Using ESD Smocks in Your ESD Protected Area

Purpose of ESD smocks

The main reason people wear ESD smocks is to shield their insulative clothing and minimize the electric fields generated from their clothing. As we learned previously, all process essential insulators should be kept at a minimum distance of 12 inches from ESD susceptible items. Clothing fabric, particularly when made from synthetic fibres, is a significant charge generator. Non-ESD clothing fabric is an isolated charged insulator which cannot be grounded and the resulting charges can threaten ESD control.

An insulator (like clothing) will not let charges flow and holds the charge until either neutralized naturally over time (hours or days) or with an air ionizer (artificially under a few seconds). Until the charges are neutralized, your clothing may have several thousand volts that could suddenly discharge and damage nearby static-sensitive items.

The ESD Standard does not require ESD smocks, however they are a very practical solution for minimizing ESD events from a person’s clothing. ESD smocks can be an important step to demonstrating commitment to an ESD control program.