Equipment guidelines

Grounding equipment must include either a wrist strap or a foot strap at a grounded workstation.

●When seated, wear a wrist strap connected to a grounded system. Wrist straps are flexible straps with a minimum of one megohm ±10% resistance in the ground cords. To provide proper ground, wear a strap snugly against the skin at all times. On grounded mats with banana-plug connectors, use alligator clips to connect a wrist strap.

●When standing, use foot straps and a grounded floor mat. Foot straps (heel, toe, or boot straps) can be used at standing workstations and are compatible with most types of shoes or boots. On conductive floors or dissipative floor mats, use foot straps on both feet with a minimum of one megohm resistance between the operator and ground. To be effective, the conductive must be worn in contact with the skin.

The following grounding equipment is recommended to prevent electrostatic damage:

●Antistatic tape

●Antistatic smocks, aprons, and sleeve protectors

●Conductive bins and other assembly or soldering aids

●Nonconductive foam

●Conductive tabletop workstations with ground cords of one megohm resistance

●Static-dissipative tables or floor mats with hard ties to the ground

●Field service kits

●Static awareness labels

●Material-handling packages

●Nonconductive plastic bags, tubes, or boxes

●Metal tote boxes

●Electrostatic voltage levels and protective materials

The following table lists the shielding protection provided by antistatic bags and floor mats.

Material

Use

Voltage protection level

 

 

 

Antistatic plastics

Bags

1,500 V

 

 

 

Carbon-loaded plastic

Floor mats

7,500 V

 

 

 

Metallized laminate

Floor mats

5,000 V

 

 

 

Grounding guidelines

11