Static Attack [embroidery]

Protect yourself and your embroidery equipment from static charges.

You’re hard at work at the dining room table, finishing up some last minute paperwork. From behind you comes the sound of tiny feet shuffling through the carpet, as one of your “darling” children approaches your chair. You start to turn in your chair, expecting a warm embrace, when all of a sudden you hear ZZZZZZAP, and feel a stinging pain in your arm! Through the waves of shocking pain you hear a tiny voice saying “gotcha!” Static Shock! No, not the kind that you get from an irate customer -- the electrical type. I don’t know about you, but I absolutely hate it. (Both kinds.) In fact, it makes me paranoid. All winter long, when the potential for such occurrences is greatest, I take great pains to avoid contacting anything metallic. Instead of touching a steel door knob, I will patiently wait for someone else to open the door, and then follow him through. Static shock, I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!

So what causes static electricity? Tough question. It’s a fairly complex process, so I will attempt to give you a brief, watered-down version that you can hopefully understand. Basically, each element in nature has an equal number of positive and negative electrical charges. Under certain conditions, when two different elements come in contact with each other, and then rapidly separate, one of the elements will transfer some of its electrical charges to the other one. This leaves both elements with a charge imbalance. Now, when one of those elements comes in contact with a normally charged element, there will be a transfer of electrical charge, which will result in a quick flow of current. It’s this flow of current that we refer to as Static Electricity.

How much current can be produced by this process? You may be shocked, I mean surprised, by the answer. It takes a static charge of approximately 5000 volts for it to be felt. To see it, you must produce about 10,000 volts! And believe it or not, humans routinely develop static charges as high as 50,000 volts. How can we come in contact with this type of current and live to tell about? I’ll reserve that for another article, it’s even more technical. Just suffice it to say, that all voltage is not created equally.

So what does this have to do with embroidery? As far as the sewing process, very little, but in relationship to your equipment, this can be an important lesson. While static charges are little more than a nuisance to humans, they can easily destroy sensitive electronic components contained in computers and embroidery machines. As long as these items are securely mounted within your equipment, they are relatively safe from any static charges. However, if you have to physically handle such parts, you can inadvertently transfer static current from yourself to these components. This can in turn cause irreparable damage.

The key to safe “handling” is to “ground” yourself, which will ensure that any static charges are safely neutralized. How do you do this? Simply touch a metallic object or appliance that is tied to “earth ground”. So how do you know when something is connected to “earth ground”? Look for some type of equipment that has a metal case or cover and a three-prong electrical plug. If it meets this criteria, and is actually plugged into a three-prong wall outlet, then you can pretty much bet that it’s tied to “earth ground” and will allow you to safely dissipate any buildup of static electricity within your body.

Should you have the opportunity to change-out one of the circuit boards in your computer and/or machine, it is highly recommended that you ground yourself before starting work. The best method is to purchase a grounding strap (Radio Shack has them) which is a device that is typically attached to your wrist via a special bracelet. Extending out from the bracelet is an electrical wire with an alligator clip on the other end. The clip is attached to a grounded surface. This ensures that you are grounded and stay grounded when working with sensitive electronic components.

There is another phenomenon associated with static electricity, commonly referred to as “static cling”. It’s created the same way as static current, but the result is a little different. The electrical charge imbalance causes elements to either be attracted or repelled - thus the “cling” affect. When you see the threads on your embroidery machine trying to “stick” to the casing, you are seeing static cling at work. Well now that you have a faint inkling as to what this static business is all about, how can you prevent it? First of all, avoid having carpet in your work area if at all possible. Carpet is a notorious source for the generation of static. If you do have carpet, then consider spraying it down with an anti-static solution, available from most office equipment stores.

Concrete floors, especially painted ones, are another source of static electricity. Once again, consider an anti-static spray, or you may try a solution of water and fabric softener. Just be careful to keep it off of your equipment. Perhaps the best all-around cure for static problems is humidity. (Notice that static is least predominant during the warm, moist months of summer.) Moisture tends to absorb static charges and reduce or eliminate their affects. So consider using a humidifier to introduce moisture into the air. Be careful not to produce a high level of dampness, since this may cause additional problems for your equipment and supplies.

That about does it for Static Electricity. It may not be possible to totally eliminate it, but you should be able to at least reduce the affects. Now about that other type of static, the one you get from that irritating customer............. By: James M. (Jimmy) Lamb Published: February 2007