Consider Desco Europe Combo Tester X3, Europe
- Do your personnel grounding devices, wrist straps and/or ESD footwear meet EN 61340-5-1?
- Are your workers testing in the most efficient way, resulting in increased productivity and reduced queues?
Consider using a modern tester that performs all three tests at once, wrist strap and both foot grounders, in less than three seconds.
The Desco Europe Combo Tester X3 verifies the functionality of an operator's wrist strap and footwear. This tester can be used to test the wrist strap or ESD footwear such as foot grounders, or both. It determines if an operator's wrist strap and footwear will act as a path-to-ground and ensures the presence of a current-limiting resistance in the personnel grounding devices. The operator's wrist strap and footwear (both feet) will test simultaneously with no need for separate tests. Green LEDs illuminate indicating that the wrist strap and footwear are within resistance limits and are passing. Red LEDs illuminate and an audible alarm sounds indicating when the wrist strap and/ or footwear (left or right) are failing. If a failure occurs, the Combo Tester X3 will also display if the personnel grounding device's resistance is too low or too high.
The Combo Tester X3 features a long-lasting reliable and durable solid state switch which replaces the traditional mechanical test switch that has a spring and moving parts. The outer and inner portions of the solid state switch are designed to be bridged by a person's skin.
Each Combo Tester X3 is calibrated with accepted procedures and standards traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and includes a NIST certificate. Factory test limits are set to an upper limit of 35 megohms and a lower limit of 750 kilohms for both wrist straps and footwear, consistent with EN 61340-5-1.
The personnel grounding devices (wrist strap and ESD footwear) are to be tested while worn by the operator. The Combo Tester X3 meets the EN 61340-5-1 Annex A Test methods, and can be used as one of the tools to fulfill EN 61340-5-1 Compliance verification requirements "Process monitoring (measurements) shall be conducted in accordance with a compliance verification plan that identifies the technical requirements to be verified, the measurement limits and the frequency at which those verifications must occur. ... Compliance verification records shall be established and maintained to provide evidence of conformity to the technical requirements. The test equipment selected shall be capable of making the measurements defined in the compliance verification plan."
"Wrist straps should be tested periodically. The frequency of testing, however, is driven by the amount of usage, wear and ESD risk exposure that can occur between tests. For example, what is the quantity of product handled between test periods? Typical test programs recommend that wrist straps that are used daily should be tested daily. However, if the products that are being produced are of such value that a guarantee of a continuous, reliable ground is needed then continuous monitoring should be considered or even required." (CLC TR 61340-5-2 User guide Wrist Strap clause 4.7.2.4.4 Test frequency) "The operator shall wear the wrist strap in the normal position and plug the free end of the cord into the test apparatus. The hand contact plate shall be pressed to verify that the wrist strap system resistance is within acceptable parameters. The test apparatus can be an integrated, commercially available tester or other Instrumentation that is capable of measuring resistance from 5,0 x 104 ohms to at least 1,0 x 108 ohms. The tester open-circuit voltage is typically between 9 V d.c. and 100 V d.c." (EN 61340-5-1 Annex A Test method A.1 Measurement method for wrist strap testing).
"The operator shall stand with one foot on the conductive footwear electrode. The hand contact plate shall be pressed to verify that the person footwear system resistance is within acceptable parameters. The test shall be repeated for the other foot. The test apparatus can be an integrated, commercially available tester or other instrumentation that is capable of measuring resistance from 5,0 x 104 ohms to at least 1,0 x 108 ohms. The tester open-circuit voltage is typically between 9 V d.c. and 100 V d.c." (EN 61340-5-1 Annex A Test method A.2 Measurement procedure for footwear testing).
EN 61340-5-1 requires the testing of personnel grounding devices while worn. Efficient and accurate testing of wrist straps and ESD footwear can be accomplished simultaneously and test all three tests at once, wrist strap and both foot grounders, in less than three seconds. Have your workers testing in the most efficient way increasing productivity and reducing queues. This can even reduce the number of testers required for your operation. Consider the Desco Europe Combo Tester X3, Europe.