Antistatic, the word meaning "non-static", with its technical meaning, is used to describe materials used in industry to reduce, remove or prevent the generation of static electricity. Antistatic materials are frequently and intensively used in Electrical-Electronics, Chemistry, Explosive sectors and sub-sectors connected to these sectors.
We all know the effect a plastic comb can have on balloons or scraps of paper after rubbing it on our hair or a wool sweater. Static electricity occurs when the surfaces of two materials rub against each other, combine and separate, and when at least one of these two materials has high electrical resistance (insulator). Static electricity is when electrical charges remain on the surface of a material. The amount of Static Electricity to be generated depends on two materials. However, the phrase "Insulator", which is an important piece of information, should draw our attention. It would not be wrong to consider all insulators around us as a potential source of static electricity.
The most common materials at the beginning of static electricity sources in the industry are petroleum product plastics. Storage, dispatch, packaging, packaging, office stationery, hand tools, semi-finished products as part of the production process appear in industrial areas. Electrically charged materials attract undesirable dirt, dust, hair and other debris in many cases, as well as the risks from static charges. Antistatic additives are chemicals that minimize the formation of static electricity on plastic materials. Antistatic additives can be applied to the surface of the products or can be included in the production of plastics. Plastics with antistatic properties are used in the product groups listed above for aesthetic reasons as well as electrical safety, quality and performance reasons, depending on the usage application.
In the EN 61340-5-1 General ESD requirements standard, the point-to-point surface resistance of antistatic materials is defined as 100 KOhm ≤ R ≤1 GOhm, and in this range, the materials are considered as "Static Dissipative" static load dissipation.
Antistatic apron, antistatic t-shirt, antistatic trousers, antistatic fleece, antistatic sweater, etc., which are frequently encountered as personal protective clothing or technical textile products. It is produced from technical fabrics that reduce static load formation. During the manufacture of the fabric, an antistatic fabric is obtained by touching the conductive fiber inside. Antistatic clothing is applied as a solution to prevent static electricity storage in the bodies of employees based on the Faraday Cage principle.
How can we distinguish the antistatic products defined above, which comply with the international EN 61340-5-1 and ANSI 20.20 ESD standards, from the standard (insulating) products? Relevant standards have defined a number of test and control procedures as our reference and guideline here. To summarize in its simplest form; Unlike insulators, antistatic materials are products with low electrical resistance. Therefore, the surface resistance of the material should be measured and it should be checked whether this surface resistance is within the ranges determined by the standards. The test measuring instruments that should be used for this are the "Surface Resistance Meter", the measurement instruments determined by the ESD standards as Surface Resistance Meter.
What is antistatic so far? How should the antistatic product be? We have summarized the answers to your questions. I hope it has been informative for those who do not know, and reinforcing for those who have information.
The two terms "Antistatic" and "ESD" in our article often cause another confusion. "What is the difference between antistatic and ESD?" We will share the answer to this question in another blog post.
Cihan Ceylan
Sales and Marketing Director / Physics Engineer
