New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

ESD?

post #1 of 13
3/11/07 at 3:05am
Thread Starter 
YEEAHHHHH!!! All my CMoy parts have arrived (and damn some of them are tiny)!! Thanks for the lighning-quick shipping, tangent. So anyway, the ICs (2 op-amps & the rail splitter) are in ESD safe bags and have stickers on them that say "observe precautions for handling electrostatic sensitive devices" I know what this means, I've done alot inside of computers, but how far do I need to go with this? Is just touching a faucet, a screw on a lightswitch, or a radiator enough if i don't wear shoes and nylon pants or anything? Or do I need one of those grounding straps that goes around your wrist? An ESD safe soldering iron & desoldering pump? I don't have an iron or desoldering pump yet, I'm goin to get those Monday. I'll probably get some tweezers too for these tiny SMD parts, should I just get plastic ones and only touch the ICs with those? ARRRRGHHH I can't wait to start this! man I'm a loser, the first Sat of spring breat & I'm sittin @ home posting on head-fi. All my college friends are outta town and all my hs friends aren't on break yet. Ahh well, I get to build MY AMP BABYY (we also need a "rock on" smile)
Reply

Head-Fi's Best Sellers

post #2 of 13
3/11/07 at 3:37am
Well I often just touch parts and don't care.

It seems to depend though. I haven't zapped anything yet, but I've heard that CMOS ICs and MOSFETs are particularly vulnerable. I've handled things like TTL digital gate ICs many times over with no damage, yet they are still supplied on AS foam. Don't handle MOS devices very often but when I do I'll likely break out the AS mat and wrist strap.

Having said that I'm sure if you had built up enough static charge to feel it you could damage more parts.
Reply
post #3 of 13
3/11/07 at 4:28am
Follow basic common sense, like don't wear woolen socks and run over a synthetic carpet before picking up a MOSFET and you will be right. I handle everything without any special care. My computer is under my case and I touch an exposed metal part once when I sit down which is connected to earth, and that is it.
Reply
post #4 of 13
3/11/07 at 7:54am
Don't touch the legs of parts. This is a direct connection to the inside of the part.If you can work in an area that does not have a rug. I wear straps and smock and esd shoes at work and we connect our straps to our work bench. Obviously, you probably do not have that.
Reply
post #5 of 13
3/11/07 at 1:47pm
Better to just play it safe, especially if you don't have a spare part. Touch the ground and also use a wrist strap. Parts inside a computer are a lot less vulnerable because they're on a board, and a lot of the parts are connected to ground or otherwise shielded. I fried one or two loose digital cmos chips because I never used the wrist strap. Would always just touch the screw on the face plate of a (hopefully, properly grounded) electrical outlet.
Reply
post #6 of 13
3/11/07 at 2:42pm
Better handle the ES sensitive device carefully. When someone can feel and hear the sound of the ES discharge, sometime even see the sparks when he/she touchs the device, the voltage is far beyond 1000 volt. Sometime ES discharge just "burn" off most of the "life" of the ESD while he/she is still smiling and saying " I never care ESD handling at all".

For most of DIYer, there is no need to strickly follow the industrial level ESD handling rules (e.g. required when I handle the optical transmission circuit boards which support 40G bps laser signal), but some basic stuff can help such as wrist strap, grounded vinyl mat provides an effective anti-static work surface etc.
Reply
post #7 of 13
3/11/07 at 3:10pm
Its hard if you are not an ESD workstation. You have to just keep in mind that static can destroy these parts. A lot of times it won't necessarily stop it from working but will just shorten its life.
Reply
post #8 of 13
3/11/07 at 10:11pm
Thread Starter 
CMOS? You mean the sensor in a digital camera? wow where do you guys work? so do you hafta be at an ESD safe work station to use a grounding strap or can you attach it to something else?
Reply
post #9 of 13
3/12/07 at 12:13am
No CMOS is a type of IC technology, can get CMOS digital ICs, op-amps, MOSFETs, just to name a few, they're not just in cameras, all over the place.
Reply
post #10 of 13
3/12/07 at 4:21am
you can attach a grounding strap to anything that's grounded. Computer case, kitchen sink, the ground lug of your powerpoint would do too (just make sure you don't do that while you're drunk :P )
Reply
post #11 of 13
3/12/07 at 4:57am
Make it a habit to touch ground every time you pick up the iron, whether you're working with ESD sensitive components or not. Only takes a second and you'll never have a problem. If you're working with something really touchy, a strap is a good idea. However, I've handled plenty of items after grounding myself and have never had a problem.

The other habit you must acquire is washing your hands every time you step away from the bench. Even with the new ROHS compliant components, you're bound to be handling lead somewhere. Wash up as soon as you step away to get it off your hands.
Reply
post #12 of 13
3/12/07 at 7:50am
^ Yep.

I quickly checked on a piece of metal I had left soaking in rust converter and just dried my hands off with a rag and left the 'bench'. Later on I went to chew on my nail and there was some still under my nail... yuck!... methylated spirits and phosphoric acid doesn't taste very nice.

Good idea and point of my little story is even if you aren't touching anything lead, odds are there are other chemicals or materials that aren't exactly good for you all over the place, that you may not bother about or forget you handled, so just always wash your hands out of habit.
Reply
post #13 of 13
3/12/07 at 12:32pm
One requirement for us at work is to not let papers or paperwork come within 6 inches of our electronic parts we are working on. Even that can generate static electricity. We have static free rugs, workbenches,smocks,shoes, and wrist straps. If we are to have some drinking water on our benches it has to be in a static free container too. Talk about too much ESD protection.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

Head-Fi's Best Sellers