MENDA - Questions And Answers

In our factory we have metal carriers painted with insulate ink, but the roads are dissipative. Do you think it is absolutely indispensable that the ink paint be dissipative or conductive? With these carriers we transport car radios in chassis from one place from another. The ink stores charge and can cause an ESD phenomenon. - Anonymous, Braga, Portugal

It is not essential that the paint of your metal carriers be conductive or dissipative as long as the unit is groundable and that the surface resistance on the painted surface is below 1x10⁹ ohms. You should take readings on your metal carriers to verify that they are safe. Use a megohmeter to measure the surface resistance and a field meter to make sure they are not severer charge generators (measurements of < 200 volts is acceptable).

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