Static and storage of electrical components

Other Hardware General Electronics
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Resistors and capacitors I'm not worried about but for storage of IC's, transistors, modules, etc does anyone do anything special to store them to protect them from static?

I've used the old anti-static bags from other components to add a little liner to the bottom of the storage compartments I used but for components that don't have anti-static bags is there any precautions people are regularly taking to protect them or is that really a big concern?

For Arduino's and other modules I try to keep them in anti-static bags but I don't always have enough for every component and I'd rather not store things like 2N2222 transistors in them as I'd prefer to be able to quickly reach in and see how many I have and grab one.

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You will probably be OK but you are going to be very puzzled when you use damaged components. You should be using a grounded wrist strap and an antistatic storage container and antistatic bags and not just as liners.

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In my experience working and "playing around" with electronics actual ESD damage has been rare. I MIGHT have zapped a CMOS chip many years ago (it never worked so it may have been DOA) and I had an Arduino "go bad" for unknown reasons and that MIGHT have been ESD. It's good to be careful but I'm not THAT paranoid about it!

At home, I usually leave the parts in their original packaging. Otherwise I'm not that careful... I just touch-ground before touching components or circuitry. I don't use a ground strap and I don't have a grounded work surface. It probably makes a difference where you live (humidity) and other environmental factors (static-generating shoes/carpet, etc.).

At work, we DO have strict procedures. We have ground straps that have to be tested every day (wrist straps or shoe-straps, or I actually have ESD conductive shoes). Work surfaces are static-safe and tested periodically and the floors have conductive floor wax, etc.

I've worked in places that were less strict. Every place I've worked has had grounded workstations and ground straps, but we didn't always wear the wrist straps, etc. Once, I actually had a "static generating" chair at my workbench and I would often get a spark when I touched ground. That's BAD and I certainly COULD zap a component/board but it never actually happened.

I've used the old anti-static bags from other components to add a little liner to the bottom of the storage compartments

That should help as long as it's a conductive/shielding bag (black or sliver). The pink "anti static" bags don't generate static (so they are much safer than regular clear bags) but they don't provide any actual protection.

Our rules at work say components have to be completely enclosed in a static shielding bag or be stored/transported in some other enclosed shielding container.

But, I worked at a company where we stored "master" EPROMs in regular clear parts drawers and we never had a problem.

I'd rather not store things like 2N2222

Bipolar transistors (and diodes) aren't that sensitive. They can be damaged, but I'd be more worried about CMOS, FETs, MOSFETs, etc.

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Thanks. Especially DVDdoug. I will continue to line my parts drawers I think and I should have mentioned I do have an anti-static ground strap that I rarely use. I've not had any issues but just wanted to see how others approached it

I mentioned a 2N2222 transistor as an example, but I'm not even sure I have any I just could only think of 2N2222 or a 555 timer off the top of my head. lol

I used to work at an employee who was super touchy about electronics and as a green junior employee I touched a brand new serial card for a point of sale system without a ground strap and without hesitation he just picked it up and tossed it in the rubbish bin as I had "ruined it". I snuck back and took it home and used it for years in my PC, lol. Some people are overly sensitive maybe, but the event has always stuck with me and I don't make any assumptions around other peoples gear. Having travelled with the repair techs I can safely say that once out of sight of the touchy co-worker they rarely seemed to worry about static.

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Lining a drawer with ESD bags serves no purpose at all. An ESD bag, the silvery looking ones, are made from two VERY thin plastic sheets. One sheet is aluminized to make a conductive layer. Then that sheet is combined with a second plastic sheet to protect the aluminized layer. When made into a bag, a conductive shield is created that will reduce the voltage of any static charge because it is spread over a relatively huge area. Just leave the components in the bags and they will be ok. Or you can get ESD safe plastic bins that are made from conductive plastic. Or you can or could get spray cans of conductive material to spray the containers.

My experience is many of my customers used the cheap, plain old plastic bins and storage containers. They supplied their own components and we never had a problem.

However, static discharge always has a negative effect on solid state devices. The effect is cumulative and the device may work forever with the damage.

I think it was an engineer at one of the Silicon Valley disk drive manufacturers who told us as little as a 100 volt discharge will produce a damage to some devices. You have to take the device apart and look at the die to see it.

Paul

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Suggest you store sensitive SMD devices in glass top aluminum ‘Watchmaker's Cases’.

See:

https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=445951.msg3698067#msg3698067

example:

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/home/storage/containers/44948-watchmakers-cases-in-aluminum-cases

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FYI

See Post #738

https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=445951.msg4497971#msg4497971

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bitmugger:
I used to work at an employee who was super touchy about electronics and as a green junior employee I touched a brand new serial card for a point of sale system without a ground strap and without hesitation he just picked it up and tossed it in the rubbish bin as I had "ruined it". I snuck back and took it home and used it for years in my PC, :grinning:

Well done! :sunglasses:

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The most effective thing you can do without equipment is to ground yourself to something briefly before you pick up any parts (like touch a grounded appliance). If you're handling a board, touch some grounded connector on the board first before touching any other parts of it.