Protecting against electrostatic discharge is a high priority in every area of industry.
Static discharge is an electrical phenomenon caused by electric charges in natural and man-made environments, and it can damage sensitive electronic equipment and components.
Protection is extremely important to prevent damage caused by ESD. Electrostatic protection equipment used in industrial environments includes special footwear, clothing, floor coverings and workbenches that allow electric charges to be dissipated safely.
Preventing uncontrolled potential equalisation is very important, because the resulting damage can be very costly. In many cases ESD failures lead to quality recalls and further expensive repairs.
Electrostatic protection is essential in modern industries, which is why ESD environments must be handled with particular care to protect people and products as well as possible.
Many people only experience electrostatic discharge (ESD)
when they take off a synthetic jumper or walk across a carpet and then touch a metal door handle and get a shock.
Static electricity has been a serious industrial problem for centuries. As early as the 1400s, ESD protection procedures and devices were used in forts in Europe and the Caribbean to prevent gunpowder stores from igniting through accidental discharge. In the 1860s, paper mills in the United States used basic grounding, flame ionisation techniques and steam drums to dissipate static electricity from the paper web passing through the drying process.
Electrostatic charging and discharge occur in every business and industrial process.
Military ammunition, explosives, the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, agriculture, printing and textiles are just a few examples of industries where controlling static electricity is crucial. The age of electronics brought new challenges: as electronic devices become faster and circuits smaller, their sensitivity generally increases.
Despite the efforts of the past thirty years, ESD still affects production processes, manufacturing costs and product quality.
The cost of damaged devices can range from a simple diode to complex integrated circuits. Adding related costs such as repair, rework, rebuilding, labour and other incidental items shows significant losses. Almost every company involved in electronics manufacturing pays attention to the industry-accepted elements of protection against uncontrolled discharge. Available industry standards help establish the basic conditions and techniques for reducing and controlling static charges. Ignoring protection poses a significant risk in the manufacture and transport of electronic components. Marking the area warns employees right at the entrance!
ESD basics and optimal protection
With effective ESD protection, nobody's hair stands on end – neither from suspicion nor from charge.
Electrostatic discharge is a good example of how a tiny detail can have serious consequences. The phenomenon, often referred to as ESD, is the uncontrolled equalisation of electric charge between two objects with different charges.
The basic principle: where there is no charge, there can be no discharge.
Most electrostatic discharges are so mild that people do not notice them – we only feel them above several thousand volts. Care is needed, however, because as little as 30 V can be enough for an electrostatic discharge to cause serious damage, for example in semiconductor manufacturing.
Looking at the typical causes, it is clear that ESD must be assumed to be present practically everywhere, especially in industrial environments.
moving packaging material
moving conveyor belts
walking on plastic floors
friction with synthetic or blended clothing
moving plastic containers
That is why it is essential to prevent these risks in electronics production plants. If we protect ourselves properly against electrostatic discharge, we can protect the quality of components and maintain our good reputation. Choose ESD-safe equipment – especially in production areas where movement is an essential part of the value chain.