Everyone knows what static electricity feels like. We’ve all touched a charged piece of clothing and got a small electric shock; surprising but essentially harmless. If an electronic component or device is subjected to an electrostatic discharge (ESD) it could have a much greater impact, damaging other components, itself and the working environment.
The cost of a single ESD failure in the field or in-house can be hugely significant. Businesses aim to prevent possible damage and reliability problems by storing, assembling and handling equipment in electrostatic safe conditions.
From bags to grounding straps, storage bins to stationery, gloves and shoes to antistatic matting, Rapid offers an extensive range of ESD products from leading brands such as Antistat and Bondline.
The ground rules
For areas where electronics are being assembled, refurbished or repaired – as with any home or office – proper grounding is essential.
Human beings are the greatest single source of ESD. Anyone working at a bench in an ESD protected area must wear a wrist strap, even if they also wear heel straps or ESD-control shoes. This allows static potential on a person to equalize with ground. Walking across a carpet can produce anything up to 35,000 volts, and a worker at a bench between 700 to 6000 volts.
Grounding ensures that equipment and workers are protected from electrical surges and harmful voltages. But because of the increased contact with ESD-sensitive parts, special accommodation for ESD needs to be made.
It is important to ensure that personnel and equipment is at the same electrical potential. To do this all components of the work area need to be grounded to the same electrical ground point. This includes work surfaces, personnel and equipment.
It’s in the bag
Electronic components sensitive to ESD should be bagged up to reduce the threat of static discharge. There are numerous ways to do this, from anti-static to conductive and static shielding bags. But which bag do you need?
Pink
Pink bags offer the lowest level of ESD protection. They are “anti-static”, protecting any ESD discharge from its contents from leaking outside, but no shielding.
Black
Black polyethylene bags prevent 30% of charge, but there is no dielectric layer to isolate the components or device inside the bag. The material is itself highly conductive, dissipating charges quickly.
Silver
Silver shielding bags are the ‘gold standard’ of ESD protection. An outer and inner surface dissipative layer works like a Faraday Cage, preventing 97% of a 1000V pulse from reaching inside the bag.
ESD Matting
Antistatic mats and ESD flooring are effective methods of controlling electrostatic discharge within ESD Protected Areas (EPA). Antistatic matting must be either conductive or dissipative and be connected to a suitable grounding point. It slows down and controls this discharge allowing static electricity to transfer safely to ground. It also protects the surface of the sensitive devices from wear and tear during processing.
These mats are designed to be laid out in workshops, laboratories or other areas used for ESD components, communication equipment and ICs.
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Conformal Coating
Browse our range of suitable solvents for the specialised protection of electronic circuit boards from moisture, dust, chemicals and extreme temperatures. Conformal coatings in acrylic, silicone and polyurethane can be applied by spray, helping to keep surfaces free of corrosion, contamination and increase voltage ratings.
We stock high performance products from Ambersil and Electrolube.
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ESD Tapes
Like normal adhesive tape, but for use in ESD environments. Antistatic tape replaces regular tape in most ESD applications, providing protection against chemicals, moisture, gases and static build-up.
It is ideal for use in applications such as wave solder masking and electrical insulation, and for packaging that demands the tightest of seals.
Rapid’s range of ESD tapes include the legendary Kapton tape (used to seal a leak on the International Space Station in 2018) and gridded tape with an ESD pattern for identification.
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ESD Tools
A range of tools are available from Rapid for the thorough cleaning of PCBs, motherboards, integrated circuits and other delicate components – including specially developed brushes designed to dissipate the build-up of static charges.
Other tools and equipment useful in ESD areas include earthing plugs to provide grounding via mains connections, as well as pumps, dispensers and bottles made from static dissipative polyethylene, in order to dispense alcohol, isopropanol, ethanol, methanol and other liquids.
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