I am looking to establish company System Level ESD test levels for our consumer electronic products. IEC 60000-4-2 is pertinent but is vague as to which voltage level and failure type (soft vs hard) would be the industry standard. Can anyone help direct me?
Hello and welcome to the EOS/ESD Association forum.
Your question is a little out of our scope however I hope I can help. IEC 61000-4-2 is a basic test standard that describes the test method and criteria. It does not set the specific limits and response for equipment or any electronic products. There are product standards or directives that set the criteria and then call out 61000-4-2 as the test method. For example, servers or computers, must meet a European Norm 55024. In this norm, IEC 61000-4-2 is the test method, the voltages are 4kV for contact discharge and 8kV for air discharge. The equipment must perform to criteria B which allows for temporary loss of function while under test and recovers after test without operator intervention. You need to find the product family specification or directive that your product fits in and then it will determine the testing and criteria you must meet.
Thank you for your inquiry to the ESDA.
Please understand that IEC61000-4-2 is the ESD Immunity test procedure. It is not intended or capable of specifying individual product requirements. It may be necessary to look into the other documents in the series such as IEC61000-6-1 or 6-2 for guidance on specifications for your products.
http://www.esda.org/buyers-guide/
The response given is a service to industry; the ESDA is not responsible for content.
The users of this information need to determine the suitability of the response.