Static Shorts with StaticWorx
Right from the den
In these short videos, Dave Long and Kimberly Petraccaro address some ESD flooring mistakes, discuss static control in the workplace, and lay to rest some ESD myths once and for all.
If you have a question for Dave or Kimberly or a topic you’d like to see them cover, give us a call on 617-923-2000 or email us at [email protected].
Episode 1: Low kV Carpet is Not Static Free
In this video, Dave Long – President and CEO of StaticWorx – busts the Low kV Carpet Myth wide open. Commercial low kV carpet products are not suitable for protecting electronics parts and systems and should not be confused with static dissipative carpet.
One more thing about LVT: Not only can I not drain static electricity, but it charges objects that move on it. So don't use LVT for static-control applications. Don't think that because a carpet has a low kV rating that it might also be a product that can be grounded, because it can't.
Episode 1: Low kV Carpet is Not Static Free
In this video, Dave Long – President and CEO of StaticWorx – busts the Low kV Carpet Myth wide open. Commercial low kV carpet products are not suitable for protecting electronics parts and systems and should not be confused with static dissipative carpet.
One more thing about LVT: Not only can I not drain static electricity, but it charges objects that move on it. So don't use LVT for static-control applications. Don't think that because a carpet has a low kV rating that it might also be a product that can be grounded, because it can't.
Meet Dave Long
Dave is founder and CEO of StaticWorx, Inc., a U.S.-based supplier of static-control products that protect electronic components from harm caused by electrostatic discharge (ESD). An industry leader and ESD educator, Dave routinely provides workshops for architects and designers throughout the country. He’s provided ESD training for the Army Corps of Engineers and taught the FDA’s compliance auditors how to meet ESD standards at facilities that manufacture medical devices. His research-based articles are published widely in a variety industry journals, and his AIA-accredited CEU course for architects and designers has been called “possibly the best presentation… over the past ten years.”
More Static Shorts Episodes
Today, what we've done is we've shown you why it's important, when you write a specification, that you actually require the supplier to test the floor after the floor is installed, and in writing, tell you what they got for measurements. You saw how easy the measurements were. It's not that difficult.
"These three standards govern the specifications that should be written for most applications for flight towers, server rooms, comm centers, command centers, 9-1-1 call centers, and the nice thing about these three standards is even though they come from three different organizations, there's definite consensus within them.
It's quite simple. If you're looking to prevent static in any of the applications where it's mandatory to control, like a 9-1-1 call center, server room, flight tower, you can't use regular rubber flooring. You have to use conductive rubber.
The problem with LVT is it's being marketed as a low kV floor. When I say low kV, I mean less than 2000 volts of static generation. However, what I'm going to do right now is I'm going to show you why - whether it's marketed as a low KV floor or not - you shouldn't even be considering using it.
From a conductivity perspective, all four of these adhesives would do exactly what we need it to do in an ESD flooring installation. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to pick these apart, because I want you to think about adhesive as the most important part of your project instead of what you're usually thinking about, which is the floor.
So all I'm going to do in this video is I'm going to pick up these pieces of wood and I'm going to tip them upside down and we'll see if the adhesive actually holds the dumbbell.
I'm going to introduce you to a solution to many problems in the flooring industry. If you've ever dealt with moisture, if you've ever dealt with an uneven sub floor or contaminated subfloor this might be your answer.
A lot of people ask us, how do you ground an ESD floor? Do I need an electrician to use a copper grounding strip? And the answer is no, you do not need an electrician for the copper grounding strip.
A lot of people want to know what's the difference between a regular floor and an ESD floor? Well, an ESD floor has conductive material running all the way through it.
"We get a lot of calls from architects and designers who may not be that familiar with anti-static flooring. And one of their main concerns is, "How do I know that what I had in my specification is what actually gets installed?" That is a great question."
Rubber conductive flooring does not generate as much body voltage as vinyl. In fact, it's a factor of over 10.
A lot of the applications we work with needing static-control flooring use raised access panels. One of the questions we get from the installers is how do we install the floor over the raised access panel? It's really simple.
If you’re an architect or designer, you’ve probably been tasked with selecting an antistatic floor. A lot of people think of antistatic flooring as a standalone product, but for an antistatic floor to work in an environment, you need to have it integrate with the environment itself. Everything needs to work together, all the components.
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Further Reading
- 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
- The Case Against Overly Conductive Flooring
- Conductive vs Dissipative
- Electrical Resistance
- Electrical Resistance in Mission-Critical Spaces
- Ensuring Accuracy: Why It’s Critical to Clean Floors and Probes Before ESD Testing
- ESD Standards and Test Methods
- Resistance, Resistivity, and Real World Application
- Walking Body Voltage
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.
