ecotile ESD / Anti-static ooring The patented ESD / anti-static interlocking oor tile A quick, simple an d sustainable fooring so lution. Introduction The ecotile ESD and anti-static range of interlocking oor tiles either incorporate millions of tiny stainless steel metal bres that guarantee esd / conductive / static dissipative performance for the life of the tile, carbon black for very low surface resistivity or a chemical additive to provide anti-static performance. The electrostatic dissipative (ESD / EPA ) interlocking oor tiles are ideal for use in electronics and telecommunications factories, computer server rooms, production plants such as pharmaceutical, paint, petrochemical plants, anywhere the risk of electrostatic discharge presents a hazard to product or personnel. ESD – CONDUCTIVE, DISSIPA TIVE OR ANTI-STA TIC? WHA T IS ESD: The abbreviation for electrostatic discharge. Inlayman’s terms: an electrical event that takes place when two conductors with different electrical potential make contact. ESD events occur when people walk across various forms of ooring and then they touch or approach computers and sensitive electronic devices. ESD should not be identied with shocks or zaps. Although shocks and zaps are ESD events, they are the result of at least 3500 volt discharges. An ESD event as low as 20 volts can disrupt electronic components. Because of this extremely low voltage, the event can go completely undetected. Have you been asked to select a oor that is supposed to eliminate or minimize static charges accumulating on people when they walk on the oor? What do you call such a oor? If you have done any research in this area you’ve probably discovered something rather unusual. There seems to be many different and seemingly contradictory descriptions for this type of oor. In simple terms all you need to achieve are the following: • Permanently prevent static on people working in the facility . • Be certiable to some standard that veries safety and performance over the anticipated life span of the oor• Meet the requirements of the environment and application T o achieve these objectives the most important point is to identify what is the maximum and minimum level of electrical resistance acceptable for your operation or process. Many ESD ooring suppliers and manufacturers will recommend electrical resistance measurements as high as 1.0 x 10 9 , (1 Billion Ωor “One Thousand Meg”). Vers atile Flooring feels that the gap between 100 millionΩto a 1 billion Ωis too large, (900 million Ω), of a jump in electrical resistance. If the material’s electrical resistance happens to deteriorate over time, beginning at 1.0 x 10 9 Ω, it may not provide adequate ESD protection over the medium to long term The word anti-static is used by many manufacturers to describe their product but anti-static is in fact just a generic term for any material that can conduct an electrical charge and has an inherent resistivity range between 1 x 10 4 Ωand 1 x 10 11 Ω. The electronics, aerospace, automotive, medical and defence industries worldwide have accepted that for a oor to be safe from risk of electrostatic damage to delicate components the electrical resistance of the surface must be no higher than 1.0 x 10 9 Ω. The important question; Will you be audited / testing your oor? • If yes - what is the standard you will be tested to? The industry standard is IEC 61340-5-1:2007 standard protection of electronic devices from electrostatic phenomena, which requires a oor with an electrical resistance of the surface must be no higher than 1.0 x 10 9 . To achieve this standard the only options are a ooring impregnated with either carbon or metal bres (i.e. E500/7/ESD or E501/7/ESD) • If no – what are your buying motives? Performance, durability or price? If the rst two we would recommend you go down the rst option (E500/7/ESD, E501/7/ESD, E502/7/AS), could your customers introduce audits or testing in the future? If the decision is primarily inuenced by price the best option by far is to select the standard ecotile and use the Selstat polish to seal and also clean the oor. Using this method rather than a product with an anti-static additive that will dissipate out of the oor over time, will ensure a controlled and measured approach to maintaining an anti-static oor. Key Benets • Extremely Hard Wearing. • Low Life Cycle Cost And Simple T o Maintain.. • Smart & Modern Appearance. • Guaranteed to fulll th e requirements of IEC / BS EN 61340. • Ideal For Use With Fork Trucks And Heavy Loads • Quick A nd Simple T o Install, No Downtime. • Good Anti-slip Properties • Protects The Existing Floor F rom Damage. • Versatile, Quick And Easy T o Amend Design or Layout. • Ideal For Uneven, Damp Or C ontaminated Substrates . • 10 year Product Warranty. T: +44 (0) 1707 800060 F : +44 (0) 1707 657282 E: info@versatileooring.co.uk www.versatileooring.co.uk
