ESD....I don't wanna shock anyone, but...

ok, ok, so I'm not an engineer. I'm a salesguy ( and that's nothing to be ashamed of...) Here's my dilemma. I represent a contract manufacturer who is in the early stages of quoting on "turnkey" assembling of a circuit board for a manufacturer of industrial scanners. They are impressed with the fact that we produce pcb's and assemble them in the same building. On the down side, their current supplier uses much more extensive ESD protection than we. We utilize anti-static wrist straps, grounded work stations ( from Airlink), anti-static bins and such. Their current supplier uses foot straps, special carpet, smocks, and all kind of stuff. I have found one source that will testify that wrist straps are more effective than heel straps ( heel straps are only effective if the worker keeps their heel in contact with the ground...) but I need more to build a case that perhaps all the other stuff isn't neccessary to build single and double sided, commercial technology boards. These are going into commercial scanners, not the Hubbel Space Telescope. Anybody out there with knowledge of assembly and electro-static discharge? If all the extra ESD protection is necessary and we don't have it, I'm big enough to accept that and move on. However, I don't want to lose an order based upon the "Emperors New Clothes" scenario. Based upon my prospect's suppliers advice, they purchased special ESD carpet, heel straps, smocks, hairnets and who knows what else. If I'm going to convince them that we can provide boards absent of ESD problems, I will have to show them that the stuff they bought is overkill. Any ideas oh Gurus' of the circuit board world??

Thanks!

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| ok, ok, so I'm not an engineer. I'm a salesguy ( and that's nothing to be ashamed of...) Here's my dilemma. I represent a contract manufacturer who is in the early stages of quoting on "turnkey" assembling of a circuit board for a manufacturer of industrial scanners. They are impressed with the fact that we produce pcb's and assemble them in the same building. On the down side, their current supplier uses much more extensive ESD protection than we. We utilize anti-static wrist straps, grounded work stations ( from Airlink), anti-static bins and such. | Their current supplier uses foot straps, special carpet, smocks, and all kind of stuff. I have found one source that will testify that wrist straps are more effective than heel straps ( heel straps are only effective if the worker keeps their heel in contact with the ground...) but I need more to build a case that perhaps all the other stuff isn't neccessary to build single and double sided, commercial technology boards. These are going into commercial scanners, not the Hubbel Space Telescope. | Anybody out there with knowledge of assembly and electro-static discharge? If all the extra ESD protection is necessary and we don't have it, I'm big enough to accept that and move on. However, I don't want to lose an order based upon the "Emperors New Clothes" scenario. Based upon my prospect's suppliers advice, they purchased special ESD carpet, heel straps, smocks, hairnets and who knows what else. If I'm going to convince them that we can provide boards absent of ESD problems, I will have to show them that the stuff they bought is overkill. | Any ideas oh Gurus' of the circuit board world?? | | Thanks! | Tim baby,

This ain't hollywierd. This the electronics world. Defect prevention is everything, but you know that. I mean there's safe sex, though not from pitfalls assoicated with love, and there's safe manufacturing.

To be ESD safe is a lot of stuff. Why would any good customer give you a valued order if you cannot assure quality. Part of this assurance is process control, and part of this is ESD. All you need is one device, on any type board (no matter how simple), failing due to lack of process control (I call it management as everyone must manage processes instead of reacting to defect).

Oh hell, I could go on about foot straps being useful only when standing, and wrist straps needed during seated operations because operator's feet aren't in contact with whatever conductive surface (proven so before operations). I could go on about requiring a 1 megohm resistor in series with benchtops to protect operators from reverse electrical effects. I could go on about the red light coming on, instead of green, indicating the operator is too well grounded (body moisture and all that). Hell, I could even go on why, as a sales person, I would not work for any company not being capable of proving all process management effectiveness, including ESD, before opening the business door. I also could say I want to have all the answers a customer could possibly ask before asking for an order.

And on it goes,

Moonman

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| | ok, ok, so I'm not an engineer. I'm a salesguy ( and that's nothing to be ashamed of...) Here's my dilemma. I represent a contract manufacturer who is in the early stages of quoting on "turnkey" assembling of a circuit board for a manufacturer of industrial scanners. They are impressed with the fact that we produce pcb's and assemble them in the same building. On the down side, their current supplier uses much more extensive ESD protection than we. We utilize anti-static wrist straps, grounded work stations ( from Airlink), anti-static bins and such. | | Their current supplier uses foot straps, special carpet, smocks, and all kind of stuff. I have found one source that will testify that wrist straps are more effective than heel straps ( heel straps are only effective if the worker keeps their heel in contact with the ground...) but I need more to build a case that perhaps all the other stuff isn't neccessary to build single and double sided, commercial technology boards. These are going into commercial scanners, not the Hubbel Space Telescope. | | Anybody out there with knowledge of assembly and electro-static discharge? If all the extra ESD protection is necessary and we don't have it, I'm big enough to accept that and move on. However, I don't want to lose an order based upon the "Emperors New Clothes" scenario. Based upon my prospect's suppliers advice, they purchased special ESD carpet, heel straps, smocks, hairnets and who knows what else. If I'm going to convince them that we can provide boards absent of ESD problems, I will have to show them that the stuff they bought is overkill. | | Any ideas oh Gurus' of the circuit board world?? | | | | Thanks! | | | Tim baby, | | This ain't hollywierd. This the electronics world. Defect prevention is everything, but you know that. I mean there's safe sex, though not from pitfalls assoicated with love, and there's safe manufacturing. | | To be ESD safe is a lot of stuff. Why would any good customer give you a valued order if you cannot assure quality. Part of this assurance is process control, and part of this is ESD. All you need is one device, on any type board (no matter how simple), failing due to lack of process control (I call it management as everyone must manage processes instead of reacting to defect). | | Oh hell, I could go on about foot straps being useful only when standing, and wrist straps needed during seated operations because operator's feet aren't in contact with whatever conductive surface (proven so before operations). I could go on about requiring a 1 megohm resistor in series with benchtops to protect operators from reverse electrical effects. I could go on about the red light coming on, instead of green, indicating the operator is too well grounded (body moisture and all that). Hell, I could even go on why, as a sales person, I would not work for any company not being capable of proving all process management effectiveness, including ESD, before opening the business door. I also could say I want to have all the answers a customer could possibly ask before asking for an order. | | And on it goes, | | Moonman | Hmmm

Lets think about the Hubbel Space Anchor for a minute. If memory serves it didn�t work either when it first went up. Somebody along the way said, �awe that�s good enough send it up�. I guess the point is it doesn�t matter if the product is space junk, scanners or a calculator it had better work and work for a long time or your customer will be less than thrilled. It always cost more to fix something after the fact then it does to do it right the first time. If the customer has concerns about ESD, and you can�t ease those concerns then they will probably go to the next bidder who has the protection.

Now in my opinion Wrist straps are more reliable than heel straps. Heal straps get dirty, people don�t tuck the string into their socks, they flip up around your ankles and are generally a pain in the buttocks. But if you have machine operators or wave solder operators who have to move around a lot, foot straps are a good idea (with training and foot strap testers).

What about smocks? You need em, I have seen people with fuzzy sweaters (with the fuzz standing on end from static charge) laying their sleeves on the PCB�s. This can�t be good for em.

If you are confident your ESD program is robust then have an independent survey done on your factory. And have your prospective customer along to watch. That should relieve any concerns your customer has (or it will scare the hell out of em).

Good luck

MD Cox

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| ok, ok, so I'm not an engineer. I'm a salesguy ( and that's nothing to be ashamed of...) Here's my dilemma. I represent a contract manufacturer who is in the early stages of quoting on "turnkey" assembling of a circuit board for a manufacturer of industrial scanners. They are impressed with the fact that we produce pcb's and assemble them in the same building. On the down side, their current supplier uses much more extensive ESD protection than we. We utilize anti-static wrist straps, grounded work stations ( from Airlink), anti-static bins and such. | Their current supplier uses foot straps, special carpet, smocks, and all kind of stuff. I have found one source that will testify that wrist straps are more effective than heel straps ( heel straps are only effective if the worker keeps their heel in contact with the ground...) but I need more to build a case that perhaps all the other stuff isn't neccessary to build single and double sided, commercial technology boards. These are going into commercial scanners, not the Hubbel Space Telescope. | Anybody out there with knowledge of assembly and electro-static discharge? If all the extra ESD protection is necessary and we don't have it, I'm big enough to accept that and move on. However, I don't want to lose an order based upon the "Emperors New Clothes" scenario. Based upon my prospect's suppliers advice, they purchased special ESD carpet, heel straps, smocks, hairnets and who knows what else. If I'm going to convince them that we can provide boards absent of ESD problems, I will have to show them that the stuff they bought is overkill. | Any ideas oh Gurus' of the circuit board world?? | | Thanks! | Tim: We are all sales guys. It�s just that some of us spend a greater portion of their day and are better at selling than others.

A basic tenant of all ESD Programs is (should be): Assume that all electronic (solid state) components and assemblies are sensitive to ESD damage. So, it doesn�t mean dip if the device is used on the Hubbel or my grandmother�s weather radio, brush-up your ESD.

Enough potificating (for a minute or so). Here�s the question, as I understand it, "What are the minimum requirements of an effective and efficient ESD program?"

1 As Earl and Mike say, one approach is to hire an expert to certify your program. I�m sure the EOS/ESD Association in your area can recommend someone to help you. 2 Most large companies will accept a total system approach that is presented with authority and technical expertise from a small company. This is the traditional "small company dilemma." "How do we do that without going ESD broke? We have lots of other ways to go broke, now we have one more!!!" Bleep. Ted Dangelmayer at Lucent talks about "12 Critical Factors For Successful ESD Program Management" that are common to all good ESD programs. These are:

� Effective Implementation Plan � Management Commitment � Long-Term Process Owner � Active Leadership Team � Realistic Requirements � Training For Measurable Goals � Auditing Using Scientific Measures � ESD Test Facilities � Communication Program � Systematic Planning � Human factors Engineering � Continuous Improvement

If you're "go to go" with a program like that, call your customer and sit them down with your audit results, process control charts, and improvement results and impress the Chunky Candy Bars out of them.

If you don't have a program like that ... Well, tell that you recognize that you have a problem, lay-out the steps you plan to take to improve (develop a program like that), ask for their help, and git goin'.

A final pontification, I am not impressed by shops that board fab and assemble in one building for several reasons. (1) The nasty stuff that makes for sucessful fabbery is conta to the stuff that makes for sucessful assembly. (2) So often, it's difficult to spread spending to adequately support both sides of the company.

Good luck

Dave F

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| ok, ok, so I'm not an engineer. I'm a salesguy ( and that's nothing to be ashamed of...) Here's my dilemma. I represent a contract manufacturer who is in the early stages of quoting on "turnkey" assembling of a circuit board for a manufacturer of industrial scanners. They are impressed with the fact that we produce pcb's and assemble them in the same building. On the down side, their current supplier uses much more extensive ESD protection than we. We utilize anti-static wrist straps, grounded work stations ( from Airlink), anti-static bins and such. | Their current supplier uses foot straps, special carpet, smocks, and all kind of stuff. I have found one source that will testify that wrist straps are more effective than heel straps ( heel straps are only effective if the worker keeps their heel in contact with the ground...) but I need more to build a case that perhaps all the other stuff isn't neccessary to build single and double sided, commercial technology boards. These are going into commercial scanners, not the Hubbel Space Telescope. | Anybody out there with knowledge of assembly and electro-static discharge? If all the extra ESD protection is necessary and we don't have it, I'm big enough to accept that and move on. However, I don't want to lose an order based upon the "Emperors New Clothes" scenario. Based upon my prospect's suppliers advice, they purchased special ESD carpet, heel straps, smocks, hairnets and who knows what else. If I'm going to convince them that we can provide boards absent of ESD problems, I will have to show them that the stuff they bought is overkill. | Any ideas oh Gurus' of the circuit board world?? | | Thanks! |

Deon Response:

Hi Tim,

First off. To approach your dilema in a different way. I do not think it is a wise idea to show your potential customer that your competitor has overkill in their ESD program. (If they can afford it, hey you should know in sales it's showmanship.) I do think it is a good idea to show and prove to your potential customer that your ESD protection is sufficient to meet or exceed industry standards. If your current ESD program is not up to par, well then you have a problem. I would follow some of the recommendations these gentlemen are giving you and act on them. Being in a electronic manufacturing environment mangement should understand the importance of ESD in this work environment. Hope this helps.

Regards,

Deon Nungaray SMT Mfg. Engineer GMI USA CA

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| | ok, ok, so I'm not an engineer. I'm a salesguy ( and that's nothing to be ashamed of...) Here's my dilemma. I represent a contract manufacturer who is in the early stages of quoting on "turnkey" assembling of a circuit board for a manufacturer of industrial scanners. They are impressed with the fact that we produce pcb's and assemble them in the same building. On the down side, their current supplier uses much more extensive ESD protection than we. We utilize anti-static wrist straps, grounded work stations ( from Airlink), anti-static bins and such. | | Their current supplier uses foot straps, special carpet, smocks, and all kind of stuff. I have found one source that will testify that wrist straps are more effective than heel straps ( heel straps are only effective if the worker keeps their heel in contact with the ground...) but I need more to build a case that perhaps all the other stuff isn't neccessary to build single and double sided, commercial technology boards. These are going into commercial scanners, not the Hubbel Space Telescope. | | Anybody out there with knowledge of assembly and electro-static discharge? If all the extra ESD protection is necessary and we don't have it, I'm big enough to accept that and move on. However, I don't want to lose an order based upon the "Emperors New Clothes" scenario. Based upon my prospect's suppliers advice, they purchased special ESD carpet, heel straps, smocks, hairnets and who knows what else. If I'm going to convince them that we can provide boards absent of ESD problems, I will have to show them that the stuff they bought is overkill. | | Any ideas oh Gurus' of the circuit board world?? | | | | Thanks! | | | Tim: We are all sales guys. It�s just that some of us spend a greater portion of their day and are better at selling than others. | | A basic tenant of all ESD Programs is (should be): Assume that all electronic (solid state) components and assemblies are sensitive to ESD damage. So, it doesn�t mean dip if the device is used on the Hubbel or my grandmother�s weather radio, brush-up your ESD. | | Enough potificating (for a minute or so). Here�s the question, as I understand it, "What are the minimum requirements of an effective and efficient ESD program?" | | 1 As Earl and Mike say, one approach is to hire an expert to certify your program. I�m sure the EOS/ESD Association in your area can recommend someone to help you. | 2 Most large companies will accept a total system approach that is presented with authority and technical expertise from a small company. This is the traditional "small company dilemma." "How do we do that without going ESD broke? We have lots of other ways to go broke, now we have one more!!!" Bleep. Ted Dangelmayer at Lucent talks about "12 Critical Factors For Successful ESD Program Management" that are common to all good ESD programs. These are: | | � Effective Implementation Plan | � Management Commitment | � Long-Term Process Owner | � Active Leadership Team | � Realistic Requirements | � Training For Measurable Goals | � Auditing Using Scientific Measures | � ESD Test Facilities | � Communication Program | � Systematic Planning | � Human factors Engineering | � Continuous Improvement | | If you're "go to go" with a program like that, call your customer and sit them down with your audit results, process control charts, and improvement results and impress the Chunky Candy Bars out of them. | | If you don't have a program like that ... Well, tell that you recognize that you have a problem, lay-out the steps you plan to take to improve (develop a program like that), ask for their help, and git goin'. | | A final pontification, I am not impressed by shops that board fab and assemble in one building for several reasons. (1) The nasty stuff that makes for sucessful fabbery is conta to the stuff that makes for sucessful assembly. (2) So often, it's difficult to spread spending to adequately support both sides of the company. | | Good luck | | Dave F | Tim, your sales job would be to prove to your potential customer that your existing ESD program is adequate to protect his product and is controlled/maintained/audited. Saying the other guy is overdoing it is not going to inspire confidence. What if the other guy is assembling disk drives or working with GaAsFETs? Some of these have a damage threshold of <50 volts. If you can present your customer with the data that supports your contention that his products are safely handled you have a chance to win his business. If you can't, he should run. Regardless of this customer, you would benefit greatlyand continuously from having a suitable program in place. As others have stated, there is help out there. Being small enough to respond on a more individual basis a local chapter of the ESD Association is a great place to start. Many manufacturers are more than willing to perform a mini audit while peddling their products. It's not going to be cheap but it will more than pay for itself in the long run. Be surethat you know your goals, what measures you need to take to get there and don't buy anything unless you know why you need it. Then, when you are there, maintain it and audit to prove compliance. Too many of these programs start with a bang (spark?) and then are never heard from again. Speaking of Dangleman, I wish I had Lucent's ESD budget. Lucent will send you two of their internal procedure manuals at a very modest cost (as I remember about $30). The ESD control handbook is the controlling document for Lucent's ESD program ( order select code 500-000) The AT&T ESD inspection guide is a very thorough audit and procedure guide. (order select code 500-001) These are valuable resources. Contact Lucent technologies customer information center 1-888-lucent-8. So much for this rant- hope it helps

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| | ok, ok, so I'm not an engineer. I'm a salesguy ( and that's nothing to be ashamed of...) Here's my dilemma. I represent a contract manufacturer who is in the early stages of quoting on "turnkey" assembling of a circuit board for a manufacturer of industrial scanners. They are impressed with the fact that we produce pcb's and assemble them in the same building. On the down side, their current supplier uses much more extensive ESD protection than we. We utilize anti-static wrist straps, grounded work stations ( from Airlink), anti-static bins and such. | | Their current supplier uses foot straps, special carpet, smocks, and all kind of stuff. I have found one source that will testify that wrist straps are more effective than heel straps ( heel straps are only effective if the worker keeps their heel in contact with the ground...) but I need more to build a case that perhaps all the other stuff isn't neccessary to build single and double sided, commercial technology boards. These are going into commercial scanners, not the Hubbel Space Telescope. | | Anybody out there with knowledge of assembly and electro-static discharge? If all the extra ESD protection is necessary and we don't have it, I'm big enough to accept that and move on. However, I don't want to lose an order based upon the "Emperors New Clothes" scenario. Based upon my prospect's suppliers advice, they purchased special ESD carpet, heel straps, smocks, hairnets and who knows what else. If I'm going to convince them that we can provide boards absent of ESD problems, I will have to show them that the stuff they bought is overkill. | | Any ideas oh Gurus' of the circuit board world?? | | | | Thanks! | | | Tim baby, | | This ain't hollywierd. This the electronics world. Defect prevention is everything, but you know that. I mean there's safe sex, though not from pitfalls assoicated with love, and there's safe manufacturing. | | To be ESD safe is a lot of stuff. Why would any good customer give you a valued order if you cannot assure quality. Part of this assurance is process control, and part of this is ESD. All you need is one device, on any type board (no matter how simple), failing due to lack of process control (I call it management as everyone must manage processes instead of reacting to defect). | | Oh hell, I could go on about foot straps being useful only when standing, and wrist straps needed during seated operations because operator's feet aren't in contact with whatever conductive surface (proven so before operations). I could go on about requiring a 1 megohm resistor in series with benchtops to protect operators from reverse electrical effects. I could go on about the red light coming on, instead of green, indicating the operator is too well grounded (body moisture and all that). Hell, I could even go on why, as a sales person, I would not work for any company not being capable of proving all process management effectiveness, including ESD, before opening the business door. I also could say I want to have all the answers a customer could possibly ask before asking for an order. | | And on it goes, | | Moonman |

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| | | ok, ok, so I'm not an engineer. I'm a salesguy ( and that's nothing to be ashamed of...) Here's my dilemma. I represent a contract manufacturer who is in the early stages of quoting on "turnkey" assembling of a circuit board for a manufacturer of industrial scanners. They are impressed with the fact that we produce pcb's and assemble them in the same building. On the down side, their current supplier uses much more extensive ESD protection than we. We utilize anti-static wrist straps, grounded work stations ( from Airlink), anti-static bins and such. | | | Their current supplier uses foot straps, special carpet, smocks, and all kind of stuff. I have found one source that will testify that wrist straps are more effective than heel straps ( heel straps are only effective if the worker keeps their heel in contact with the ground...) but I need more to build a case that perhaps all the other stuff isn't neccessary to build single and double sided, commercial technology boards. These are going into commercial scanners, not the Hubbel Space Telescope. | | | Anybody out there with knowledge of assembly and electro-static discharge? If all the extra ESD protection is necessary and we don't have it, I'm big enough to accept that and move on. However, I don't want to lose an order based upon the "Emperors New Clothes" scenario. Based upon my prospect's suppliers advice, they purchased special ESD carpet, heel straps, smocks, hairnets and who knows what else. If I'm going to convince them that we can provide boards absent of ESD problems, I will have to show them that the stuff they bought is overkill. | | | Any ideas oh Gurus' of the circuit board world?? | | | | | | Thanks! | | | | | Tim baby, | | | | This ain't hollywierd. This the electronics world. Defect prevention is everything, but you know that. I mean there's safe sex, though not from pitfalls assoicated with love, and there's safe manufacturing. | | | | To be ESD safe is a lot of stuff. Why would any good customer give you a valued order if you cannot assure quality. Part of this assurance is process control, and part of this is ESD. All you need is one device, on any type board (no matter how simple), failing due to lack of process control (I call it management as everyone must manage processes instead of reacting to defect). | | | | Oh hell, I could go on about foot straps being useful only when standing, and wrist straps needed during seated operations because operator's feet aren't in contact with whatever conductive surface (proven so before operations). I could go on about requiring a 1 megohm resistor in series with benchtops to protect operators from reverse electrical effects. I could go on about the red light coming on, instead of green, indicating the operator is too well grounded (body moisture and all that). Hell, I could even go on why, as a sales person, I would not work for any company not being capable of proving all process management effectiveness, including ESD, before opening the business door. I also could say I want to have all the answers a customer could possibly ask before asking for an order. | | | | And on it goes, | | | | Moonman | | | | Your Probelems can be solved quickly and cheaply if you have a high huminity work area.

There is no static problems in the (Rain).. Sounds stupid, but if you had a high moisture condition?

Kopetzky

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snip

| Your Probelems can be solved quickly and cheaply if you have a high huminity work area. | | There is no static problems in the (Rain).. Sounds stupid, but if you had a high moisture condition? | | Kopetzky | Ski: The logic is good, but nothing is as simple as it seems. (clipped from our assembly training manual)

Problem #1 with ESD. Our day-to-day activities produce tremendous charges.

Electrostatic voltage (v) Static generation process at 10 to 20% RH at 65 to 95% RH Walking on carpet 35,000 1,500 Walking on vinyl flooring 12,000 250 Worker sitting at a work bench 6,000 700 Handling a vinyl envelope used 7,000 600 for work instructions Picking-up a sandwich plastic 20,000 1,200 bag from a bench Sitting at polyurethane 18,000 1,500 cushioned bench

� And the level of charge generated varies with the relative humidity (RH) level. This variability caused by humidity helps explain why we seem to get more "carpet shocks" in the winter, when the air is dry, than in the summer, when the air is moist.

This is because most common insulating materials such as wood, fabric, paper, or masonry contain a certain amount of moisture, which is dependent on the relative humidity of the air. To some extent, the moisture content, in turn, affects the conductivity of these materials and their ability to hold static charges.

Relative humidity Conductivity Higher >50% More conductive Lower <30% More insulating

Logically, it would follow that high humidity would be an effective means of controlling static electricity. But, high humidity:

� Still allows generation of unacceptable charges, even though not a large as low humidity. � Contributes to other problems including oxidation and soldering difficulties. � Is uncomfortable and expensive to generate and control.

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Thanks to all for the input. Earl's was the wackiest, what with the mention of "hollywierd" and " safe sex." Just to set the record straight, I never said we had no process controls. What I said was that I am in the middle. My factory uses one type of control and my customer uses another type. I have a production manager who is convinced that we have our ESD situation under control and a prospect who thinks we couldn't possibly have our ESD under control using the methods we currently use. (I used "current"ly with no pun intended). I did get one idea from these responses ( I got more than one, but I will take on one at a time ) and that was the independant audit. I will meet with my production manager and see if and when we have independant ESD audits and if we don't have them I will suggest them. If we do have a problem, we can address it. If we don't have a problem, I will have documentation stating that fact. ( I don't know that I want a prospective customer along with me during the audit! Hey I said my production manager is confident that we have our ESD under control, I didn't say I know it for a fact! Heck, if I knew it for a fact I wouldn't be in here asking for advice and trying to learn about ESD!) But having the independant audit/survey is an excellent idea and I'm running with it!

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