What Does ESD Protection Mean?

ESD is a term that is being used increasingly these days. What is it and how can it affect you? In this post, we answer all of these questions and show how to counter the effects of ESD. What is ESD? ESD is short for electrostatic discharge, a situation that you may have felt first hand sometimes. If you ever found yourself walking on a carpet only to get a shock when touching a metal object, you know what electrostatic discharge is. The human body generates static electricity with every movement - it is unavoidable. Although we may not feel any static discharge that's weaker than 3,000 volts, electrical components around us certainly do. In many workplaces, a small spark of static discharge can end up damaging components or worse yet, lead to an outright fire. Manufacturing units with computer parts are not the only ESD-sensitive environments. Places such as ammunition factories, surgery theatres, aerospace manufacturing units, vehicle plants, mining facilities and computer repair shops are equally vulnerable to ESD. The risk of ESD Although we may know what a shock feels like, most times, we may not even recognise the electrostatic discharge passing us by. Even 100 to 200 volts of shock can damage most commonly used equipment. And 5-10 volts are enough to damage sophisticated components. In short, we are not even aware of the sort of risk we are putting our components at. In fact, ESD is one of the top four sources of fire ignition in the United Kingdom. Protect your components with ESD workbenches That is where ESD protection comes into the picture. If you handle delicate electronics at your workplace or require complete ESD protection in your repair or lab area, ESD protection offers the answer. So what is ESD protection? It refers to any product that counters the effects of ESD, keeping your components out of harm's way. At UK Workbenches, we offer high-quality ESD protection workbenches to keep your components safe and damage-free. Our anti-static ESD workbenches feature a laminate top and are available in various sizes and colours. They can be upgraded with a variety of accessories too.

For more information on What Does ESD Protection Mean? talk to UK Work Benches Ltd