Dwight Hunnicutt wrote: > > Any of you ever get handed the responsibility to deploy an ESD control > system for your engineering group? I'm talking about ESD for our > hardware and test engineers, not the manufacturing folks. > <snip>
Dwight One of my responsibilities when I worked for British Telecom was for the requirements for electrostatic protection for electronic components, sub-assemblies and systems in servicing and repair facilities. At that time (late 80s/early 90s) we used our own in-house documentation, but it was pretty similar to some of the procedures described subsequently in EN 100015-1. This specification is slanted towards the production environment, but the same principles apply. The "field work implementation" section may have most relevance to you. IEC are producing international versions of the EN 100015 series of specifications in the IEC 61340 series. A quick check on the IEC web site today shows all parts in various draft stages. 61340-5-1 (general requirements) and 61340-5-2 (user guide) are probably the most relevant. They have reached "draft at editing check" stage. You can check the whole range of these electrostatic publications by searching for Technical Committee "15" and IEC "61340" at http://www.iec.ch Please bear in mind that these publications offer a large menu of techniques. Not all are needed at once, and some combinations can be counter-productive. In BT we found that multi-layer mats earthed through protective resistors, together with wrist straps and correct clothing and upholstory materials was sufficient for staff working at benches, provided the "good housekeeping requirements" of the EN are followed. Sensitive components and boards should always be in protective bags (or similar) when outside equipment and the protected area. This may not prove sufficient if your humidities are lower than those in the UK. Checking fields and surface potentials with an electrostatic voltmeter will show whether your precautions are adequate. I hope that this helps. Best wishes Brian Jones Independant EMC Consultant +44 1564 773319 telephone & fax --------- This message is coming from the emc-pstc discussion list. To cancel your subscription, send mail to [email protected] with the single line: "unsubscribe emc-pstc" (without the quotes). For help, send mail to [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected] (the list administrators).
