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Effective static control solutions for industrial safety and productivity
Static electricity in laminated tube manufacturing: causes, problems and solutions
High-speed laminated tube manufacturing naturally generates static charges. Without proper neutralization, these charges can lead to material sticking issue, downtime, and reduced productivity.
Background
Laminated tubes are widely used across industries such as oral care, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and food packaging. These tubes combine multiple layers of materials—typically polyethylene, adhesive layers, and a barrier such as aluminium foil or EVOH—to provide excellent protection against moisture, oxygen, and contamination.
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Problem
The manufacturing process involves converting a laminate sheet into a cylindrical tube, followed by sealing, cutting, and forming the tube shoulder through moulding.
This process is automated and operates at high speeds and generates electrostatic charges at multiple stages of production.
At each stage where the material undergoes friction, separation, or deformation-such as unwinding, forming, cutting, and transfer-electrostatic charges are generated. The laminate structure, being largely polymer-based and electrically insulating, tends to retain these charges rather than dissipating them naturally.
The entire manufacturing process is carried out in a closed clean room environment. As a result, contamination and safety risks from static are relatively limited. The significant issue is productivity. During feeding and unwinding, static charges can misalign the laminate. At the forming stage, when the laminate is converted into a cylindrical tube, poor seam alignment and material sticking issues can arise due to static charges, leading to frequent downtime and productivity loss.
Static also causes weak bonding at side seam sealing, increasing the risk of leakage. Further down the line, tubes carrying residual charge tend to stick to mandrels and conveyors. This creates problems at the heading station, where accurate positioning is required, and often results in misfeeds and frequent stoppages.
AI generated
Locations of static accumulation in Lamitube manufacturing
Solution
At the unwinding stage, install ValstatVR91 static eliminator bars to neutralise charges generated due to layer separation from the laminate roll. This prevents the accumulation of electrostatic charges at the very beginning of the process.
In the forming section, where the laminate transfers into a cylindrical tube, Valstat IE12 air based static eliminators are recommended. This ensures that both the inner and outer surfaces of the tube remain free from static charges.
Immediately before the side seam sealing, install Valstat IE12 air based static eliminators to remove static charges from all sides of the tubes, resulting in improved sealing consistency and strength.
At the discharge end, install VR95 static eliminators at the conveyor exit to remove static charges before stacking. This ensures smooth handling and prevents sticking during packing.
Need help solving static problems in laminated tube manufacturing? Get in touch with AxisValence for an application review and solution recommendation.
Contact us at contact@axisvalence.com
FAQ’s
Static electricity is generated when laminate materials undergo friction, separation, forming, cutting, and transfer operations. Since laminate structures are primarily composed of insulating materials, they retain electrostatic charges instead of dissipating them naturally.
Static electricity can cause laminate misalignment, material sticking, poor seam alignment, weak side-seam sealing, tube sticking on mandrels and conveyors, misfeeds, and unplanned production stoppages.
Static charges typically accumulate at the unwinding section, forming station, side-seam sealing area, transfer points, conveyors, and stacking sections.
Yes. Residual electrostatic charges can interfere with proper material contact during side-seam sealing, resulting in inconsistent seal strength and an increased risk of leakage.
Static can be controlled by installing static eliminators at critical process stages such as unwinding, tube forming, seam sealing, and discharge points. Proper static neutralization improves product quality, machine efficiency, and overall productivity.
As production speeds increase, static generation becomes more severe. Effective static control helps reduce downtime, prevent handling issues, improve sealing consistency, and maintain stable production output.
