How I turn my office desk into an "ESD desk"

If you only need to work with electrostatically sensitive components in a specific table area, you may not need an entire ESD table, but can convert your normal office table into an “ESD table” with the help of an ESD table mat, for example, in relation to the area occupied by the ESD table mat.

What is needed to convert an office desk into an “ESD desk”

The following ESD products can be used to convert a normal office desk into an “ESD desk”, i.e. a desk that is similar to an ESD desk, at least with regard to a certain area:

ESD table mat

ESD table mats include, for example, the “ESD table mats Alfaplan s“, which can be cut to size on request. These table mats are available with rounded corners or without rounded corners. You can choose between ESD table mats with or without press studs. And these ESD table mats are available in two different colors: Light blue or platinum gray.

The mats have a thickness of 2 mm and a relief surface. The material is a two-layer synthetic rubber and the leakage resistance is 10^7-10^8 Ohm.

When converting an office desk into an “ESD desk”, it is advisable to choose an ESD desk matwith two press studs. One push-button is used to ground the mat by connecting it to an ESD grounding module for the socket via a connecting cable. And the spiral cable of an ESD wrist strap is attached to the second push button to ground the wearer of the ESD wrist strap, although this only works if the desk mat itself has been grounded first.

Here you can download the “ESD table mats Alfaplan s“ at the Cleanroom and ESD specialist wholesaler abovo buy.

Earthing bracelet set (bracelet and spiral cable)

In addition to the ESD table mat, the “ESD table” conversion requires an ESD wristband and a spiral cablewhich can also be combined in an “ESDearthing wristband set“ can be purchased. The employee puts on the ESD wristband and connects it to the ESD table mat via the spiral cable. The spiral cable is attached to both the wristband and the desk mat using a push-button connection.

The earthing wristband offered by abovo in the “ESD earthing wristband set” consists of a wristband that can be individually adjusted to your personal wrist circumference. Only the contacting connection on the wristband contains metal. Otherwise, the bracelet is metal-free. The spiral cable has a length of 2,400 mm and a resistance of 1 MOhm.

ESD earthing module for the socket outlet

The ESD table mat must be earthed using an “ESD grounding componentn for the socket outlet“ to connect it. The “ESD earthing modulefor the socket” offered by abovo has three push-button connections and a resistance of 1 MOhm. The phase and neutral conductor are made of insulating plastic for safety reasons.

Connecting cable with push button (for connecting the table mat and earthing module)

And finally, you need the “connecting cable“ for the connection from the ESD table mat to the ESD earthing module. The “connecting cable“, which you can buy online from abovo for this purpose, has a push button (10.3 mm) at each end and has a resistance of 1 MOhm.

This connecting cable can be ordered in the colors light blue and black. The light blue version is only available in a length of 1,800 mm. The black version is available in the following lengths: 1,500 mm, 1,800 mm, 2,400 mm, 2,500 mm and 3,000 mm.

ESD floor mat for additional protection

To provide additional protection, you should also use an “ESD floor mat“ at the workplace. This floor mat is also connected to the earthing module via a connecting cable. The respective employee is then earthed by wearing “ESD shoes“. However, even in this case, you should not do without an ESD earthing wristband connected to the ESD table mat – especially not when working in a seated position. This is because earthing via the ESD shoes can also fail, for example if the shoes have no or poor contact with the ESD floor mat.

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ESD advice from our experts

If you need more information on converting a normal office desk into an “ESD desk”, we at cleanroom and ESD specialist wholesaler abovo will be happy to advise you. Among other things, we can help you select the right ESD products for your application.

The easiest way to contact our ESD experts is by phone or e-mail: