Controlling ESD in Automated Handling Equipment

Manufactures of Automated Handler Equipment (AHE) are or should be continuously striving to control ESD in their equipment and protect the product being processed. As the product sensitivities to ESD become increasingly lower, controlling ESD is becoming more of a significant problem in the electronic assembly equipment. This paper deals with researching, and experimentation of many types of materials, finishes, grounding methods, and testing, using the ESD Associations Standard ESD SP10.1–2000. The results were a reduction in voltage levels in a magnitude of several thousand volts to less than 10 volts in prototype equipment.