What are antistatic pliers for?

[Dieselman 63]

Found these for sale - they look good and I might get a few pairs:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/building-...15.htm?rsqid=aa0f572a54ca4aee80c69cda9c3650b0

But what's so special about antistatic that normal VDE doesn't offer?

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Would assume for working on computers and other equipment susceptible to static discharge damage.

 

[Parm]

VDE if I’m right offers electrical insulation and allows you to work on live electrics. I’m sure an electrical person will be along to correct me if I’m wrong

Anti static tools on the other hand are used in very sensitive electronics work where static electricity make damage components. They must be used as part of a range of control measures which can include matting, earthed tables, shoe grounding and wrist straps. Quite common in F1 electronics and aerospace industries.

Usually good quality stuff and at that price I’d have a pair

 

[eLuSiVeMiTe]

Think I used my antistatic bracelet once working on PCs. Got in the habit of unplugging and mashing the power button to drain then making a conscious effort to earth myself occasionally. Never did any damage.

 

[rtbcomp]

A cousin of mine was careers officer at a school and she took some students round the Ferranti factory in Manchester where all the assembly workers wore ant-static bracelets.

She actually asked a manager there why all the employees were shackled to their benches.

 

[julianf]

I have a case for electronic components that is an expensive anti static unit, and I thought that it was the exact oposit of what parm suggests!

(But I don't know, I just think! : )

I think the anti static stuff is not insulating, but conductive. Possibly at a reduced rate or something, but I thought the whole point was to limit the buildup of charge, by allowing an exit for the electrons. Or at least allowing everything to stay at the same level of charge, so no PD?

Like I say, I don't know - thats just what I assumed.

 

[rtbcomp]

^^ Spot on. The handles will most likely be resistive, low enough to dissipate static but high enough to prevent electric shock.

 

[Robotstar5]

NWS are a good quality make, got a couple of pairs of VDE sidecutters made by them.

 

[awemawson]

Think I used my antistatic bracelet once working on PCs. Got in the habit of unplugging and mashing the power button to drain then making a conscious effort to earth myself occasionally. Never did any damage.

I used to think like that until I saw a video of damage to i/c's internal metalisation from static discharges when I worked at Ferranti's. Under a high power microscope you could see that the widths of some 'tracks' were reduced to virtually nothing and the i/c still worked until it changed temperature marginally and then died. Zaps don't kill necessarily at the time of zapping, but reduce reliability dramatically

 

[skotl]

I used to think like that until I saw a video of damage to i/c's internal metalisation from static discharges when I worked at Ferranti's. Under a high power microscope you could see that the widths of some 'tracks' were reduced to virtually nothing and the i/c still worked until it changed temperature marginally and then died. Zaps don't kill necessarily at the time of zapping, but reduce reliability dramatically

Exactly that. I saw similar photos "back in the day" and they looked like these black and white photos of train tracks going into a bomb crater - the track still technically worked, but was a 50th of its width where it had been blown.
So for me it wasn't that static would immediately kill a component but that it would drastically reduce its lifespan.

That said, as elusivemite said, there are other ways to protect the components - I would use a conductive foam mat, or the side of a PC, to place the components / boards down after I had earthed myself by touching the case / PSU. I'd do that even with an antistatic strap so that the component was at the same potential.

 

[Parm]

I have a case for electronic components that is an expensive anti static unit, and I thought that it was the exact oposit of what parm suggests!

(But I don't know, I just think! : )

I think the anti static stuff is not insulating, but conductive. Possibly at a reduced rate or something, but I thought the whole point was to limit the buildup of charge, by allowing an exit for the electrons. Or at least allowing everything to stay at the same level of charge, so no PD?

Like I say, I don't know - thats just what I assumed.

I only said VDE stuff offers insulation

Antistatic stuff needs to be grounded for it to work

 

[GW8IZR]

I only said VDE stuff offers insulation

Antistatic stuff needs to be grounded for it to work

Antistatic precautions maintain an equal potential, it doesn't really matter what that potential is. You can of course observe antistatic precautions on an aeroplane where no 'ground' exists. When a body / component / sub assembly exits or enters an anti static environment precautions to equalize the potential are necessary. Its very easy to damage a component when not taking that precaution.