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Clearing the Static: ESD testing and monitoring – Part 3

31 July 2019 News

Continuous monitoring and testing are key to effective static charge control. To ensure there are no loopholes in your ESD control programme, all ESD equipment, as well as personnel operating it, need to be tested regularly to comply with industry standards.

Depending on the environment and application, specific testing methods and testers are recommended. Below are a few of the most popular testers used in the working environment:

Surface resistivity testers

Surface resistivity defines the electrical resistance of the surface of a material in ohm/square. Altico Static Control offers a range of meters that can measure surface resistivity, resistance to ground and point-to-point resistance. These meters are portable and come with two electrodes and a probe. They also contain LEDs for quick reference of conductive, dissipative and insulative properties.

Field service testers

Static field meters detect and accurately measure electrostatic fields. Allowing measurement in hard-to-reach places and offering an accuracy of ±10%, most handheld meters require the measurement to be taken at a fixed distance from the object.

Wrist and shoe/heel strap testers

Test the operator’s path to ground and determine whether their personal grounding device (wrist strap and coil cord or shoe/heel strap) is fully functional. Separate test circuits should be used in each instance. Tests should be conducted daily and every time an operator enters the ESD protected area (EPA). Constant wrist or shoe/heel strap testers, as well as wall-mounted ones, are available for ease of use and quick pass or fail results.

For more information contact Altico Static Control Solutions on +27 11 608 3001 or email [email protected] to discuss your static control requirements.



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