Ionization and surface cleaning
Ionization of surfaces
In many cases of surface treatment - especially at manual workstations in the electrical industry or plastics processing - electrostatic charges arise.
These can bind dust or sometimes have devastating effects on electronic components or complete assemblies.
One solution is the ionization of the surfaces to be processed. They are discharged by feeding a steady stream of negative and positive ions.
In combination with an extraction device, the ions as well as emissions and the ozone that is produced are effectively removed and filtered.
Let our experts advise you in order to offering you the most suitable solution for ESD protection, ionization, or surface cleaning.
How ionization works with the JUMBO Elephant
Electrostatic charging and discharging – a well-known and underestimated problem
Typical causes of electrostatic charge in machining processes:
Peeling labels from the backing material
Unrolling of adhesive tapes
Mixing glues
Dispensing of adhesives from cartridges
Blow off assemblies with compressed air
Friction on the assembly
Friction of different materials on each other (also when decanting bulk goods and liquids)
Cutting or chipping non-conductors
Charges from exposure to intense DC fields on insulated conductors
In electronics manufacturing, static discharges or compensating currents can damage or even destroy parts and components unnoticed - even with charges of around 100 V. The functionalities of particularly sensitive components can also be affected by high field strengths or field strength changes when static electricity is discharged and, thus, become partially unusable .
However, static charge also attracts particles (e.g. dust). This can be desirable - for example in painting systems - in order to bind the paint particles to the parts to be painted, but is a considerable disadvantage in most applications.
If, for example, an electrostatically charged electronic assembly is connected to a grounding conductor, a hard electrostatic discharge (ESD) occurs. This is a spark or breakdown caused by a large potential difference (voltage), which causes a short, high electrical current and energy pulse in an electrical device.
Under unfavorable circumstances, this energy impulse can damage electrical components in the device. Another undesirable consequence can be the uncontrolled ignition of combustible gas.
In order to prevent these hard discharges, high-impedance materials are used to discharge charges in standard ESD workstations. This is to ensure that the existing charge is discharged "gently". But an electric current still flows, which can endanger highly sensitive components. Especially in integrated circuits (IC) based on semiconductors, ESD is one of the most common causes of failure. High-frequency circuits, diode lasers (GaAs semiconductors) and field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes, which often only tolerate blocking voltages of 5 to 30 V, are particularly sensitive.
Not only external discharges, but also electrical fields resulting from handling and processing can have a negative impact on components if the dielectric strength of high-impedance connections in the input area is exceeded. Internal voltage flashovers or breakdowns lead to destruction or pre-damage, which leads to immediate or later failure.
Let our experts advise you so that we can offer you the optimal solution for ESD protection, ionization or surface cleaning.
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