So lately I've been storing a lot of ICs from a few Arduino projects I did. Now, I worry a bit on ESD. I know that ICs and other chips produced nowadays already come with built-in ESD protection but I do notice that ICs I have lying around across my room have lower performance (power conversion, higher current consumption etc.) than those I store in conductive foam after use.
My method of storing them is I put the ICs on top of conductive foam cut in the size that will fit component drawers while my Arduino boards and sensors are placed in static shielding bags. When I pull them out for use, I place them in my work area that has an ESD mat connected to ground.
While my method works, I'd like to ask if you can share some of your ways in storing ICs and boards so they can be safe from ESD? or ways to make sure that these foams and bags can last longer (temperature, humidity, lighting etc.)
My basis for my way of storing them:
What I'm worried that could happen with my current storage setup:
Your handling of devices is the ONLY way solid state devices can be affected by EDS. Foam does not protest from ESD, it stops potential between pins. Use ESD bags that have a conductive layer that allows the ESD to flow around the chips.
Paul
Yes, I do this to my boards. Not sure if I can do this properly to my ICs in the drawer. The smallest ESD bag available is 2 inches by 3 inches. They take up space in the drawer. Can static dissipative foam help instead?
Yes, I would put all the same ICs in one bag but because each drawer box of my component drawer is small, I have to fold them up so they can fit in them. I can do this with my ICs that are small in amount but I can't do this to say 5-10 20 or 30-pin ICs because this would cause the pins to bend.
In my usage, the purpose of foam is to protect the pins from getting bent. You need to use antistatic foam to avoid the foam itself from generating ESD, but the foam doesn't need to provide protection from external ESD sources because I store the ICs+foam inside of static dissipative bags.
But you can get mechanical and ESD protection both by using IC tubes.
I liked that video by Dave Jones about the bags. I switched from anti-static to static dissipative bags after watching that. Previously, I preferred the pink bags because it's easier to see what is inside of them, but no more.
Ahh, so it must be antistatic instead of conductive?
I like this idea but the ICs I have right now did not come in IC tubes when I bought them that's why I'm asking what can I do to make sure they can be protected to ESD when I put them in my component drawer. My component drawer is a regular component drawer so it's not ESD-safe.
For my use, where I only want to be sure the foam itself is not generating ESD, but don't need protection, either one is fine.
They are surely available for purchase online. I actually haven't stumbled across them, which is odd considering some people probably end up with tons of empty ones. But I haven't gone looking for them either. I did go looking for the nice rubber plugs that fit in the ends of the tubes, which I have sometimes gotten with my tubes. I never managed to find those for sale on their own, but I also likely didn't know the correct search terms. My current approach is a bit of tape on the end of the tube, which is not very fun to deal with.
We tried to interest plastic recyclers in the tubes, but no interest. We tossed a hundred a week sometimes.
Ask a local assembly house and they will be glad to give you the tubes and rubber pins.
Paul
This is good news. Mostly I have at home are conductive foam but I'll also get myself some static-dissipative foam. I did saw this from EEVblog which also got me worried when using conductive foam: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/beware-of-old-antistatic-foam/
They do come in tubes when purchased online but mine were bought increasingly from a local distributor in small amounts that's why they aren't in tubes.
Are these plugs that you bought anti-static as well? I tried to search them online, it seems there are antistatic and regular ones.
So it's only covered up in tape so the ICs wont fall?
Yeah, that's one downside of having a lot of IC tubes. My problem is the opposite because I get ICs locally in small amounts not in their IC tubes. Usually they're just placed in static shielding bags and sold to me
I'm talking about buying empty tubes by themselves to store ICs that were received not in tubes. I also often get ICs that are not in tubes so I definitely hoard my stash of tubes.
I'm not sure. I believe I got them in the tubes I received with my orders from some reputable distributor like DigiKey, so I'd assume they are of good quality.
Correct. It is inconvenient to peel the tape off whenever I want to get an IC out of a tube.
For what it is worth, While I think the black foam will protect your IC's it tends to break down over time.
I personally gave up on drawers. Its a lot of work, if the drawer falls out you wonder if they were damaged or not...etc.
I put all my IC's in static bags (usually the ones they came in). I then put like IC's in a ziplock bag (in the esd bags) and mark them. I have them inventoried in Excel. Mostly because I tend to forget what I have at any given time.
Just curious, I know IC tubes prevent ESD to reach your ICs in it but in the EEVblog video, David tells us that IC tubes can put ICs at risk of ESD damage so are IC tubes in general still safe or only those the ICs came with?
I do agree with this so might as well buy from distributors such as DigiKey.
Yeah, it is so IC tube covers are the way to go unless I make a ESD safe cover out of static dissipative plastic by machining.
Yeah, that's my concern and what I'm worried as well. Hopefully I can find a way to preserve the foam by tweaking factors across my room like temperature, humidity, lighting etc.
but wouldn't an abundance of ICs in different bags placed in a single compartment be worrisome when you're trying to find them especially if you're on a rush? so how do you store the bags with ICs now?
I should do this as well. Carefully tracking what you have is a good practice to know what ICs you still have and track what you keep on using.
I'm guilty of this as well Not only that, I tend to misplace them when I don't put them in bags then to drawers after use.
I didn't think about it. I guess they are anti-static rather than static dissipative. I have my tubes inside of static dissipative bags and that's how they are shipped when I got orders from DigiKey, Mouser, Arrow, and even some of the miscellaneous eBay orders.
That has very much been my experience. My original storage system was each model of part in foam or tubes or loose where appropriate, in a small static dissipative bag, all the small bags of each type of part in a large bag, and all those large bags heaped together in footlockers. I ended up having to pretty much empty out every footlocker every time before managing to find the bag for the type of part I needed. It was not enjoyable, especially since often when I'm digging out parts it's only to do a quick experiment when helping someone out here on the forum, so I need to be very efficient about it.
My new system trades the large bags for long narrow boxes, and the footlockers for a shelving unit. I've stuck with the small bags for each model of part. It's essentially a drawers system, but a lot cheaper and made with the supplies I had on hand already. I've been super happy with it. There is still a little bit of digging in the box to find the model of part I need, but it's a matter of seconds rather than minutes as before.
This is a nice idea that I can do here. What I'll do is if I can fit them in drawers, I'll put them static shielding bags with zip locks and if not I'll put them on conductive foam below and static dissipative foam above or should it be the other way around since the plastic of the drawer box will generate charge and the conductive foam could just conduct that to the IC?
That's what David also tells in the video but I think it's somehow alright if it's in a static shielding bag but after a while I should just remove the tubes after 1-2 months or so and put it in the bag. Is that a proper practice instead? I mean it can bend the pins but it will make it ESD-safe once the tubes are overused.
What do these small narrow boxes looked like? Do you have an image of these?
Each model of part in their own static dissipative bag, then each bag in each of these long narrow boxes that serve as drawer boxes that's stored in your footlocker, did I got that correctly?
Correct. The static dissipative bag will protect the contents from any external ESD. So you only need to make sure there is not any source of ESD inside the bag. This is why it is important to use antistatic packaging within the bag. But it isn't necessary for it to be static dissipative inside the bag because there will be no external sources of ESD.
They are 20x6x6 inch corrugated cardboard shipping boxes, like this:
I cut the top flaps off so they are open on top. Not so nice as plastic bins, but I taped them up very well, so they are reasonably durable. And compared to non-anti-static plastic bins, cardboard is probably less likely to generate ESD.
The boxes are on a 36x18x72 inch "Gorilla Rack" brand shelving unit. I cannibalized another identical shelving unit for extra shelves, for a total of 9. I fit 5 boxes on each shelf, giving me 40 bins and then bulky items like large wire spools on the top shelf.
Not only that, I tend to misplace them when I don't put them in bags then to drawers after use.