October 2000
In This Issue
• Controlling ESD from the
Floor Up - Statguard® Floor
Finish
• Field Service Kits
ESD MONITOR
ESD CONTROL NEWSLETTER
• Statguard® Conductive
Acrylic Paint
• Digital Surface Test Kit
Simplifies Reading of
Measurements
• :Meg Pocket
Megohmmeter & more!
Statguard® Floor Care Products
Controlling ESD from the Floor Up
ESD (electrostatic discharge) is a growing problem in this
electronic age. A simple touch from a person can damage an
electrical component with charges up to 35,000 volts of
electricity. To combat this, electrostatic control solutions are
needed.
Taking care of static charges generated on the floor is a key
part of any ESD control program. Static charges are generated
on people and carts as they move around the floor. As more
and more companies are relying on their employees to be
mobile due to the changing work requirements and
manufacturing flexibility, static control needs to start from the
floor up. This increases the effectiveness of other ESD control
devices, such as the wrist strap, by preventing static charge
generation at the source.
Charleswater Europe’s Statguard® Dissipative Floor Finish is a zinc cross-linked formula used to dissipate static
charges as well as prevent tribocharging (static charge generation). It provides the ability to ground mobile
personnel and eliminate the static charges generated by walking across the floor. Statguard® provides a clear, high
gloss finish that resists wear. Our Statguard® Floor Finish is easy to apply and is easily implemented into an
existing floor finish program. Compared to other brands, Statguard® provides superior results using the least
amount of labour.
Features and Benefits of Statguard® Floor Finish include:
• Non-tribocharging to prevent charge generation.
• Static dissipative so that with proper footwear it will remove the charge off the
body. It also provides grounding by converting a non-ESD floor into an ESD
floor.
• Versatile; it can be applied on many hard surfaces or sealed floors including
vinyl, floor tile, VCT, linoleum, rubber flooring, asphalt, and concrete.
• 18% solids makes it easy to apply and improves productivity.
• Cross linked polymer - produces beautiful, long lasting, durable finish.
• Slip resistance provides safe surface only to ensure worker safety.
• Low humidity formulation to provide greater durability in all humidity
environments.
Surface resistance: 4 x106 per ISO 2878
Download Technical Bulletin PPE-5023E for more information: www.charleswater.co.uk
Charleswater Europe • Unit 17. Millbrook Business Park, Sybron Way • Crowborough, East Sussex, TN6 3JZ United Kingdom
Phone: 00 44 (0) 1892-665313, Fax: 00 44 (0) 1892-668838 • E-mail: info@charleswater.co.uk, Internet: www.charleswater.co.uk
Portable ESD
Workstation
Charleswater Europe
Field Service Kits are
designed to provide a
portable ESD protected
work area. They allow
a technician to take an
ESD protected
“workstation” to the
worksite. Areas where
Field Service Kits can
be used include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Charleswater Europe’s
Redesigned Banana Plug*
Withstands The Test Of Time
Charleswater
Europe’s coil
cords for wrist
bands withstands
the ravages of
time and use.
These premium
coil cords feature
a contoured
supported spring
banana plug
design.
On-site computer service
ATM service
Automobile electronics service
Any equipment with microprocessors
A technician servicing equipment that contains ESD
susceptible devices must take the same precautions
as in the manufacturing of those devices. It’s wrong
to believe that once a device is inserted in a board
or a board in a chassis, it’s safe from ESD. An
essential tool in today’s toolbox is a Field Service Kit
which includes a wrist strap and grounding
hardware.
Four different kits are available from Charleswater
Europe to meet a variety of needs and preferences.
80710 Large Field Kit
560mm x 600mm kit is made of a
red laminated vinyl with a surface
resistivity of 106 -107 Ohms per
IEC-93.
Collapsing springs on banana plugs are the
number one reason for failed connection to
ground. Charleswater Europe’s patenteddesign
(patent pending) resists banana spring collapse by
preventing the spring from traveling beyond its
limit to return. When a banana spring collapses it
loses its ability to make good contact with a
banana jack. Under extreme abuse conditions the
banana plug will fall out of the jack under
minimal pull force (>0.7 pounds of disengagement
pressure). Charleswater Europe’s banana plugs
will maintain a disengagement force of equal to or
greater than 1 pound of disengagement force over
the life of the cord. They fit into all standard
banana jacks < 0.158".
* U.S. Patent 5951337
Drawing 80710E
80720 Standard Field Service
Kit with Pouch
This 450mm x 560mm kit is
made of a red laminated
dissipative vinyl with an RTT of
106-7 ohms per IEC-93. A canvas
carrying pouch makes for easy storage and
transport. Drawing 80720E.
80730 Pocket Field Service Kit
This 380mm x 500mm kit is
made of a red laminated vinyl
with a Surface Resistivity of 106-7
ohms per IEC -93.
Drawing 80730E.
80700 Briefcase Field
Service Kit
This 560mm x 505mm kit is
made of a heat sealed homogeneous blue static dissipative
vinyl with an RTT of 1011.
Drawing 80700E.
Statguard®
Conductive
Acrylic Paint
An effective and economical
alternative to Conductive Floor
Mats is Charleswater Europe’s Statguard® Acrylic
Paint. Our paint provides static control on concrete
and epoxy floors, and in places which are difficult to
protect. It adheres great to concrete and sealed
floors, as well as walls and wood furniture.
Statguard® Conductive Acrylic Paint is conductive in
accordance with MIL-HDBK-263-B.
71016 Grey, 3.8 Litres
71017 Grey, 19 Litres
For more information download Technical Bulletin
PPE-5019E: www.charleswater.co.uk.
Digital Surface Resistance/Resistivity Test
Kit Simplifies Reading Of Measurements
Charleswater Europe’s Surface Resistance/Resistivity Test Kit
makes it easy to evaluate the electrical properties of ESD
protective table and floor mats, flooring, or other surfaces.
The complete kit has everything necessary to test to ISO BS
EN 100 015 Issue 1. The key feature is the unique Liquid
Crystal Display that allows the direct reading of
measurements. No interpretation or calculations are
necessary! Two measurement methods are possible with the
meter:
1. Surface Resistivity. Two parallel probes on the bottom of the case
allow quick and easy testing without the use of the two 5 pound
electrodes.
2. Surface Resistance. Point-to-point (RTT) and surface-to-ground (RTG) surface
resistance measurements are made by using the meter with the 5 pound weighted electrodes
included in the kit.
Test Range: 103 - 1011 Ohms @10 Volts
105 - 1012 Ohms @ 100 Volts
Power:
9 Volt DC battery or 220V
ITEM
99100
99101
99065
DESCRIPTION
Digital Test Kit
Digital Tester only
AC adapter, battery charger
26 mm LCD
1.7x105S
Test button
AC Battery
Charger
Adapter
Parallel
Electrodes
2.5 mm
Jacks
19770
CANTON, MA 02021
9V Battery
Compartment
Made in USA
Download Technical Bulletin PPE-5033E for more information.
Check It Out With
Charleswater Europe’s
:Meg Pocket Megohmmeter
With Charleswater
Europe’s 99035
pocket-size
resistivity tester
you can do fast
spot-checking of
dissipative and
conductive
surfaces. Our
resistivity tester is perfect for quick and easy
measurements of Surface and Surface-toGround Resistance. Its replaceable 9 volt
battery is easy for an operator to replace. The
unit also has colour-coded LED’s for easy to
read resistance range.
For more information, Download Technical
Bulletin PPE-5046E from our web site.
How Old Is That
Coil Cord?
Charleswater Europe coil cords
are date-coded to tell the month
and year of manufacture. With the
coil cord held as shown, December
(the 12th month) is at the top.
January is at 1 pm and so forth
“around the clock”. The cord shown
here was made in June of 1999. We
use this information for managing
the Charleswater Europe warranty
and our satisfaction guarantee.
Unit 17. Millbrook Business Park, Sybron Way
Crowborough, East Sussex, TN6 3JZ United Kingdom
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
10/00
ESD CORNER
Q. Is there a difference in the effectiveness of using
a cloth wristband versus a metal expansion type?
Would the metal expansion wristband be better at
eliminating static build-up than the cloth wristband
due to its larger conductive surface area?
A. The most common wristband grounding failure is
the electrical connection between wristband and the
person’s skin. Metal expansion wristbands often
make a superior positive connection, as well as
being durable. The key to personal grounding is to
have an adequate path to ground so that there is
never a potential difference with respect to ground
on the human body longer than 150 milliseconds
(ms) body movement time. Such rapid grounding is
accomplished well by elastic bands, Speidel® TwistO-Flex, or metal expansion wrist bands. The
resistance of the silver impregnated nylon elastic
band is typically under 1 kilohm which is more than
adequate to provide a discharge time well under
150 ms. In a recent test, the elastic band resistance
measured only 400 ohms and removed the charge
in under 2 microseconds (0.002 milliseconds).
In all cases (elastic band, Speidel® Twist-O-Flex,
and metal expansion) the total discharge time is
mainly influenced by the skin’s resistance, the
contact resistance to the band/buckle, and the
body/band capacitance to ground. The concern is if
the wristband’s resistance or equivalent resistance
of the body to band starts to exceed 1 x 108 ohms.
This should be detected in testing as most wrist
strap testers fail high over 1 x 107 ohms.
If you have questions concerning our products,
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) and ESD control,
please e-mail us at:
info@charleswater.co.uk
European Distributor
Contact Information
Find Charleswater Europe Distributors online. Distributors are located in:
Austria
Benelux
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Norway
Scotland
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
Contact information is available for all
Distributors. Just visit the Charlswater
Europe website at: www.charleswater.co.uk.