Contamination & ESD Control during Conveying & Collection of Injection Moulded Parts

Static charges on mouldings may cause them to stick to the conveyor. As mouldings fall into the collection bin the “battery effect” can result in a huge charge being accumulated. This causes a high level of dust attraction and operator shocks. Solution :  An ionising bar positioned over the conveyor and collection bin will neutralise the static charges. Mouldings release readily from the conveyor into the collection bin without further dust contamination. Productivity is improved and operator shocks eliminated.

Static Pinning of Non-woven Materials (e.g. Face masks)

Face masks have always been an important piece of PPE equipment, especially in the medical sector.

Face masks are made from multiple layers of material that are charged and pinned together using static generation products. The performance of the face mask filtration is also aided by the static charge used as the higher the charge retention in the material, the greater the filtration potential.

For more information, view our Face Mask Manufacture: Industry Guide HERE. 

Contact Lens Manufacture

Static charges throughout the manufacturing process of contact lenses results in several issues that affect the production process. This includes product and packaging contamination and product handling.

Medical Device Blister Packaging

Problem:

Friction generated during the unwinding of the roll of thick plastic film used for blister packing creates static charges that attract contamination from the surrounding area onto the film. During the heating and forming of the film to produce the blisters, the contamination bonds to the plastic film, creating permanent inclusions and potential scrap. The warm plastic generates even more static charges as it cools. This will result in further contamination being attracted such as operator hair or skin.

Static charges on the blister pack can also cause repelling or misalignment of the medical device as it is inserted into the blister packaging.

Solution:

A non contact web cleaner mounted prior to thermoforming is ideal for removing and capturing contamination from the roll of material.

Controlling static charges during product packing will allow the product and clean blister packaging material to come together, preventing product misbehaviour and inclusion of contamination. This can be done using a ionising bar.

Web Cleaning Medical Bandage

Cleaning of the web material prior to adhesive coating is an important part of the production process.

Depending on the contamination to be removed a contact or non-contact web cleaner can be used.

Web Cleaning Medical Blood Bags

Problem:

During the production of blood bags the unwinding of the plastic web will generate static electricity which attracts dust and other airborne contaminants to the film. If the two layers of film are then sealed to make the blood bag the blood bags will be unusable.

Solution:

Use of a non-contact web cleaning system to remove the static charge and remove the contamination prior to the two layers being sealed.

Vibration Bowl Feeders

Problem:

Used to feed individual components/parts for assembly on industrial production lines such as for medical devices. They are used when a randomly sorted bulk package of small components must be fed (in a particular direction) into another machine one-by-one.

Problems are caused by static charges generated on the parts caused by friction. This can result in static attraction and repulsion of parts that will cause the parts to misalign and potentially blockages.

Solution:

Use of ionising nozzles to neutralise the parts in the vibration bowl feeder.

Pill Packing

Problem:

Cleaning of the web material and ionisation prior to thermoforming is an important step to prevent contamination and product misbehaviour.

Solution:

Use of a non-contact web cleaner to clean and neutralise the web material prior to thermoforming and ionising bars to prevent product misbehaviour during the packaging process.