ESD and Hand Tools

Last spring I came across an article in Conformity magazine that made me think about ESD risks [1].  The article described how hand tools can be a significant source of ESD when working on circuit boards.  Hand tools can be designed to minimize ESD, but your typical hardware store hand tools can be a significant source of ESD.  The insulative portion of a hand tool may acquire a static charge which then remains on the conductive metal part of the tool.  When the metal part of the tool comes in contact with a circuit, a discharge path is available, and an ESD event can occur.  A quick internet search on "ESD Safe Hand Tools" reveals that there are many different options available in hand tools that minimize ESD (usually by having a dissapative handle cover).  The article in Comformity describes a test methodology for testing your hand tools to determine if they are suitable for ESD sensitive environments [1].

[1] Prass, Tim. March 2009. "ESD Open Forum Compliance Verification Method for Common Hand Tools." Conformity. Vol. 14, Issue 3.