Static Eliminator

About Static Eliminators and Static Eliminator Manufacturers Including: Anti-Static Spray, Ionizers, Static Bags, Static Brushes & Static Control.

Static eliminators are produced by static eliminator manufacturers as products that protect sensitive objects from the damaging effects of static electricity. Static eliminators include sprays, wipes, mats, bags and gloves specially designed to prevent and reduce the effects of static electricity. Anti-static products that are engineered with airflow are effective in hard-to-reach places or blocked surfaces, for products that move at rapid speeds and on surfaces with an extremely high charge. Other static eliminators are designed by static eliminator manufacturers for use in applications in which even the smallest amount of airflow can disturb the product. Industries such as the electronic, graphics, photography, printing and optics industries, among many others, benefit from static control products. Static eliminators can be custom-made to meet the specific requirements of any application.      
 
Static electricity is an electric charge caused by an imbalance of positive and negative charges. The creation of static electricity commonly occurs when two objects rub together, positively charging one object and negatively charging the other in a process known as "tribo-electric charging." The transference of the positive charge built up in the object to another material results in a release of an electrical charge known as "electrostatic discharge (ESD)." The heat from an ESD event is so hot and intense that it can vaporize or melt tiny parts in sensitive equipment. Even low voltage ESD events can cause problems. Static electricity may also result from exposure to an electrical field. Charged conductors, such as metals, can be grounded to completely discharge them, but insulators, such as plastics, cannot discharge, as they do not conduct electricity.
 
Many products, such as computer equipment, electronics, medical equipment and telecommunications equipment, are very sensitive to static electricity. Several problems can result from static, including dust clinging to products, products clinging to themselves, rollers, machine beds or frames, etc., materials tearing, jamming or curling, sheet-feeding problems, hazardous sparks or shocks and so forth. Static electricity and ESD cause product degradation and, eventually, catastrophic failure. Products can be affected by an ESD event but continue to function. This latent defect is difficult to detect and significantly shortens the life of the device. In addition, electrical charges have the power to cause the ignition of explosive substances.
 
Static eliminators protect against these and similar occurrences. Static control products reduce production downtime, aid in the avoidance of maintenance costs associated with machinery failure and increase product effectiveness and company profits. Nuclear solutions include devices, such as nuclear air guns and nuclear bars. Electrical solutions can be obtained through the use of electrical power packs and electrical bars. Static eliminator manufacturers produce other types of static eliminators including tinsel, brushes, air knives, sheet and web cleaners, chemicals, copper mesh, etc. In choosing the appropriate solution, first define the problem that static electricity is causing. Then, determine its location. Finally, decide if the solution is to place the device at or in front of the location of the problem.

Types of Static Eliminators

• Antistat – A compound that provides the surface of a material with static-dissipative properties. Antistats are either applied directly to the surface of the material or incorporated into its formulation.
  
• Anti-static bags protect sensitive equipment like computer components from internal static electricity originating from the equipment component and from external ESD.
  
• Anti-static brushes prevent the creation of static electricity during the cleaning of sensitive equipment. Static control brushes are also used during the application of coatings and paints.
  
• Anti-static gloves are used in factories and environments in which static electricity is common, such as the medical equipment, electronics and computer industries. Anti-static gloves protect both the worker and the product from damage.
  
• Anti-static mats reduce static electricity by discharging electric fields. The worker simply touches the mat before interacting with sensitive equipment.
  
• Anti-static spray prevents the occurrence of static electricity by providing a thin, transparent coat to equipment.
  
• Anti-static wipes are towelettes that are pre-moistened with anti-static cleaner.
  
• ESD brushes allow for cleaning without creating static. ESD brushes are used for static dissipation and wiping, solder removal, lead trimming rework and dusting/dirt removal.
  
• Grounding straps are dissipative or conductive straps that are worn on the wrist or the shoes to provide a path between the wearer and a ground. A ribbon from the grounding strap makes contact with the wearer’s skin or socks.
  
• Ionizers, also called “ionized air blowers,” generate positive and negative ions and then blow them across a work surface to neutralize potentially damaging static charges on any objects sitting on the surface.
  
• Static control protects equipment from the damage of static electricity.
  
• Static control flooring contains a coating or finish that maintains conductivity during factory operations and under different environmental conditions.  

Static Eliminator Terms

Catastrophic Failure – The failure of a product caused by electrostatic overstress.

Conductor – A substance that maintains the ability to transmit an electrical charge. Conductors have high electrical resistance.

Degradation – Product damage, resulting from static electricity or ESD, in which the product works at a lower level of efficiency, but has not yet failed.

Electrical Resistance – A measurement reflecting an object’s ability to carry an electrical charge. A conductive object with low electrical resistance can transmit a high level of electricity across its surface; a non-conductive object with high electrical resistance transmits little or no electricity across its surface.

Electrostatic Charge – The electrical charge generated when two objects contact each other and separate, a process called "triboelectric charging" or "tribocharging."

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) – The release of electrical energy, usually caused by the shift of electrons from one object to another as the objects come into contact with and separate from one another. ESD occurs between two objects with different electrical potential and may reduce product effectiveness or cause product failure.

Electrostatic Overstress – A circumstance in which an object is exposed to an electrical current greater than that to which the object is normally exposed. Stressing a product past its tolerance may result in reduced product effectiveness or product failure.

Grounding – A process in which an object containing an electrical charge connects with a conductor, such as the earth.

Inductance – An increase in an electrical field’s strength that may result in static electricity.

Insulator – A substance with little or no ability to carry an electric charge. Insulators have low electrical resistance.

Low Charging – A term synonymous with "anti-static."

Ohm – A measurement indicative of a conductive object’s electrical resistance.

Static Dissipative – An object’s ability to carry a charge throughout its surface. An object that is static dissipative ranges between conductivity and insulation.

Triboelectric Charging – A major cause of ESD in which a charge is created when electrons shift from one object to another during the contact and separation of the two objects with one another.