Grounding operators that handle ESD susceptible devices is one of the requirements for an ESD Control Plan. In fact, it is the basis of the ESD Association’s ANSI/ESD S20.20-2014 Standard. Grounding the body and maintaining maximum resistance to ground (Rtg) of less than 35 megohms prevents the operator from generating more than 100 volts. The…
Setting up a new ESD Protected Area (EPA) can be a little daunting, especially if you are unfamiliar or relatively new to the concept of ESD Control. It would be nice to have a blue print for establishing an EPA, but in truth there is no exact formula as everyone’s situation is different. However, there…
Read more How to Create a New ESD Protected Area (EPA) from Scratch
A fundamental principle of ESD control is to ground conductors including people at ESD protected workstations. Wrist straps are the first line of defense against ESD, the most common personnel grounding device used, and are required to be used if the operator is sitting. The wristband should be worn snug to the skin with its…
Read more Fundamental ESD Control Principles – Personnel Grounding
To claim your free wrist straps, submit your information and a copy of your invoice for your previously purchased 19228. Select one wrist strap kit from the items listed below for each 19228 purchased. This offer is only available for purchases of 19228 made after 2014-03-03. Submit your invoice here. Wrist Strap Kits 09070 Adjustable…
Read more Receive a Free Wrist Strap Kit with Each Multi-Mount Monitor (Item #19228) Purchased
If testing can demonstrate that operator’s resistance path is reliable, it might be OK, but it is certainly not best practice. Alligator clip attached to dissipative mat is not recommended per ESD Handbook ESD TR20.20 wrist strap section 5.3.2.2.2 Wrist Strap Ground Cord: “The groundable end of the cord is most often equipped with a…
Read more Is It OK to Connect Wrist Strap to Mat Using Alligator Clip?
If using ESD flooring for a flooring / footwear personnel grounding system (or a possibility in the future), we recommend conductive flooring. A “Conductive ESD Floor” is defined by ANSI/ESD S7.1 (the flooring standard) as a floor that measures <1.0 x 106 ohm Rtg. The ANSI/ESD S20.20 standard states that an ESD floor must measure…
A leader in manufacturing electronic products in Asia, evaluated Desco Full Coverage Foot Grounder (17290, 17291, and 17292) to determine if they actually outperformed standard heel grounders. The customer was easily convinced that the path-to-ground of a full coverage style foot grounder outperformed a standard heel grounder due to the contact points on both the…
The “standard” resistance value for a wrist strap is to be 1 megohm (+/-20%). Touch-Testers test for this, so should your single-wire constant monitor. One of the ways that manufacturers of low cost continuous monitors cut corners is to not monitor for a current-limiting resistor in the wrist strap system. While there is no industry…
Read more Does your Continuous Monitor Test for a Resistor in the Wrist Strap?
Originally Published by InCompliance Magazine- September 2012 Now is the Time for ESD Control Programs to be Improved “Factory ESD control is expected to play an ever-increasing critical role as the industry is flooded with even more HBM (Human Body Model) and CDM (Charged Device Model) sensitive designs.” By Fred Tenzer and Gene Felder ElectroStatic Discharge…
Read more Now is the Time for ESD Control Programs to be Improved
ElectroStatic Discharge (ESD) is the hidden enemy within your factory. You cannot feel or see most ESD events but they can cause electronic components to fail or cause mysterious and annoying problems. There are two types of ESD damage: 1) Catastrophic failures, and 2) Latent defects. By definition, normal quality control inspections are able to…