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ESD Safe Hand Tools — Parallax Forums

ESD Safe Hand Tools

LisaQLisaQ Posts: 33
edited 2011-02-15 01:13 in General Discussion
Curious as to what makes tweezers, pliers, screwdrivers and the like ESD safe. I don't understand how hand tools generate static. I there really a need for an ESD safe line of tools? Any insight is appreciated.
Thank you,
Lisa

Comments

  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2011-02-14 02:49
    What you don't want to do is carry chips outside of a box while walking across the carpet. What you want to do is first ground yourself before working on stuff. It is best to ground yourself once seated at a table. That way, there is no friction across a carpet to generate static electricity because you are seated and have ceased your walking. When I walk, my pants legs rub together a lot increasing friction which I think helps static electricity.

    I'm guessing you want something that isn't a conductor to electrical current.

    I had this discussion when it came to surge protectors. We use surge protectors that are rated to protect our computers but when it comes to lightning, there is really no surge protector in the world that can really protect against lightning. When static overcomes the resistance of a ESD safe tool then static may be going through air and or you aren't properly grounded.

    I can tell you that I have worn earphones and felt static travel all the way up my pants and shock me inside my ear because I was wearing earphones. I'm sure you can study the difference between ball lightning that some say can travel through windows in the west and static electricity that I can feel travel between the wood paneling of my house and my body when I travel the stairs.

    It is best to use a humidifier when you work because you have to think of air being a conductor of some sort.

    Is working on a table above a tile floor better than a table with a rug under it? If it reduces the chance of static electricity then it is.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2011-02-14 02:55
    LisaQ wrote: »
    Curious as to what makes tweezers, pliers, screwdrivers and the like ESD safe. I don't understand how hand tools generate static. I there really a need for an ESD safe line of tools? Any insight is appreciated.
    Thank you,
    Lisa

    This is what my friends use:

    http://www.meritline.com/newsearch.aspx?SearchTerm=tweezers

    I was buying bamboo tweezers.
  • LisaQLisaQ Posts: 33
    edited 2011-02-14 03:40
    Chuckz wrote: »
    What you don't want to do is carry chips outside of a box while walking across the carpet. What you want to do is first ground yourself before working on stuff. It is best to ground yourself once seated at a table.
    Chuckz, thanks for the reply,
    1.Assuming you are properly grounded and all ready sitting at a bench is there any benefit to using ESD safe tools? 2.We were audited at work and the question came up as to what makes a hand tool ESD safe? Is it the metal it is made of or is it the grip on the tool? The ESD safe tools are a higher cost, is the cost justified at a properly grounded work station?
    Thank you
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2011-02-14 04:53
    It's the plastic used on screwdriver handles, cutters, etc. It has to be conductive to minimise ESD.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2011-02-14 05:45
    LisaQ wrote: »
    Chuckz, thanks for the reply,
    1.Assuming you are properly grounded and all ready sitting at a bench is there any benefit to using ESD safe tools? 2.We were audited at work and the question came up as to what makes a hand tool ESD safe? Is it the metal it is made of or is it the grip on the tool? The ESD safe tools are a higher cost, is the cost justified at a properly grounded work station?
    Thank you

    It depends on how much soldering you are going to be doing. Is it worth it? I suppose an ESD mat and an ESD wrist strap would help most problems. Other than that, I think you could probably ask Parallax Engineering for a more precise answer.
  • UnknownUnknown
    edited 2011-02-14 05:51
    One of the other things you can ask is whether your electrical outlet is really grounded or not.

    We also have typewriters at work that use to turn off and on whenever someone used the toaster oven. Having power that is properly regulated is an issue and companies that look at cost might see the issue as one they might not want to deal with because it is easier to throw away a chip than to call the electrician.
  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,935
    edited 2011-02-14 10:56
    Friction between insulators (non-conductive material) is the most common source of static generation. What makes a tool ESD safe is the material that it is made of and it's conductivity. If an item conducts, static cannot build upon it because charges generated on the material will be dissipated before they can build up into a discharge. If most of your tools are metal only, you will be fine. In my "arsenal" of hobby equipment I have ESD and non-ESD tools. If I am doing delicate work with raw components I use the ESD tools only on a grounded ESD mat. However, for most of what I do, I use regular tools and stay off of carpet.

    Some links to peruse:
    Cisco ESD Training page: http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le31/esd/WelcomeP.html
    IPC ESD Training/Cert page with link to a FREE ESD training preview video (full video, but low res): http://www.esdtraining.org/vt54_cd54/index.htm
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2011-02-14 15:10
    A lot of ESD stuff is conductive but just barely.

    If a static charge comes into contact with the ESD safe material it will dissipate the excess charge, but slowly.

    ESD safe foam has rather high resistance. The stuff next to me measures 14K ohm per square (the size of the square doesn't matter). Wrist straps usually (at least the expensive ones) have a large ohm value resistor in line to the grounding point.
  • LisaQLisaQ Posts: 33
    edited 2011-02-15 01:13
    Thank you all for the info. It was very helpful. I have seen the Cisco presentation and will check out the other link.
    Lisa
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