Blue top on Dave's bench

[JonnyBoats]

Dave, I se that at some point you added a blue top to your bench. What is that material and why did you add it? Is it a kind of ESD mat?

[gamozo]

It's some high quality ESR mat, which also is good with heatfor soldering and stuff... I'd love to know the exact brand and stuff too tho

[DrGeoff]

This is the stuff.
http://www.chemtools.com.au/showroom/index.php/component/content/article/133-bench-mat-rolls-a-kits/163-glass-and-enclosure-cleaner

[PatrickH]

I just bought this ESD Mat kit and I am very disappointed with it. It is not heat-resistant at all. Even solder drops will ruin this mat.
I guess if you buy cheap (more or less) then you buy twice  .

[IanB]

I just bought this ESD Mat kit and I am very disappointed with it. It is not heat-resistant at all. Even solder drops will ruin this mat.
I guess if you buy cheap (more or less) then you buy twice  .

Which ESD mat kit did you buy? The information is not very useful to us if we don't know what to avoid.

[ivan747]

Dave, how do you ground your mat? Do you run a wire directly to the main's earth terminal inside a wall outlet? Also, where did you get the yellow thing with three banana plugs for plugging wrist straps and the mat?

Thanks!
Ivan

[EEVblog]

Dave, how do you ground your mat? Do you run a wire directly to the main's earth terminal inside a wall outlet? Also, where did you get the yellow thing with three banana plugs for plugging wrist straps and the mat?

Surplus from work somewhere along the line.
Various places sell them though, usually at not so cheap prices.
http://au.element14.com/vermason/j6503/bar-earth-bonding-point/dp/433147
http://au.element14.com/jsp/search/productdetail.jsp?SKU=433160

Dave.

[ivan747]

Various places sell them though, usually at not so cheap prices.
http://au.element14.com/vermason/j6503/bar-earth-bonding-point/dp/433147
Dave.

$39.70!? 
Time to build my own!
This should give me some clues:
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/309206.pdf

It shouldn't be that hard. Given the crimp terminal on them, I guess I can safely screw the terminal in with the green screw, along with the building's earth wire:




THIS is starting to get ridiculous:
http://au.element14.com/ck-tools/z1123/esd-ball-pen/dp/2058447


Thanks, Dave.
Ivan

[alm]

THIS is starting to get ridiculous:
http://au.element14.com/ck-tools/z1123/esd-ball-pen/dp/2058447

If you want to keep a ball pen around on an ESD safe workstation, what alternative do you propose? Especially since some people like to use pens to point things out, similar to the screwdriver everybody seems to love .

[ivan747]

THIS is starting to get ridiculous:
http://au.element14.com/ck-tools/z1123/esd-ball-pen/dp/2058447

If you want to keep a ball pen around on an ESD safe workstation, what alternative do you propose? Especially since some people like to use pens to point things out, similar to the screwdriver everybody seems to love .

What kind of environment requires such a tough ESD protection? It's not your typical workspace, I suppose. I wouldn't pay for that unless I start to deal with $100 IC's or one-of projects costing thousands of dollars to fix.

[EEVblog]

What kind of environment requires such a tough ESD protection? It's not your typical workspace, I suppose. I wouldn't pay for that unless I start to deal with $100 IC's or one-of projects costing thousands of dollars to fix.

I have worked on $10M hardware project were you would be INSTANTLY DISMISSED if you walked into a ESD safe room without your lab coat, and tested your ground strap and signed in, let alone did anything more serious.
That same company also blacklisted Farnell and removed them from the approved vendor list for some minute detail in their ESD handling procedures.

Dave.

[IanB]

Out of curiosity, is it normal to maintain a high ambient humidity in work areas and labs where ESD is a concern? Because I certainly notice a huge difference in the number of static shocks between dry days and damp days, and I've heard that electrostatic machines will even refuse to work in humid climates.

[HLA-27b]

What good is an ESD safe pen if you don't wear ESD safe underwear?
And what good is that if you didn't brush your teeth with ESD safe toothpaste?

[robrenz]

I  use this one   http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?lang=en&site=us&vendor=0&WT.z_cid=ref_findchips0311_dkc_buynow&mpart=66164  $60.96usd includes grounding hardware with 2 jack receptacle.  I don't solder directly on it but solder splashes peel off OK. I think it will melt but I am not spending $200.00 on a mat.

EDIT  don't buy this! see post #15 above

[Joshua]

Since you're in U.S, check out All-Spec industries. I have dealt with them many times and have been thoroughly pleased by customer service, shipping, quality of products, etc... One time there was a problem with a credit card payment(my fault, not theirs) and they called me like 10 minutes after placing the order trying to resolve the issue. I have a 2x5 foot rubber mat and I really like it. It holds up great to soldering and general work. That came to I think ~$80 dollars or so. Here is the link to the rubber mats they carry. Unless you are doing mainly assembly work, I would definitely recommend rubber of vinyl. All-spec also have a video on youtube about the differences between rubber and vinyl.


http://www.all-spec.com/products/Flooring_and_Matting%7CESD-Safe_Benchtop_Matting%7CMAT-00/

[Joshua]

Youtube video....

[mobbarley]

And what good is that if you didn't brush your teeth with ESD safe toothpaste?

Only a concern if you are standing on ICs!

[robrenz]

Since you're in U.S, check out All-Spec industries. http://www.all-spec.com/products/Flooring_and_Matting%7CESD-Safe_Benchtop_Matting%7CMAT-00/

Wow, way better deal and material than my post below.  I could have got heat resistant heavy duty rubber for what I paid for vinyl.

[alm]

Out of curiosity, is it normal to maintain a high ambient humidity in work areas and labs where ESD is a concern? Because I certainly notice a huge difference in the number of static shocks between dry days and damp days, and I've heard that electrostatic machines will even refuse to work in humid climates.

Humidity is often controlled in electronics labs for exactly this reason. Very helpful if you're trying to build a low leakage circuit.

What good is an ESD safe pen if you don't wear ESD safe underwear?
And what good is that if you didn't brush your teeth with ESD safe toothpaste?

I'm quite sure that anything involving electronic components coming into contact with your teeth or your underwear would be grounds for dismissal in the company Dave mentioned .

[ivan747]

Here's a useful document on how to properly ground a workspace: http://documents.desco.com/PDF/tb-2000.pdf

OK, here's the proper way to ground a wrist strap in the US:

[ivan747]

I  use this one   http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?lang=en&site=us&vendor=0&WT.z_cid=ref_findchips0311_dkc_buynow&mpart=66164  $60.96usd includes grounding hardware with 2 jack receptacle.  I don't solder directly on it but solder splashes peel off OK. I think it will melt but I am not spending $200.00 on a mat.

EDIT  don't buy this! see post #15 above

I like its size and price, as well as its color (more important than everyone usually thinks). The video on post #15 remains to be seen.

Edit: alright, I won't buy any vinyl mat unless it is under $20.

Edit 2: I found a good alternative, same size, same price, same color  . It even includes a wrist strap and a bonding point and, presumably, all the necessary cables. All for $45! And it's made of rubber, you can't burn it with a soldering iron!

http://www.all-spec.com/products/Sierra/Flooring_and_Matting%7CESD-Safe_Benchtop_Matting%7CMAT-00/SRW100B.html

[NiHaoMike]

If you want to keep a ball pen around on an ESD safe workstation, what alternative do you propose? Especially since some people like to use pens to point things out, similar to the screwdriver everybody seems to love .

Use a pencil, just like the Russians do. (According to legend anyways - I've heard it's not really true.) Ordinary wooden pencils are not going to accumulate a charge unless it's really, really dry. (I use a stainless steel mechanical pencil since it always maintains the fine point needed for drawing schematics. It's too bad that none of the touchscreens I've seen could match the resolution of humble pencil and paper.)

[HLA-27b]

Use a pencil, just like the Russians do. (According to legend anyways - I've heard it's not really true.) Ordinary wooden pencils are not going to accumulate a charge unless it's really, really dry. (I use a stainless steel mechanical pencil since it always maintains the fine point needed for drawing schematics. It's too bad that none of the touchscreens I've seen could match the resolution of humble pencil and paper.)

I think they found out that a ball point pen works just fine in space.
Talk about solving a problem which doesn't exist.

[Uncle Vernon]

I think they found out that a ball point pen works just fine in space.
Talk about solving a problem which doesn't exist.

So now all they need to work out, is how to economically get more of the feckers work back here on earth! 

[robrenz]

Cheaper yet and actualy has heat spec of 600degF for 10 seconds with no melt no smell

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-LAYER-RUBBER-ESD-MAT-24-X-48-W-GROUND-CABLE-/280739508681

spec sheet
http://scientificamericas.com/upload/Two%20Layer%20ESD%20Rubber%20Mat.pdf