ESD Antistatic Work Mats

Antistatic mats or ESD mats provide an ideal solution for field repair or for areas where only limited electronics work is to be undertaken

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One solution to a portable, or low cost ESD work station is to use an antistatic mat, or ESD mat.

These antistatic work mats provide a portable and relatively compact solution for people doing field repairs etc. ESD mats can also low cost, ideal for hobbyists and other requirements where a full ESD workbench cannot be justified.

Antistatic mats normally have the standard snap connections enabling them to be connected to the grounding points on the special plugs that utilise the mains part connections. They also enable wrist straps to be connected to the antistatic mats. In this way an effective antistatic solution can be provided for working on electronic boards and assemblies.

The antistatic work mat has a static dissipative surface which enables any static charges that may appear to be safely dissipated. The surface is not conductive as this would dissipate charge too quickly and also provide a surface that would give rise to short circuits across the board which again could cause damage.

When cleaning the anti-static mat, care should be taken to use the right cleaners. It is best to consult the instructions or data sheet of the mat so that only cleaners that do not cause damage to the surface are used.

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