Kasuga Denki, Inc. manufactures and sells industrial electrical equipment, and offers many devices and equipments that contribute to upgrading and value addition of nonwovens. One of them is electret equipment, which is drawing considerable attention. Since its founding in 1955, the company has been supplying static eliminators and charging equipment, and today is supporting the nonwovens industry with its technical capabilities.
The company has been deeply involved in the textile industry and enterprises, such as the development of a fluff detector for yarns in a technical tie-up with a synthetic fiber producer. In 1956, it was the first one in Japan to develop and market an AC voltage applied static eliminator, and also began manufacturing and selling charging equipment in the early 1970s. The advancement of technology used for charging equipment lead to the development of electret equipment.
Generally, an electret is a matter that retains electric polarization almost permanently and forms an electric field in the surrounding area. The use of the company’s electret equipment for nonwovens leads to sustaining the charging effect. When it is applied to high-performance filter applications, etc., high collection performance is maintained over a long period of time.
In order to achieve high collection capability, filters are often made to have a multilayer construction, etc., but it is possible to achieve high performance and cost reduction with the use of electret equipment. Although the charge holding strength varies depending on the material, the company has a system that measures the performance (charge retention) of electret-treated nonwovens.
The corona/gas plasma processing system is a useful tool for secondary processing of nonwovens. This system irradiates a high frequency/high voltage discharge to modify the surface of nonwovens or synthetic resin, and effects such as improvements of hydrophilicity, adhesiveness, printing characteristics and coating characteristics are obtained. The company also undertakes tests such as static elimination, charging, electret and surface treatment, as well as the preparation of samples.
According to a Kasuga Denki official, the area of static elimination is extensive, and the category of charging is also profoundly deep. So, the company will further pursue the technologies of static elimination and charging, and hopes to propose ways of applying these technologies to customers.
Even at ANEX 2018, Kasuga Denki will promote its technical capabilities.