A Trusted UK Supplier Of ESD Control Products Since 1986

Free Technical Advice

On this page, you can find all of Bondline’s free technical booklets / guides on ESD and frequently asked questions.

an icon of a lightning bolt

Resources

Here you can find information on: static electricity, keywords and their definitions, handling unpowered products, essential ESD equipment you will need and more.

 

FAQs

A

Air conductivity is the ability of air to conduct (pass) an electric current under the influence of an electric field.

Air ions are molecular clusters of about 10 molecules (water, impurities, etc.) bound by polarisation forces to a singly charged oxygen or nitrogen molecule.

An air ioniser is a source of charged air molecules (ions). They help to neutralise electrostatic charges on “process-essential” insulators and isolated (non-grounded) conductors. For more information, see our guide on ionisers in ESD control.

Antistatic is a minimal generation or retention of a ‘static’ charge. It usually refers to the property of a material that inhibits triboelectric charging. Note: A material’s antistatic characteristic is not necessarily co-relatable with its resistively or resistance.

Auxiliary ground is a separate supplemental grounding conductor for uses other than general equipment grounding.

B

Bonding is the permanent joining of metallic parts to form an electrically conductive path that will assure electrical continuity and the capacity to safely conduct any current likely to be imposed.

Breakaway force is the force required to disconnect the ground cord from the cuff.

Bags and Packaging

Using the correct packaging and materials not only protects your static sensitive components, but it can save you money too. If you use incorrect packaging then you could potentially cause damage to your device/component.

See our ESD bag range here.

If bags, holding static sensitive components, are to be handled outside of an EPA, they should be metalised shielding bags – a faraday cage. Metalised shielding bags can be an effective faraday cage, subject to the quality of material and physical condition.

See our metalised shielding bag range here.

Metalised Shielding Bag

Do not crease the bag as this can breakdown the integrity of the metalised shield. You should not use any bags damaged with tears and / or punctures as these can destroy the function of the faraday cage. Metalised Shielding Bags can deteriorate with use, monitoring them for effectiveness is crucial.

See our metalised shielding bag range here.

Metalised Shielding Bag

They should only be used for non-static sensitive components, e.g. Nuts, bolts, paper. These are the only acceptable ‘plastic’ bags in an EPA. They offer no effective protection against a contact ESD. Antistatic bags deteriorate with wear and time, monitoring them is very important.

Note: Ordinary plastic bags can generate and hold static charges in excess of 10,000v!

See our antistatic bag range here.

Antistatic Bag

Moisture barrier bags are designed for the packaging of SMD’s protecting them from moisture and static damage. Dry devices are placed inside the moisture barrier bag and the moisture-laden is evacuated.

See our moisture barrier bag range here.

Moisture Barrier Bag

Humidity Indicator Cards (HIC’s) are used to determine when products have been exposed to moisture above recommended storage levels. They are a low-cost method of indicating humidity conditions inside a moisture barrier bag after vacuum packaging. Each Humidity Indicator Card is printed with moisture sensitive spots, which respond to various levels of humidity with a visible colour change from blue to pink. The humidity inside dry packed moisture metallised barrier bags can be monitored by including a HIC inside. When the bag is opened, the card can be examined for proper dryness inside the bag. This indicates that the barrier bag and the desiccants are functioned correctly.

In order to constantly verify that dry packaging methods are not compromised during storage and transport of products, Humidity Indicator Cards allow users along the supply chain to monitor the packages conditions. The cards are reversible and change as conditions change in the packaging environment, allowing users to monitor the conditions of product packaging.

How Do Humidity Indicator Cards Work?

Humidity Indicator Cards generally range from one spot to six spot cards. Our Standard Humidity Indicator Cards and Cobalt Dichloride Free Humidity Indicator Cards are available in three spot, four spot and six spot.

 

3 Spot 4 Spot 6 Spot

The indicator spots on the HICs change colour from blue to pink as humidity increases and from pink to blue as humidity decreases.

The indicator spots on the HICs change colour from blue to pink as humidity increases and from pink to blue as humidity decreases.

The indicator spots on the HICs change colour from blue to pink as humidity increases and from pink to blue as humidity decreases.

Humidity Indicator Card Humidity Indicator Card Humidity Indicator Card

 

 

C

When an electronic device is exposed to an ESD event it may have caused a metal melt, junction failure or oxide breakdown, permanently damaging its circuitry and resulting in catastrophic failure. Such failure can usually be detected when the device is tested before shipping. If the ESD event occurs after the test the damage will go undetected until the device fails in operation.

Charge decay is the decrease and/or neutralisation of a net electrostatic charge.

Charge induction is the displacement of charge in an isolated conductor when placed in an electric field (for example, from a charged body). Note: Momentary grounding of such a conductor would result in its gaining a net charge.

A charged plate monitor (CPM) is an instrument used to measure the charge neutralisation properties of ionisation equipment.

A common connection point is a device or location (less than 1 ohm within itself) where the conductors of two or more ESD technical elements are connected in order to bring the ungrounded ESD technical elements to the same electrical potential through equipotential bonding.

Common point ground is a grounded device or location where the conductors of one or more ESD control items are bonded.

Compliance verification is the periodic testing done to indicate that the performance has not changed from initial baseline values to exceed selected limits.

Compliance verification equipment is an instrument or collection of instruments that provide a periodic indication or measurement to verify the performance of ESD test equipment and materials. Measurements may or may not be repeatable or accurate. Compliance verification equipment is typically used for indications of pass or fail.

A component is an active or passive item such as a resistor, diode, transistor, integrated circuit, or hybrid circuit.

Component failure is a condition in which a tested component does not meet one or more specified static or dynamic data sheet parameters.

Conductive flooring material is a floor material that has a resistance to ground of less than 1.0 x 106 ohms. The term ‘conductive’ or ‘conductivity’ does not guarantee low charge generation. To prevent static charge and ESD damage to static sensitive components, flooring materials must measure in the required resistance range and either be used in conjunction with ESD footwear/heel straps or be low charge generating.

A conductive material is a material that has either a surface resistance of less than 1 x 104 ohms or a volume resistance of less than 1 x 104 ohms or a surface resistivity less than 1 x 105 ohms/square or a volume resistivity less than 1 x 104 ohm-cm.

Note: “conductive flooring material” is not the same as “conductive material.”

The term “conductive” refers to the ability of a material to conduct a charge to ground; low resistance (i.e. less than 1 meg-ohm (10^(6)) – the closer to 1 meg-ohm, the slower the discharge.)

A conductor is a material with low electrical resistance that will effectively attract and transport an electrical charge to ground.

Examples of conductors are carbon, copper, aluminium and water. Practical examples of conductors are a lightning rod and a copper wire.

Conductivity is the ratio of the current per unit area (current density) to the electric field in a material. Conductivity is expressed in units of siemens/meter. In non-technical usage, conductivity is the ability to conduct current.

Also known as Conductive Correx®, Conductive Corriplast® protects the item inside the packaging from static charges. Conductive Corriplast® is a robust ESD Safe material – made from a corrugated plastic board – that is perfect for use in cleanroom, medical and laboratory applications and / or where static protection is also required. The Polypropylene / Ethylene copolymers used in the material provide a level of durability that makes it particularly suitable when longevity and re-usability is also a concern. Corriplast® packaging comes in all types of forms including tote boxes, tote divisions and layer pads.

The main benefits of Corriplast® is that it can be fabricated to create custom sized totes, containers and packaging that offers strength and performance approaching that of moulded plastic options. Corriplast® packaging has a resistance to moisture and dust, an enhanced lifespan, greater load bearing capacity and it is easy to clean.

Corona is the production of positive and negative ions by a very localised high electric field. The field is normally established by applying a high voltage to a conductor in the shape of a sharp point or wire.

A carbon based coating applied to corrugated cardboard which is then used for anti-static packaging solutions. Corstat packaging comes in all sorts of forms, including bins, boxes, totes, dividers, and other inserts. It is known as the ESD industry standard for conductive packaging. 

The Corstat coated cardboard provides a “Faraday cage” that channels static around the outside of the packaging, protecting the static sensitive items within. Many blue-chip and multi-national electronics manufacturers typically use Corstat for its performance, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Corstat packaging, manufactured from coated cardboard, is also an environmentally friendly anti-static bag alternative.

Load More

Contact Us

icon of a box

Next Day UK Delivery

On selected products if ordered before 1pm

icon of users

Dedicated Account Manager

Dedicated account manager to help your ordering process

icon of a pound symbol

Competitive Prices

Great value on premium quality products

Translate