ESD protection improves quality

ESD damage is hard to detect and often invisible

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is the sudden flow of electricity which happens when two electrically charged objects come in contact. If powerful enough, the ESD can be felt, seen, or even heard by humans. Such an occurrence is called an electrostatic shock.

However, electronic components and products, handled in many workplaces nowadays, can be affected in lower voltages, undetectable by humans, and ESD damage might happen. These ESD defects can often be neither seen nor detected in final testing. Nevertheless, they can cause problems in the end-product, for example, by weakening its durability or changing its functionality.

ESD protection is worth the investment

To avoid ESD damage, proper ESD protection should be ensured by building an EPA, which is an ESD protected area in which electronic components, parts, and products can be handled safely. The main role in an EPA is played by furniture with ESD protection.

Ensuring ESD protection is especially important in the electronics industry, but the increasing use of electronics in all kinds of products is leading to the introduction of EPAs in more and more workplaces in industrial and technical environments.

It is worth investing in ESD protection because preventing ESD damage from happening is usually more cost-effective than repairing and replacing damaged products. Large amounts of damaged products can also have an effect on the company’s image and the value of its brand.

Further learning material and useful resources about ESD: 

6-point checklist on building and maintaining ESD protected area (EPA), in an e-book format
How to manage ESD workstation - a 2-min video
How to measure ESD - a comprehensive guide in a white paper format
Understanding ESD grounding for industrial workstations - a white paper filled with useful information
How to clean ESD workstations - a blog text
ESD products catalog