Consequences of static electricity
Static electricity occurs more frequently during winter time, but it is an all-season problem for many production sites. Even a small level of static electricity barely felt by a human (less than 1KV) can cause serious issues and damages at a production site. Below are some examples of the different issues which can be caused in various industries.
Industry
Semiconductor and electronic parts
Process
SMT Line
Assembly/ Inspection
Issue
- Chip component suction/mounting problem
- Circuit and device destruction
Automobile
Painting
- Dust adhesion
Paper and Pulp
Printing
Processing
Coating
- Paper sticking together
- Adhesion of foreign particles, electric shock, pinholes.
- Ignition
Other
Chemical
Textile
Food
- Ignition/explosion
- Stripping and cutting of thread
- Contamination with foreign particles
Why does static electricity occur?
- Abrasion charging: Charges by rubbing objects.
- Peeling electrification: Charging by peeling / separating the object in contact.
- Inductive charging: As a charged object nears a conductor, opposite charges gather on the conductor's surface, resulting in charging.
How to prevent static electricity
Humidification control is the best measure to prevent static electricity within a production site. When talking about the right humidity level, we distinguish between two different terms:
- Relative humidity
- Absolute humidity
When we hear “Humidity 0%”, it actually represents the “relative humidity”. And the “absolute humidity” is the amount of water contained in the air. As an indication, it is often said that “If you set the humidity to 50% or higher, it will be a countermeasure against static electricity”. But 50% of humidity means 50% of relative humidity. Even if the humidity is 50%, the amount of moisture (absolute humidity) contained in the air varies greatly depending on the temperature at that time (see table below).
Relative humidity
Air temperature
Absolute humidity
50%
0°C
10°C
20°C
30°C
- 1.9 g/kg
- 3.8 g/kg
- 7.3 g/kg
- 13.3 g/kg
Countermeasures are necessary
In other words, what is really important for countermeasures against static electricity is “the amount of moisture contained in the air”, that is, “absolute humidity”. This means you need to correlate “temperature and relative humidity”.
There are cases in which static electricity countermeasures can be successful with a relative humidity of 40%. And in some other cases, static electricity countermeasures are not working even at a relative humidity of 60%.
Prevent static electricity with our Dry Fog AKIMist® solution
Steam humidification used to be the conventional humidification system on production site in order to easily control and stabilize humidity level. However, as heat generated from production machines is getting bigger, the number of sites that need to be cooled down all year long increased. Since steam humidification itself is also a source of heat, it became necessary to generate extra cooling. In addition, since steam humidification is dependent on crude oil and consumes a lot of energy, other humidification technologies started to become more popular.
Therefore, switching to a water spray humidification system, with a combines cooling and humidification and only 20% of the energy use, got quickly accepted.
The “Dry fog” trend spreading worldwide
The biggest disadvantage of water spray humidification was “water drops” and “nozzle clogging”. Dry Fog humidification has solved these issues and have thus become the best choice in water spray humidification. The humidifier AKIMist® “E” from IKEUCHI generates a fine dry fog, which replicates the natural hazy mist you can experience in the nature. The mist is so fine that it does not wet the environment and the surrounding objects. Thus, it also does not clog the nozzle and is practically maintenance free.
It is a total humidification system which can control the precise humidity level wanted with the installation of a sensor to the control panel.
Advantages of using AKIMist® Dry Fog humidification to prevent static electricity
Our humidification solution; AKIMist® Dry Fog Humidifier
The optimal environment to prevent static charge is when there is a high level of moisture, like in a bathroom. Static electricity will escape into the atmosphere through the moisture without accumulating and charging itself on the surface of the objects. That is why we recommend a humidification system to increase the amount of moisture contained in the air (absolute humidity).
Our AKIMist® humidifier, is a unique Japanese invention by Ikeuchi Japan, which offers full control of the humidity levels in a factory. It is an adiabatic humidifier, which means that it increases humidity by adding cold water to the air. AKIMist is known for its non-wetting abilities as the droplet size is less than 7.5μm. This means that the droplets are so small that they will bounce back without bursting on any surface. No risk of leakage or condensation. This is a very convenient ability in a factory with expensive machinery and materials which cannot get exposed to water or condense.
The AKIMist® “E” humidifier system provides a complete solution for ESD prevention. It is a total humidification system which can control the precise humidity level wanted with the installation of a sensor to the control panel.
AKIMist® “E” Dry Fog Humidifier
Our AKIMist®“E” spreads a Dry Fog that humidifies indoor environments without wetting due to its tiny droplet size around 7.5µm
Why is AKIMist® the most energy and cost efficient solution
The AKIMist®“E” running costs are five times lower than a steam humidification system, whether in water or energy.
Because it cools the room by 2℃ through evaporative cooling, it allows substantial HVAC energy savings.
It has very high efficiency for low maintenance costs.
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Download our AKIMist® catalog to learn more about the unique technology behind dry fog
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