Setting up An ESD Protected Workstation
By LearnESD.com Team

An ESD Protected workstation normally consists of an mat, a wrist strap outlet or wrist strap continuous monitoring system, an flooring or mat with or without an ionizer.

The entire mat, wrist strap outlet or wrist strap continuous monitoring system and the flooring or mat is connected to the same common point to ensure an equipotential bonding.

The common point ground is then connected either to an AC equipment ground or an auxiliary ground.
The auxiliary ground is a separate supplemental grounding conductor for use other than the general AC equipment grounding.
This auxiliary supplemental grounding is bonded to the AC equipment grounding to ensure there is no potential difference between these grounding systems.

An ionizer may or may not be used on the workstation. When there is an essential process insulator on the work surface (e.g. plastic connector container), an ionizer is required to neutralize any static charges that are present on the container.

Other materials and equipments that may be used at the protected workstation are tweezers, soldering irons, torque screwdrivers and chairs.
Soldering irons and torque screwdrivers are AC powered equipments.
It is best to ensure the tip of these equipments grounded to prevent any charge transfer while in use.
Tweezers are grounded through the human touch. It is recommended to use the chair at the workstation though not mandatory.
Any decision made on the choice of material and equipment that are used at the workstation must take into account the sensitivity level of the sensitive parts being handled in that area.




What is next?

Here are some more articles...