Consumables

Meech addresses plastics industry needs with full static control and web-cleaning ranges on display at K 2013

Tuesday 20. August 2013 - Meech International has officially announced its plans to participate at this year's K trade fair (16th - 23rd October, Hall 11/ B60). With its complete Hyperion static control range on display and supported by a series of web-cleaners that includes the CyClean, Meech intends to illustrate to the plastics industry how businesses can benefit from its innovative range of products.

“The plastics sector is going through constant changes and offers numerous business opportunities, which is why we are looking forward to attending K once again,” explains David Rogers, Business Unit Director for Static Control. “Since the last show we’ve successfully developed a new line of anti-static products ideal for the plastics industry, which we are confident will generate a lot of interest among the visitors to our stand.”
Static control range
Despite static being a common phenomenon, David maintains that businesses need to be more conscious of the impact it can have on their in house activities.
“As a static charge is generated, products made of common plastic materials like polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene tend to mis-feed or misbehave, while the opportunity for contamination of the final product increases dramatically,” he elaborates. “Add to this the increased potential for injury to operators as a consequence of the generated static charge discharging, and the need to control static levels becomes a fundamental aspect of the production environment.”
David highlights the importance of this last comment with an example: “When static is present on a roll of film it can cause issues during the winding process, even if the charge is initially low. By winding up the material, you achieve a ‘battery effect’ with a huge accumulated charge. This charge can attract large amounts of contamination like dust or swarf, but it can also generate a powerful discharge that is capable of causing operator shocks, or even more severe accidents, like fires and damage to in house equipment.”
David goes on to explain another common occurrence which can take place during an injection moulding process: “Small light weight mouldings, for example plastic cups, can stick to the face of the moulding tool due to a static charge. This can subsequently lead to mould damage and even affect production speeds.”
“Our company has long recognised the issues caused by this phenomenon,” concludes David, “which is why we aim to provide customers with the excellent standards of static elimination they have come to expect from the Meech brand. Our most recent bars, the 971IPS and 929IPS, were developed as a direct response to customer feedback and provide efficient ionisation from a 24v power supply.”
Web-cleaning range
Adam Battrick, Business Unit Director for Cleaning Systems, believes that it is also important to capitalise on the strengths of web-cleaning in order to minimise wastage and achieve higher levels of productivity within the plastics industry.
“Product cleanliness is of paramount importance within a number of industries,” explains Adam. “Let’s take thermoforming as an example, which is used in both the food and medical sectors. Materials need to be free of contamination prior to the forming process, otherwise there’s a risk that dust might become embedded in the final product. This can be achieved by placing a non-contact cleaner over the web, like the CyClean, which is capable of removing contamination to below 1 micron.” He follows up with a second example: “Meech’s non-contact web-cleaners are also particularly useful in the manufacture of plastic bags, as they prove ideal for removing waste particles, or chad, after the die cutting process.”
“Web cleaning systems need to achieve two main actions for successful cleaning,” concludes Adam, “the boundary layer of air on the web must be broken, allowing contamination trapped under and within it to be removed, and the static charge on the web must be eliminated so that contamination can be isolated. We understand that brand owners expect the best quality finish for their products, so our systems are designed to guarantee spotless webs and therefore excellent results.”
Available immediately, Meech’s complete static control and web-cleaning ranges will be on display on the Meech stand (Hall 11/ B60) at the K trade fair, Düsseldorf.