Hi,
How should ESD management be implemented in a high-capacity battery production line? If a person wearing an ESD-safe outfit touches the terminal of a high-capacity battery, is it dangerous if the current flows through the person to the ground? Is it sufficient to use only ionizers instead of grounding?
Junmo,
Personnel safety always takes precedence over ESD controls that could impact safety. Besides ionization, you could also use tools with dissipative tips and apply topical antistats to process required insulators. You could also look into better humidity controls to ensure the factory is not too dry.
You would also want to do a process assessment of your ESD controls to ensure they meet what you need. For example you could measure the voltage on your ESD sensitive items in process with a contact or non-contact voltmeter to see if they are experiencing any voltages above your limits.
You could also measure your personnel voltage using a charge plate monitor with a hand held electrode to simulate normal working operations to see if personnel are charging above your limits while working. Since the people aren’t grounded, this measurement may be above the limits which may lead you to ensure personnel are using dissipative tool tips or at least spend some time in the ion flow before handling any ESD sensitive items
For ESD management in a high-capacity battery line, grounding is really important. Even with an ESD-safe outfit, touching the battery terminal could be risky because there’s a chance of current flowing through you to the ground.
Thank you for your response. I completely agree with you.
Thank you for providing me with a practical solution.