor head can be placed on a strategical position across the web to monitor the electrostatic charge. All data of each sensor head is communicated to the Manager IQ Easy and stored for process monitoring. For dirty environments or for precautionary protection of the sensor heads, the Sensor IQ Easy bar is equipped with a compressed air connection. Using only a very low pressure and air volume dirt entering the orifice of the sensors is prevented. Anti static bars or charging generators in the system can act on data received from a sensor. This makes it possible to control the static charge level on the web in real time using a closed loop feed back and correction routine. Data received from the Sensor heads can also be used for quality control and process monitoring. It can be retrieved from the Manager IQ Easy through the standard Ethernet port.
Performax Easy
The rugged Performax Easy static neutralizing system, with reinforced profile offers superior deflection performance that minimizes damage due to (accidental) bending. The Performax Easy has an integrated high voltage power supply and requires only a low voltage input of 24V DC. It is equipped with a standard M12 connector for the 24V DC input.
The Performax comes also in an Explosion Safe version under ATEX, a version for High Speed applications and a version that is ready for Industry 4.0.
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