September 24, 2019
Electronic industry: how to enhance production and cut energy expenses with new humidification system
In this era of ecological awareness, it is sometimes a challenge to find measures that both fit environmental and economic requirements. In any industry, finding a way to resolve defects and energy consumption at the same time is the ideal opportunity.
The electronic industry has a very detail-oriented production process: controlling the quality rate and saving on cost are crucial elements. With a lot of fragile pieces being assembled, electronic factories must find a way to reduce all external causes that could undermine their production.
Today we will focus on one specific type of problem the electronic industry can face and its solutions: humidity control.
Problems caused by lack of humidity within the electronics industry
In this first section, we are going to investigate three common issues provoked by dry air in the electronics industry :
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
Electrostatic Discharge is a widespread issue for any industry producing or using electronic devices. When the air gets dry, for example, during winter, there is an increased risk that ESD causes harmful incidents, damaging electronic components, and accessories.
With a relative humidity (RH) below 40%, regular tasks causing friction will build up electrostatic charges, hence increasing the risk of harmful incidents. One of the best ways to prevent that from happening is to increase the relative humidity of the critical rooms artificially.
Dusty environments
Particles and dust can cause pick and place errors if they are stuck at the wrong place during mounting. Combined with ESD, they also increase the risk of sparks and fire caused by burning small particles during production.
Little pieces can be misplaced or misaligned when dust aggregates. Some humidifiers allow you to suppress dust by trapping it in microscopic droplets and bringing them down to the floor. It also allows you to avoid unsealed components to build up dust deposits.
Desoldering Occurrences
Dry air during your production process might cause ineffective soldering or desoldering occurrences with both Re-flow soldering and Wave soldering processes.
A right level of humidity (between 50% and 60%) will reduce drastically the damage and defects occurring during the soldering process.
Why humidity control is the appropriate answer
Humidity control can solve all listed problems above and has even more benefits for your factory. Indeed, it allows a better grounding of electronic discharge and limits all kinds of production errors causing defects or components to become brittle.
As we have seen in previous articles, (Effect Of Lack Of Humidity, The Right Humidity Level For Each Industry), we know that a perfect level of humidity should be between 50% and 60% RH in a facility producing electronic devices. Several types of systems can help you achieve these relative humidity goals with different costs and benefits.
The double benefit of using a humidity control system
A natural consequence of producing electronic pieces is that the room temperature will go up. However, this is something we want to avoid within the production rooms. Most companies use HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning) systems to lower temperatures and solve humidity problems. However, these systems are incredibly costly in energy and water. A large part of any business energy consumption comes from HVAC systems, as shown in this study. Eventually, they will be detrimental to your finances and the environment in the long run.
When our systems control humidity levels, it sprays microscopic cold droplets into the air. This process has another effect: it cools down the room by approximately 2°C, which allows savings in-room cooling energy expenses.
Our flagship product for humidity control: AKIMist®“E” Dry Fog humidifier
We offer you an economical way to resolve defects and energy consumption. With our AKIMist®“E” Dry Fog humidifier, you will be able to meet your humidity criteria without wetting any device.
Our global solution for saving energy and enhancing your production
If you decide to make a move forward and commit to short and long term profits, you will need to use one of our solutions. The AKIMist®“E” is a perfect match with the needs met by the electrical industry. It has three main advantages :
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Build your project with our experts
Our engineers will offer you a personalized solution, based on your situation, your budget, and your requirements. Once you contact our team, we will study your case and come forward with a tailor-made proposal. We will accompany you through all the processes and help you install the best system for your company.
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One solution for multiple industrial issues
It answers correctly to each of the problems. The Dry Fog humidifier AKIMist®“E” is recommended for precision part production where water dripping would be a problem. Since it sprays droplets at an average size of 7.5 µm, they evaporate before reaching any surface. It provides adequate humidification without wetting. The primary ability of this Dry Fog is to allow you to bring the room to the relative humidity of your convenience.
This will have numerous positive effects :
- Defect rate reduced
- Product quality increased by reducing mounting defects and improving PCB solder printing quality
- Less electrostatic discharge incidents
- Better working environment for employees: relatively high humidity levels have health benefits such as illness prevention, reduced respiratory risks. ( We will cover more about health benefits of humidity in an upcoming post.)
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The economical solution to resolve defects and energy consumption issues.
The AKIMist®“E” will also cool the room by about 2 degrees and suppress the dust in the working environment. Dust suppression happens through a simple process. Indeed, the tiny droplets sprayed by the AKIMist®“E” collide with dust particles and weight them to the ground, preventing them from hampering the production process. Then the cooling effect is a natural consequence of the humidification mechanism.
When it comes to the economy and the environment, the AKIMist®“E” is also an excellent option. It allows you to save money in the long run because it reduces energy and water consumption. Its high quality also makes it less likely to degrade over time.
- 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.
