Home ›

Choose the Right ESD Flooring

in
Listed by Application Type
Publish Date: 
02/05/2011
HR = Highly Recommended • R = Recommended • NR = Not Recommended
Application by Usage Area ESD Carpet Tile ESD Carpet (Broadloom) ESD Vinyl Tile (Conductive) ESD Epoxy ESD Rubber (Conductive) LAN SDT
Vinyl Tile
(Dissipative)
Mission Critical
Data Centers		 HR NR HR NR HR N/A NR
Electronics Manufacturing
ANSI/ESD S20.20-2007		 Use
Conductors™
line of ESD
Carpet Tile		 NR HR HR, R, NR
(Check Body
Voltage Properties)		 HR N/A NR
Offices Inside Electronics
Manufacturing or Testing		 HR NR R R HR N/A NR
Areas where circuit
boards are handled		 HR NR HR HR, R, NR
(Check Body
Voltage Properties)		 HR N/A NR
Engineering Areas HR HR HR NR HR N/A NR
Manufacturing areas high abuse, heavy traffic
ANSI/ESD S20.20-2007		 NR NR HR HR, R, NR HR N/A NR
R & D HR NR HR NR HR N/A NR
Electronics Labs HR NR HR NR HR N/A NR
Networked Offices HR HR R NR R N/A NR
911 Applications HR NR R NR HR N/A NR
Mission Critical NOC HR NR R NR HR N/A NR
Command Centers HR NR R NR HR N/A NR
Flight Control Towers HR NR R NR HR N/A NR
TRACON HR NR R NR HR N/A NR
ARTCC and AFSS Facilities HR NR R NR HR N/A NR
Mission Critical Government:
Pentagon, NSA, Armed Forces Command		 HR NR HR, R NR HR N/A NR
Clean Rooms NR NR HR, R
Ameriworx		 HR, R HR N/A NR
Hospital/OR/MRI HR NR R NR HR N/A NR
Loading Areas NR N/A R HR R N/A R
Warehouses NR N/A R HR R N/A R
Non-Mission Critical Offices HR HR R NR R HR NR

Some notes about rating criteria:

  1. ESD epoxy was rated "HR, R, NR" for some applications because many ESD epoxy floors contribute to body voltage generation unless they are carefully matched with complementary footwear.
  2. Static dissipative floors like LAN and SDT lacked recommended ratings because ESD consultants do not recommend static dissipative floors with electrical resistances above 1.0 X 10E7.
  3. Certain floors are known to generate high quantities of static if they are used in applications where personnel wear conventional/everyday footwear. High static generation is possible if everyday footwear is worn on any ESD epoxy/urethane, static dissipative tile (SDT) or Low kV computer grade data guard carpets.
  4. Based on numerous studies, EC rubber and conductive carpet tile inhibit static generation on moving persons regardless of footwear.
  5. ANSI/ESD S20.20-2007 strongly recom mends performing several different tests to determine the best ESD flooring option. The recommended tests include all of the following:
    1. Resistance to ground measured in ohms
    2. System resistance to ground including the person, footwear and static control floor.
    3. Walking body voltage on a moving person.

Applications Guide for selecting the correct ESD flooring by type of flooring. 

The ideal range regarding electrical resistance for ESD flooring systems (illustrated below) is defined in ANSI/ESD S20.20 - 2007 for system resistance. All Staticworx® products meet this specification to deliver true Class Zero ESD protection.

Looking for more information in selecting the right flooring? Our published "Facility Manager's Guide" may be just the right reference guide for you...

The Facilities Manager's Guide to ESD Flooring Materials

-Published in the November 03 issue of
Conformity Magazine

application/pdf iconESD Flooring Comparison
Tags: 
Article Type: 
Application Type: 

Flooring that Keeps you Grounded DVDRequest Your Free ESD Flooring DVD

Get your copy of

"Flooring that Keeps You Grounded" DVD

with all the ESDTile.com videos featuring Dave Long.

Request a Free DVD Now!