Essential facts about ESD protection
According to international research, about 70% of the damage to electronic devices is caused by improper personnel protection! Man, eventually his everyday clothes, is a relatively powerful generator of electric charges. The main element of protection against electrostatic discharges thus becomes antistatic or ESD clothing. A widespread mistake is a belief in adequate wrist strap ESD protection. However, all international standards, including the most important EN 61340, emphasize the need to use special clothing in the workplace where it is needed.
What is an electrostatic discharge?
Electrostatic discharge is the flow of charged particles between two objects that occurs when the two objects are nearby. An example of everyday life may be the "blow" that we sometimes get when we touch a metal handle. For instance, lightning is a natural ESD phenomenon. A build-up of charge always precedes electrostatic discharge, and when two objects with different electrical potential meet, an electrostatic effect occurs.
Risks related to electrostatic discharges
Electronic components are susceptible to damage due to low voltage ESD events. Many electronic components can be damaged even when subjected to a discharge of fewer than 10 volts. Whether you are handling, storing, transporting, or installing static-sensitive components, measures must be taken to prevent damage to these components by this phenomenon.
Damage to electrical equipment by static electricity discharges is not visible, so there is no standard way to identify it immediately. This damage can eventually cause the failure of the entire system in which is the component installed. Measures should be taken to avoid damage to sensitive parts, the most effective being the use of ESD garments.
Why use ESD protection?
As we said above, this is a relatively severe problem in technology, especially for electronic components with integrated circuits, wherein a slight moment, such a circuit may be damaged or even destroyed by simply touching it with a second object with a different electrical potential. Such an object can also be a human being, whose body can be charged above the potential of electronic components simply by removing the sweater over his head.
There are several antistatic devices designed to ensure safe grounding of electrostatic charges to protect electronic devices from electrostatic discharge damage. Nowadays, significant robotization of industrial production is the primary task of safe protection of both products and their own means of production and, last but not least, their human operation.
CERVA GROUP a.s. brings to the PPE market many possibilities how to prevent these problems and dangers.
ESD clothing:
The new MONTROSE ESD collection will ensure complete ESD protection for all exposed workers. The collection consists of garments for the lower and upper body, including a jacket, overalls and waist overalls. Subsequently, our range also includes many other clothes that provide ESD protection. We name only three of them:
- NOYO POLO ESD polo shirt - it is a universal ESD shirt, which is made of cotton knitted with antistatic fibre. The NOYO shirt can be selected from long-sleeved and V-necked variants.
- ESD apron STING - antistatic cloak with stand-up collar and long sleeve covered by the flap. The apron material consists of 59% cotton, 39% polyester and 2% carbon fibre.
- ESD gloves WRYNECK - knitted seamless carbon fibre gloves complemented by an elasticated cuff.
