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Static Electricity...?

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Plod

Plod

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Nov 12, 2010
So all my parts just arrived in the mail and I want to get onto building it, but the bags around everything made me stop and think. Apparently static electricity is a big problem? I know I can touch any grounded metal object to rid myself of whatever static charge I have at that point, but I don't know if I'll want to do that every 10 seconds while building it.

What precautions do I need to take? Will I be fine with just touching my metal guardrail, on the stairs near where I'll be building, every once in a while or should I do something more?
 
I wouldn't go around shuffling my feet on carpet and touching components on the board. I haven't used a strap since I built my first computer and I have never killed a single component.

If it wasn't my hardware and worth more than I make in a year, then I would just to "be safe". For home use, no strap is fine.

Bakercake said:
Wear rubber gloves.
Click to expand...
I seriously hope that is a joke.
 
I wouldn't go around shuffling my feet on carpet and touching components on the board. I haven't used a strap since I built my first computer and I have never killed a single component.
Click to expand...

Same here. I've been working on computers for close to 20 years now, and I've never taken any special precautions against static, and I've never had a problem. As long as you exercise a little common sense (don't lay parts on carpet, don't wear big fuzzy wool sweaters, etc.) you should be fine.
 
I always grab the puter case and lay the parts on the side of the case then open up the static bags and put it/them in. If you do that, even if you do have a static charge, you, the puter and the parts should all be at the same potential. Shouldn't be any shock then.

The other posts are good too. The two things I would be most careful with are the CPU and the memory. I doubt you will have to worry about much else, well the mobo if you are putting that in too. I wouldn't worry about it as much as the CPU and memory tho. Those two are sort of naked. The mobo has all sorts of paths for the static to go through which would help prevent the damage.

So far, I have only had one puter to get weird and die. It was used when I got it and it was really really old. As someone else said, little common sense and you should be OK.

:) :)
 
I will say a few things:

1) Do not wear socks.

2) Try not to assemble on carpet

3) Discharge any built up charge by simply touching a metal contact on a desk, chair etc.

Other than that there is not much else. Also using a strap is not necessary however if it makes you feel better it is a nice precaution.

Bakercake said:
Wear rubber gloves.
Click to expand...


Not a good idea, do not do this! BTW if that was a joke it's not very funny since people come here for help and usually will try anything you tell them, so please refrain from such "jokes".
 
Rizo-uk said:
and create a difference in potential between your hand and the component?

good one:screwy:
Click to expand...

You're putting a dielectric between your hand and a component. It's not creating a difference of potential between the component and your hand, instead it's preventing any discharge from any potential that may exist between the two objects. This effectively will prevent ESD from being a problem.

If you live someplace that's very dry, then you definately need to be concerned about ESD. Otherwise, the more humid it is the less of a threat ESD poses to hardware, but it's still a good idea to wear an antistatic strap anyways. I just try to make sure my skin is touching the chassis of my case as much as possible.
 
Also while tips on reducing static are being discussed, one great way is to wear at least 50% cotton clothing. Check those tags when you get dressed, I work in an explosives plant and this is one of the rules we abide by to prevent static discharge and blowing the place to bits.
 
TheDeej said:
Also while tips on reducing static are being discussed, one great way is to wear at least 50% cotton clothing. Check those tags when you get dressed, I work in an explosives plant and this is one of the rules we abide by to prevent static discharge and blowing the place to bits.
Click to expand...

that's badass
 
TempliNocturnus said:
You're putting a dielectric between your hand and a component. It's not creating a difference of potential between the component and your hand, instead it's preventing any discharge from any potential that may exist between the two objects. This effectively will prevent ESD from being a problem.

If you live someplace that's very dry, then you definately need to be concerned about ESD. Otherwise, the more humid it is the less of a threat ESD poses to hardware, but it's still a good idea to wear an antistatic strap anyways. I just try to make sure my skin is touching the chassis of my case as much as possible.
Click to expand...

Putting a dielectric between you and the component is not what you want to do. You need to get yourself at the same voltage level as the components you are working on. To give you a hint, ever notice that when they work on power lines, they put themselves at the same voltage as the lines? When hurricane Katrina came through, I got to watch the power company for a couple days. All the trucks with the lifts on them, the booms are insulated and some are fiberglass even. When they get up there, they hook to the lines so they don't get shocked. They do the same when they use choppers to work on the really high voltage stuff.

Using rubber gloves is not a good idea.

:) :)
 
dalek2.0 said:
Putting a dielectric between you and the component is not what you want to do. You need to get yourself at the same voltage level as the components you are working on. To give you a hint, ever notice that when they work on power lines, they put themselves at the same voltage as the lines? When hurricane Katrina came through, I got to watch the power company for a couple days. All the trucks with the lifts on them, the booms are insulated and some are fiberglass even. When they get up there, they hook to the lines so they don't get shocked. They do the same when they use choppers to work on the really high voltage stuff.

Using rubber gloves is not a good idea.

:) :)
Click to expand...

When you're dealing with high current and potential (power lines and static from helicopters) you'll have to either completely insulate yourself with a material with a high dielectric constant to prevent current from arcing, or simply ground yourself to it to put you at the same potential. They do the later because it's a much easier and sensible solution; you're dead if there's any leak in the diectric material and you get to close to the source of high potential.

When working on small electronics and extremely the low current static electricity one would build up on their body, rubber gloves would prevent you from damaging the equipment. They wear rubber (or some other dielectric) gloves in clean rooms when doing computer forensics and in the manufacturing process.

I'm not saying rubber gloves is the best way to work on computers; I'm just saying it won't cause anything bad to happen, contrary to what others have said. However, rubber gloves will give you a benefit of not getting acid/grease or finger prints on whatever you're working on.
 
Static isn't as big a problem now as it used to be before because most chips have static protection built in on every connection to the outside world, and most companies test the protection by zapping the chip with this sweet-looking, static-shooting gun. There are also chips specifically designed to protect other chips or a whole board from static. The reason they do this is because static build-up can also happen during the manufacturing process for a product. The bags are a precaution, and it can't really hurt.

Like everyone says, if you're not generating static on purpose, you ground yourself before touching anything, etc... you should be fine. I've zapped components with static on accident before and they have had no problem running after.
 
TempliNocturnus said:
When you're dealing with high current and potential (power lines and static from helicopters) you'll have to either completely insulate yourself with a material with a high dielectric constant to prevent current from arcing, or simply ground yourself to it to put you at the same potential. They do the later because it's a much easier and sensible solution; you're dead if there's any leak in the diectric material and you get to close to the source of high potential.

When working on small electronics and extremely the low current static electricity one would build up on their body, rubber gloves would prevent you from damaging the equipment. They wear rubber (or some other dielectric) gloves in clean rooms when doing computer forensics and in the manufacturing process.

I'm not saying rubber gloves is the best way to work on computers; I'm just saying it won't cause anything bad to happen, contrary to what others have said. However, rubber gloves will give you a benefit of not getting acid/grease or finger prints on whatever you're working on.
Click to expand...

Static can be several thousand volts. It's not as much current as a power line but its the voltage that makes the static jump, not the current. Our local power lines are only a few thousand volts and they still connect themselves to the lines when working on them, unless the lines are dead already.

I'm saying that grounding to the computer case and touching the components while still in the bag is the best way to prevent damage. I would never use rubber gloves when working on anything electronic. I'm not sure how a finger print would hurt a component tho. Then again, if you are working on something you shouldn't, then by all means wear gloves so you don't get caught. Just watch out for the cameras. The reason they wear them in clean rooms is to prevent containments during the process. They run the room at a high humidity since the air is cleaned with water anyway. Just one spec of dust is awful in a clean room. I wouldn't be surprised if you could fit several hundred transistors under a spec of dust nowadays.

:) :)
 
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