Paradigm Shift of ESD Technology in Defence PPT
                     PARADIGM SHIFT OF ESD TECHNOLOGY 
IN DEFENCE
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Electro-static charge is an invisible 
menace that lurks inside your electronics 
production areas, including zones 
dedicated to Research and Development, 
Manufacturing, Testing and Storage 
Very simply, Electro-static charge 
accumulated on the work surface area 
damages electronic PCB assemblies and 
microprocessors, memory chips and other 
high impedance components which come 
in contact with it.
We need highly efficient Electro-static 
dissipative surfaces and work areas where 
these sophisticated electronic 
components are used.
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Defence microelectronics is very demanding in terms of the complexity and density of the microprocessors and high impedance 
circuitry in the PCG hardware. The constant evolution of warfare tactics has led to massive restructuring of radar, telematics, 
propulsion and many other systems used in varied military and space applications. If compared to their earlier versions, these 
systems are now more refined, compact and include highly sophisticated electronics. This intricacy and miniaturization of electronic 
components has made them more susceptible to ESD damage during any phase of manufacturing or testing.
Electro-static accumulated charge, can damage and destroy intricate construction of today’s miniature electronic components and 
render them useless. Apart from causing varying degrees of inconveniences to the customer, failure of an electronic component in 
critical applications like telematics of a missile or space shuttle, radar system of a tank or submarine in the field might result in loss 
of lives. Industry estimates mention 8% to 33% losses as a direct result of Electro-static damage. Thus, non dissipated Electro-static 
charge, imposes an unacceptably high cost to the bottom-line and addressing these issues is imperative for any defence and space 
related organization.
Electro-static Prevention and ESD Protection are thus vital to improving reliability and reducing defects in today’s defence electronics 
manufacturing facility. The good news is that Electro-static prevention and control is easy and sustainable with the advent of new 
technology that is driving managers to use fail-safe ESD products in their assembly, manufacturing and testing tables and stations.
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Traditional technology used to enable Electro-static Discharge (ESD)
What is traditional ESD technology?
Products such as ESD matting on workbenches, chairs 
fabric coated with ESD sprays are presently used in 
defence areas where semiconductor and PCB assembly 
and testing is carried out for electronic products to be 
used in applications related to radar testing, missile 
manufacturing, missile electronics testing etc.
These traditional ESD measures enable the working 
area surfaces to be dissipative, but not with the same 
efficiency and reliability that we will describe in the 
forthcoming paragraphs – “New ESD technology” .
The traditional methods of ESD mats and ESD sprays 
were OK till the 90’s, an era where the electronics 
components were simpler and the PCB assemblies 
were not so dense and complicated.
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Problems of using traditional technology
While traditional technology was widely used till recent times they definitely had many pain areas, such as –
• Products using traditional technology are susceptible to frequent failures and thus need to be monitored 
on a regular basis. This requires allocation of resources and thus reduces productive time of employees.
• ESD mats which are placed on top of a regular table often wear out within 6-7 months due to usage and 
need timely replacement. This increases the cost and also poses a danger of working with non-ESD safe 
work surfaces when the ESD mat has reached the end of its life cycle.
• ESD or Anti-static sprays, commonly used on chair surfaces to make them ESD safe do not last long as 
their ESD properties wear out quickly, mostly within a few months and then the customer is exposed to 
working with ESD unsafe chairs and work surfaces.  If there is an accumulation of Static electricity, it can 
lead to major damages to the electronics being tested or assembled.
• Traditional ESD mats and ESD chair fabrics cannot be cleaned because any cleaning method will partially 
or completely destroy the ESD properties. The table mats and chairs have to be kept just as they are and 
the production and testing set-up may not look very tidy and clean.
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What is new age ESD technology?
New age ESD technology involves use of Volumetric ESD products for both the table and chairs. This 
technology is causing a paradigm shift in how managers used to approach ESD safe designs and 
products. With the use of volume ESD, users are guaranteed ESD-safe properties for a lifetime. Let us 
understand what exactly Volume ESD is.
Volume ESD as used on table and shelf tops, means embedding carbon polymers along with the base 
material used to manufacture the ESD product. This essentially means that with volume ESD, the 
properties for discharging the charge are present throughout the volume of the material as compared 
to its presence only on the contact surface in traditional technology.
For instance, Volumetric ESD in workbench is when the wooden laminated worktop is integrated with 
conductive carbon polymers, which makes the entire worktop conductive with dissipative lamination on 
both the sides of the workstation. This is a technology which ensures lifetime ESD protection of the 
workbench.
In the above image you can see that the worktable laminate is embedded with conductive carbon 
polymers with lamination on both sides of the workstation, unlike normal wooden worktop which is 
medium-density fiberboard.
Similarly, this technology can be used to manufacture Volume ESD Polyurethane chairs where the base 
material of the seats and backs of the chair; which is Polyurethane, is embedded with ESD particles 
throughout the volume.
All the products mentioned above are used in making world class ESD work tables and ESD chairs 
wwwhwic.hm aeres stuesntgewd oasrk ppelra IcEeCt e6c1h3n40o-l5o-g1y s.caofety standards. These standards are mandatory for use in all 
min ternational quality Electronic laboratories and Electronic manufacturing facilities.
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Benefits of using new technology
Volume ESD is beneficial over traditional ESD in many ways such as –
• It guarantees lifetime fail-safe ESD properties of the product which means that the chances of ESD failure 
is negligible. This saves customers, costs in repairs, warranties and replacements.
• Even after wear and tear, the ESD properties remain homogeneous throughout the material. This 
essentially means that the product, like workstation or chair, will have the same ESD properties effective 
throughout. Thus rather than concentrating on whether ESD properties of the work tables and chairs are 
working fine, the user can now concentrate on his testing and assembly and other matters. This 
improves efficiency and productivity and provides a big relief to the Production and Testing line 
managers as now they can rest assured that they will have no problems with Static electricity.
• The use of unreliable ESD mats is avoided by the use of volume ESD technology on the wooden table 
tops. It saves the customer the hassle and repeated capital costs of replacing the mat every 6-7 months.
• Volume ESD products are resistant to regular cleaning agents like IPA, Ethanol and other chemicals. The 
products do not lose any ESD properties due to cleaning. Thus the work area can be kept neat and clean, 
in turn improving employee productivity and motivation.
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Case Study
A senior scientist, head of Power Electronics division of a government Laboratory in Cochin talks about 
shifting from old ESD technology to new technology.
This senior Scientist had issues with Electro-static failures during testing of various electronic hardware and 
PCB assemblies. He also faced severe productivity issues, as most of the employee time was being utilized in 
wondering why the electronic components were failing without any reason.
Our customer, the senior Scientist, wanted to make his lab with world-class technology and found that by 
using these new technology products for his work tables and chairs, the volumetric ESD properties were well 
worth the investment. This new technology guarantees him lower Electro-static failures and the improved 
ergonomics of the new ESD chairs improves the productivity of his employees.
Currently, as per the senior scientist, the new technology is proving to be worth its value as failure rates have 
dipped to near to negligible and productivity has risen by almost 15-20%. His employees can now 
concentrate better on their work rather than worrying about any Electro-static failures.
Numerous Government labs and defence organizations are now updating and equipping their labs with new 
cutting-edge technology (Volume ESD) to counter the rising failures due to static energy on work surfaces 
damaging critical components.
Author: Mr. Farook Merchant and Mr. Azeem Merchant
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THANK 
YOU.
Messung Global Connect Pvt. Ltd.
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Kharadi, Pune 411 014, India.
020 6649 2800 | [email protected]
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