Antistatic carpet tile protects electronics from harmful ESD events. It is used in facilities that rely on electronics and cannot afford disruption or downtime.
FAQ: Why not buy cheaper VCT tile?
VCT tile vs. SVT tile: lifetime cost vs. effectiveness
Vinyl Composition Tile (VCT), such as static-dissipative vinyl (SDT) is comprised of ordinary static-generating PVC, in combination with fillers like clay and limestone, and a chemical, known as an amine, to provide static-dissipative properties. While amines make the floor groundable, regular VCT is highly static generating.
When shoe soles contact and separate from VCT as people walk, static builds. To prevent static from building on people or objects—such as rolling carts or chairs—the floor must be waxed regularly, with three to five coats of antistatic polish. And everyone who walks on the VCT floor must wear special static-protective footwear—ESD shoes or conductive heel or toe straps, a requirement that is routine in electronics manufacturing facilities, but would be difficult if not impossible to enforce in most mission-critical spaces.
Cost
The initial cost of VCT is low. The ESD wax necessary to keep the tile from generating static is expensive. Maintenance costs quickly accumulate, negating any money saved on the original VCT. In other words, while the initial investment is small, the total, or long-term, cost of ownership is much higher than products requiring less maintenance.
Conductive solid vinyl ESD tile (SVT) has a higher initial price tag, but SVT, uniform throughout the thickness of the tile, requires only periodic buffing to maintain its appearance.
Static-Control
ANSI/ESD S20.20-2021 requires a system resistance measurement below 1.0 X 10E9 ohms. System resistance is the aggregate resistance of the person, footwear, flooring, floor coatings like waxes and polish, and the connection to ground. As the primary ESD flooring surface, the ESD wax must measure well below one billion ohms (< 1.0 X 10E9) at all times. Manufacturers of ESD wax, however, guarantee a measurement of < 1.0 x 10E10 ohms only on newly applied waxes.
ESD S20.20 also requires a walking body voltage, tested per STM 97.2, to measure under 100 volts—a standard static-dissipative VCT tile does not and cannot meet this criterion.
Permanent Static Control
Any ESD flooring material that gains electrical properties from antistatic sprays or special waxes does not provide permanent static protection. Once the coating wears off, the floor loses its static-protective properties, exposing electronics to the hazards of random static discharge. There is no visible indication that the wax or polish is no longer performing. Unless the maintenance crew or someone in the facility is committed to testing the floor on a regular basis, there’s no way to know when the floor has stopped functioning. For peace of mind, it’s best to avoid these materials.
This article, published by In Compliance Magazine, details the key 2014 revisions in ANSI/ESD S20.20.
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More FAQs
Antistatic carpet tile protects electronics from harm caused by random ESD events. It has many other advantages due to its sustainability and modular design.
Antistatic carpet tile is a modular tile designed to protect electronics from electrostatic discharge (ESD) events. Used in most industries.
ESD flooring is required to protect most types of electronics parts, which are ultra-sensitive to static electricity.
ESD-safe floors protect electronics by drawing static away from people or objects, transporting charges to ground.
The acronym ESD stands for electrostatic discharge. ESD flooring protects electronic equipment from electrostatic discharge.
ESD floors transport electricity and must be grounded. ESD floors must also generate minimal static electricity.
ESD floors dissipate static safely, protecting electronics from accidental damage due to electrostatic discharge (ESD) events.
To ensure they meet pertinent standards, ESD floors are tested for electrical resistance and static generation.
ESD stands for electrostatic discharge. Minute ESD events, too small for humans to perceive, can damage electronic components.
Floor materials with conductive elements transport static charges to ground, preventing random electrostatic discharge (ESD) events.
Laboratory floors are typically covered with vinyl or rubber tile or sheets, sometimes epoxy or urethane.
Most healthcare facilities and labs use low-VOC vinyl or rubber flooring materials.
In mission-critical operations that use static-sensitive electronic systems, ESD chairs are highly recommended to inhibit static generation.
Wrist straps are highly effective devices. They ground the wearer as do grounded ESD floors. For it to work it must be connected to ground.
No, regular flooring is not conductive and cannot be grounded. Because regular floors are not conductive they cannot transport static charges.
The acronym SDT stands for static-dissipative tile. Static-dissipative tile is considered ESD tile.
Dissipative or static dissipative is a term used to describe the electrical resistance of a flooring material.
Bare concrete is rarely used as an ESD floor. Because relative humidity varies, its conductivity is unreliable.
Interlocking tiles are not waterproof per se. The tiles lock together tightly, preventing moisture from the subfloor from seeping through the seams.
An interlocking tile is a tile with teeth that can be pressed into place with a mallet, locking the tiles together.
Preventing ESD requires a well-thought-out ESD prevention program. What is required will be dependent on the application and environment.
Raised floors can be grounded to the metal access floor panel or grounded like any other ESD floor with copper tape.
All ESD tile must be grounded. Any floor that is not grounded cannot conduct electricity and cannot dissipate static charges.
Conductive rubber is a high-end static control product often used in labs, cleanrooms and electronics manufacturing facilities.
Electrically conductive (EC) rubber is rubber with conductive chips added to the material during the manufacturing process.
No, wood is not antistatic. You can learn which materials are antistatic and which are not by looking at our Triboelectric chart.
The 2" wide reducer need not have any conductivity since the first full step on to the ESD floor will remove any charges generated from walking on standard flooring surfaces.
The static dissipative aspects of an ESD floor are not affected by the type of transitions, reducers and wall base used on a project.
One-to-one installation of floor finishes over raised access panels offers advantages but also some disadvantages.
The traffic classification for all StaticWorx ShadowFX ESD carpet is “Heavy,” meaning rated for heavy-duty use.
Most static in a workplace is generated by people walking on the floor. The floor is the first line of defense in ESD prevention.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage electronics you use or that people charged with your safety use to protect you.
All ESD carpet tile is antistatic. However, standard carpet has no conductive properties, cannot be grounded.
Because different applications require different specifications for static control, ESD guidelines, or standards, vary across industries.
In manufacturing facilities electrostatic discharge can cause problems ranging from dirt and particulate contamination to machine failure.
The shock you feel when you walk across a carpeted floor or remove clingy laundry from the dryer are examples of ESD.
A type of paint, like GroundWorx Basics, made with conductive additives is sometimes called antistatic floor paint.
No. Vinyl flooring is not inherently antistatic. An antistatic floor generates little or no static electricity. Find out more.
Learning Center Articles
- 7 Common Mistakes Selecting an ESD floor
- A Guide to ESD Flooring Selection
- Avoid Costly Failures: What You Need to Know When Specifying ESD Flooring
- Choosing ESD Flooring for:
- ESD Footwear: What Is It and When Is It Necessary?
- ESD Footwear for Electronics Manufacturing and Handling Applications
- Facility Managers' Guide to Selecting ESD Flooring
- The Need for Due Diligence in Specifying Static-Free Flooring
- Standard of Care for Specifying Floors in Mission-Critical Spaces
- Understanding the Hidden Costs of ESD Flooring
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StaticWorx high-performance static-control floors protect electronic components, explosives, and high-speed computers from damage caused by static electricity. ESD flooring is part of a system. Choices should always be based on objective, researched evidence. When you partner with us, we look at all possible items that may need to integrate with the floor, and, focusing on your goals and objectives, help you find the right floor for your application.
