Anti-Static Paint protects production and employees.

Press Release Summary:



By dissipating static charges in range of 107–109 Ω and carry them to ground, StaticPaint® can protect floors, walls, ceilings, countertops, and even cabinets. Application of anti-static paint to walls and ceilings can prevent dust from collecting, gathering charge, dropping into sensitive components, and releasing charge. Water-based and non-toxic, StaticPaint meets California’s low VOC standards, and can be color matched by color code at major paint retailers.



Original Press Release:



Anti-Static Paint Protects Production and Employees



Innovative paint category prevents electrostatic discharge-caused equipment damage and explosion

 

Unwanted electrostatic discharge can be costly, even explosively dangerous to both production and employees.

 

When static charge builds then suddenly, unexpectedly releases, it can ruin sensitive equipment and data in production, inventory, data centers, and research labs in industries ranging from electronics, aerospace, and high tech to hospitals and pharmaceuticals.  It can also spark explosions in flammable manufacturing environments, particularly those with fumes, aerosols or explosive powders.

 

Localized static dissipation methods such as strapping connected to electrical grounding have long been available, as have area dissipation methods such as conductive floor mats or tile flooring.  But these methods have protected only a limited number of items, have not worked when improperly used, or have been too costly and inflexible for many applications. 

 

Now a category of anti-static paint is not only providing area protection cost-effectively, but also doing so with an ability to color match while meeting California’s low VOC emission standards.

 

The Enemy: Electrostatic Discharge

“When you walk across a carpet, touch a doorknob, and get a shock you’ve released the electrostatic charge you’ve collected in your body into a grounding source, the doorknob,” explains Tom Kistler, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Antistatic Industries, a Northvale, N.J.-based firm that specializes in preventing static electrical damage to equipment and personnel.  “Such electrostatic discharge in industrial or commercial settings can ruin circuit boards, electrical components, sensitive equipment, or trigger explosion around flammable substances.”

 

According to Kistler, undetected electrostatic discharge may be the root cause of many equipment performance or component damage problems.  Some signs of an unresolved electrostatic discharge problem that may be disrupting production, inventory, or research include: blown fuses, lost data, damaged components, physical shock, or improperly operating equipment or instruments.

 

Area protection for static discharge has traditionally been relatively comprehensive, but at a steep price.  Though anti-static mats and tiles do dissipate static charge, the cost can be prohibitive for some applications as it may run into the thousands of dollars for a relatively small area.  Another drawback: such mats or tiles are typically limited to floors, while doing nothing to protect walls, ceilings, counters, or other surfaces that may also need protection.

 

Cost-Effectively Preventing Electrostatic Discharge

Recently a relatively new category of anti-static paint has enabled cost-effective, flexible area protection against electrostatic discharge for about one-fifth the price of traditional anti-static mats or tiles.  For instance, anti-static paint such as StaticPaint® by Antistatic Industries can dissipate static charges in the range of 107 to 109 ohms and carry them to ground, similar to anti-static mats or tiles, but with more flexibility to suit the application.

 

“While anti-static mats and tiles have traditionally protected floors from electrostatic discharge, anti-static paint can protect floors, walls, ceilings, countertops, and even cabinets when applied,” says Kistler. 

 

According to Kistler, application of anti-static paint to walls and ceilings can prevent dust from collecting, gathering a charge, dropping into sensitive components, and releasing the charge.  Application of it to countertops can protect sensitive instruments such as microscopes in a lab or electrical components in an assembly area.  Application of it to cabinets can protect sensitive components and stored items in many settings.

 

One drawback of typical anti-static paint, however, has been its rather limited color choice, mostly in shades of gray plus a few basic colors, since carbon has been a key ingredient in many paints.  Due to an innovative, no carbon-based, formulation in some proprietary versions of anti-static paint, however, custom color matching by paint store, paint chip, vendor code is currently available.

 

“Color matching of anti-static paint opens up new possibilities to commercial architects, company owners, and facility managers,” says Kistler.  “It goes beyond drab grays to allow personal preference, mood enhancement, color coordination, and even enhanced safety.” 

 

Kistler points out that new colors such as safety yellow can enhance the visibility of potentially hazardous areas, while color coordination for design or thematic reasons is possible by simply providing the code for a particular color, whether it’s cream white, sky blue, or pastel green.  StaticPaint, for instance, can be color matched by supplying any major paint manufacturer’s product color or number.

 

Another drawback of typical anti-static paint is that it has not always been eco-friendly.  Some have been relatively high in VOCs, which can draw environmental scrutiny in highly regulated jurisdictions such as California.

 

Within the relatively new category of anti-static paint, some vendors have made their formulations eco-friendly enough to pass muster at some of the most highly regulated areas in the nation.  For instance, by creating its water-based, non-toxic, product StaticPaint, Antistatic Industries met and exceeded California’s low VOC emission standards.

 

While anti-static paint can offer good area protection from electrostatic discharge, even greater protection can be provided when other static discharge products are used in conjunction with it, according to Kistler, whose company offers a wide range of anti-static products including paints, coatings, tapes, fabric, strapping, nylon cable ties, hook and loop fasteners, all with conductive properties.

 

“Anti-static paint can provide a great basic layer of electrostatic discharge protection to an area,” says Kistler.  “For even better protection, using additional anti-static accessories can create a more layered, comprehensive, faster reacting system.”

 

For instance, to take an electrostatic discharge safely to ground faster than anti-static paint allows, Kistler advises attaching a grounding plate with conductive adhesive to the anti-static, paint-covered flooring.  When such a grounding plate plugs into a standard electrical wall outlet, enabling faster removal of a static charge to ground, it can provide additional protection to areas of up to several thousand square feet. 

 

He also advises the use of a pocket sized, surface resistance meter to accurately measure the surface resistance on a wide variety of conductive, dissipative, and insulative materials.  This will accurately determine whether a surface is insulative, static dissipative or conductive.

 

“Whether electrostatic discharge protection is architect-specified in a new building, added during renovation, or during ongoing maintenance, the sooner it gets done the sooner the facility’s production, people, and profits are protected from costly damage and disruption,” concludes Kistler.

 

For more info, call 201-660-7800; Fax 201-784-0620; email info@antistaticindustries.com; visit www.antistaticindustries.com; or write to Antistatic Industries, 224 Pegasus Ave., Northvale, NJ  07647 USA

Contact This Company

All Topics