!
MENU
Toggle navigation
Products
Bags and Labels
MIL-PRF-81705E Type III, Class 2
81705 Series Bags with Zipper
81705 Series Bags without Zipper
Statshield® Shielding Bags
Metal-In Standard ESD Shielding Bags
Metal-Out ESD Shielding Bags
Statshield® Moisture Barrier Bags
Moisture Barrier Bags 3.5 Mil
Foil Moisture Barrier Bags 4.0 Mil
High Puncture Moisture Barrier Bags 6.5 Mil
Desiccant Packs
Humidity Indicator Cards
Statfree® Ultra Clear Barrier Bags
Statfree® VPCI-125 HP Bags
VPCI-125 HP Bags without Zipper
VPCI-125 HP Bags with Zipper
Mailer
Labels
Cleanroom Products
Clean Pack Worksurface Mats
Cleanroom Booties
Wrist Straps and Coil Cords
Floor Finish and Maintenance
Dissipative Floor Finishes
Statguard® Dissipative Floor Finish
Statguard® Low-VOC Dissipative Floor Finish
Floor Care Products
Statguard® Floor Stripper
Statguard® Floor Cleaner
Statfree® Spray Buff
Statfree® Burnishing Restorer
Statguard® Floor Label
Education, Awareness, and Accessories
Conductive PCB Edge Protectors
ESD Workstation Cover
ESD Training
Labels
Posters and Signs
Dissipative Binders
Dissipative Document Holders
Aisle Marking Tape
Chair and Cart Covers
Reztore® Antistatic Coating
Floor Mats
Flat
Statfree® G2 Conductive Smooth Rubber
Statfree® CV280
Mat Accessories
Carpet Gripper Tape
Double Sided Adhesive Tape
Aisle Marking Tape
Anti-Fatigue
Statfree® i Conductive Ergonomic Rubber Interlocking Room System
Statfree® S Plus Dissipative Vinyl/Nitrile Anti-Fatigue
Foam
Statfree® Black Cushion Grade Static Dissipative Foam
Statfree® Conductive Foam
Foot Grounders
Full Coverage Foot Grounders
Heel Grounders
Sole Grounders
Stretch Fit Heel Grounders
Disposable Heel Grounders
Economy Heel Grounders
Toe Grounders
Shock Cord Foot Grounders
Grounding Hardware
Common Point Grounds
Bench Mounts
Dome Style
Standard Snap Style
Grounding Hubs
Laminate Grounding
Banana Plug Adaptors
Snaps
Ionization
Single Fan
High Output
Zero Volt Ionizer
Chargebuster® Plus
Mini
Overhead
Chargebuster®
Chargebuster® with Lights
Zero Volt Ionizer
Compressed Air
Chargebuster® Ion Gun
Viper Ion Gun
Ion Python
Pencil Type Ionizer
Ion Bars
Airless
Air Assisted
Controllers
Accessories
Measurement
Resistance Meters
Digital Surface Resistance Meter
Analog Surface Resistance Meter
Surface Resistance Checker
Portable Surface Resistance Probe
Low Resistance Tester
Static Field Meter
Body Voltage Meter
Charged Plate Analyzer
Portable Charged Plate Monitor
ESD Survey Kit
Smocks, Gloves, and Masks
Smocks
Gloves
Cut-Resistant Gloves
Static Dissipative Hot Gloves
ESD Inspection Gloves
Masks
Heavy Duty Poly Cotton ESD Smocks
ESD Pocket Protector
Tape
Wescorp ESD Cellulose Tape with Paper Cores
Wescorp ESD Cellulose Tape with Plastic Cores
Wescorp ESD Conductive Grid Tape
Wescorp Antistatic Hi Temp Masking Tape
Wescorp ESD Hi Temp Polyimide Tape
Wescorp ESD Tape Dispensers
Aisle Marking Tape
Continuous Monitors
Single-Wire Workstation
Mini Monitor
Multi-Mount Monitor
Dual Operator Monitor
Full-Time Monitor
Dual-Wire Workstation
Dual Operator Monitor
Zero Volt Monitor
AC Outlet
Worksurface Mats
Rubber
Statfree® HJ Dissipative Dual Layer Rubber
Statfree® T2 Plus Dissipative Dual Layer Rubber
Statfree® UC2 Dissipative Dual Layer Ultra Clean Rubber
Statfree® J Dissipative Shock Resistant Foam Rubber
Dissipative Dual Layer Rubber
Vinyl
Statfree® Z2 Dissipative 3 Layer Vinyl
Statfree® O Dissipative 3-Layer Vinyl
Statfree® B2 Plus Dissipative 2-Layer Vinyl
Wash Tray Liner
Disposable ESD Mats
Mat Accessories and Cleaners
Carpet Gripper Tape
Double Sided Adhesive Tape
Reztore® Surface & Mat Cleaner
Field Service Kits
Wrist Straps and Coil Cords
Single-Wire Wrist Straps & Coil Cords
Jewel® Elastic Adjustable Wrist Straps
Jewel® MagSnap® Wrist Straps
Premium Metal Expansion Wrist Straps
Ultra-Light Metal Expansion Wrist Straps
Elastic Adjustable Wrist Straps
Hook and Loop Wrist Straps
MagSnap® Wrist Straps with Right Angle Banana Plugs
Economy Wrist Straps
Disposable Wrist Straps
Coil Cords
Dual-Wire Wrist Straps & Coil Cords
Coil Cords
MagSnap® 360™
Jewel® Dual-Wire MagSnap® Wrist Straps
Jewel® Dual-Wire Metal Expansion Wrist Straps
Dual-Wire Metal Expansion Wrist Straps
Dual-Wire Adjustable Elastic Wrist Straps
Dual-Wire Wrist Straps with 7mm Snaps
Personnel Grounding Testers
Wrist Strap
Touch Tester
Portable Wrist Strap Tester
AC Outlet Analyzer and Wrist Strap Tester
Wrist Strap and Footwear
Combo Tester
Combo Tester X3
Closeout Items – Save 30%+
Closeout Ionizers
Closeout Smocks
Closeout Wrist Straps
Closeout Test Equipment
Closeout Coil Cords
Closeout Foot Grounders
Closeout Labels and Signs
Closeout ESD Shielding Bags
Closeout Mats and Ground Cords
Closeout Workstation Pouches and Document Holders
What's New
Blog
Distributors
Resources
Videos
Webinar
REGISTER / LOGIN
SHOP
RPL
CART (
0
)
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR EMAIL LIST - Be the first to know
about exclusive deals, tips, new products & more!
Questions And Answers
#
1118
List All Questions
Search
List by Category
Question
We are looking for guidelines in the use of fans around ESD protected environments and within products. Many fan blades and blowers are made of plastic materials and are suspect for creating static charges.
Answer
Per ESD Association ANSI/ESD S20.20 paragraph 6.2.3.1. Protected Areas Requirement “All nonessential insulators, such as those made of plastics and paper (e.g. coffee cups, food wrappers and personal items) must be removed from the workstation. Ionization or other charge mitigating techniques shall be used at the workstation to neutralize electrostatic fields on all process essential insulators (e.g. ESDS device parts, device carriers and specialized tools) if the electrostatic field is considered a threat.”
Is it a threat? Paragraph 6.2.3.2. Protected Areas Guidance states “All process essential insulators that have electrostatic fields that exceed 2,000 volts should be kept at a minimum distance of 12 inches from ESDS items.”
If you are not employing ionization as part of your ESD control program, personal fans shouldn’t be a problem at the ESD protected workstation as gases, such as Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon or other gases which constitute air, do not charge. If the ambient air in your work environment contains a lot of particles, then there may be a concern. For it is these larger particles (dust, dirt, pollen, etc.) that when blown across a surface having enough significant mass can cause triboelectric generation. One solution is to filter the air prior to its being used by the fan.
However, if ionization is being used, personal fans may affect the ion flow and cause poor performance of your ionizers.
Plastic fan blades in a personal fan or within products may not be subjected to the contact and separation that generate electrostatic charges. One way to check is using our Digital Field Meter to measure if charges are present and of what magnitude. Such testing would be an empirical way to determine if the plastic fan blades were a “threat”.
Related Categories:
Static Electricity
Electricity
If you have found this Q/A useful, please rate it based on its helpfulness.
This question has been rated:
(
93
% at
6
Ratings)