Floor Products
ESD Floors Are…
An important factor in the performance of an EPA. As specified in the BS EN 61340-5-1 Standard, where personnel require maximum mobility and the use of wrist straps as primary means of grounding is impractical, ESD flooring should be used in conjunction with ESD footwear or foot grounders to provide a safe path to ground.
The Standard also states that only cleaning materials or processes, which do not degrade the properties of ESD protective items and flooring, etc., should be used.
BS EN 61340-4-5 provides standard test methods for specific applications – methods for characterising the electrostatic protection of footwear and flooring in combination with a person.
The format of an ESD floor can be one of several types, i.e. vinyl tiles or sheeting, carpet tiles, individual floor mats or runners, floor paints or polishes.
Complete installations including advice, surveys, flooring and mats can be supplied together with a wide variety of floor treatments from paints to cleaners and polishes. Hardwearing and easy to apply, these flooring products allow EPA specifications to be maintained both reliably and easily.
ESD Protective Item Requirements
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Item Requirements
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Surface Resistance (Rs) OR
End-to-end Resistance (Re) OR
Point-to-point Resistance (Rp)
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Resistance to EPA Ground OR
Groundable Point (Rg)
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Charge Decay |
| Floors |
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Rg_> 1x10^9_
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There is no minimum value of resistance for the protection of ESDS. However, a minimum resistance value may be required for protection or safety. See relevant national requirements and/or IEC 61010-1, IEC 60479, IEC 60536 and IEC 60364.
When the footwear/floor systems are used as the primary means of grounding personnel, the resistance of the combination shall be determined by the ESD co-ordinator and is recommended to be between 7.5 x 10^5Ω and 3.5 x 10^7Ω.
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