6 Oct
2012
6 Oct
'12
8:48 p.m.
On Sat, 6 Oct 2012, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 10/06/2012 06:11 PM, MikeS wrote:
> Recycled styrofoam wrapped in aluminum foil works for me and is
> practically free...
That offers no ESD protection whatsoever. Aluminum foil is a great
conductor of static electricity and an ESD discharge to the foil will go
straight to the pins of the component you've stuck into it.
Use extruded styrofoam--as in "pink"
insulation panels. Less ESD,
cleaner to cut and relatively strong. I push it onto the pins on my
wirewrap boards for protection. Great stuff.
Just because it is pink doesn't make it low-ESD. Pink foam, either LDPE
(low density polyethylene plastic, the most common form of the "pink
stuff" you find today) or polystyrene (styrofoam) offers no static
protection on its own. The pink stuff that is explicitly used for ESD
sensitive parts is simply engineered and treated with a chemical so that
it will create little or no static. It is intended to be used /inside/ an
ESD bag/box or around ESD sensitive parts. Pink insulation panels are not
treated and are not low-ESD. The pink bags are exactly the same way, they
aren't static dissipative and don't protect sensitive electronics, but we
already had that discussion thread awhile back.