DIY ionizer for ESD discarge protection - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2013, 05:06:37 pm
content: hi guysi've heard that ionizer protect your work area from static discarge.look for a professional product bust cost a loooot of money.look for non professional thing and are just crap!so, i've searched a schematic, very simple for a full wave ionizer.i've alredy built it and it work... i'm gonna to upload photos and accurate description soon.also, it will help for soldering fumes!

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2013, 05:34:43 pm
content: wrong. That is a misconception.Ionizers make the air around you conductive by charging the air particles. ( ionizing )if you have a surface that is non-conductive , and can absorb a charge , this ionized air may actually charge that surface , thus creating an ESD problem !to use ionizers you need to understand multiple things first1) they are only effective if all your work surfaces are dissipative. if there is no galvanic contact by itself then , and only then, will the ionized air act as a charge balancer between the isolated elements. the ionized air becomes to 'shorting element' creating the equipotential plane.but you need all the surface to be able to distribute the charge. an isolated element in the whole setup will accumulate a charge .2) if you are dealing with an environment where there is friction induced charge generation then yuo can use the ionizer to 'discharge' but you need to know what the polarity is of the generated charge and you need to set the ionizer to the opposite polarity.... otherwise you only aggravate the problem.3) this polarity is a problem. real ionizers produce both positive and negative ions so they can kill off both types of charge.4) the fact that both types of ions are produced means that the effective range of such a machine is very small. as the air travels the charged molecules hit each other and balance the charge away.... at half a meter distance the ionizing is gone and the air has returned to non-conductive... so these machines work only at close proximity.5) flowing air in itself can create a charge as the molecules causes friction against any surface they hit. so you create a charge free zone inside the ionized range. outside the ionized range the airflow itself will create charge ....ionizers for esd should be kept out of the hands of people who are not familiar with the matter as they tend to make a situation worse and give a false sense of security.... you need to know what you are doing to effectively use these machines.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2013, 07:40:06 pm
content: polarity story doesn't make sensei need to watch on books, but friction generated electrostatic energy are a separation of charge, so half positive and half negative.i've esd mat on the workbench, on the floor. esd hand discarger, esd bracelet and all the shelves are grounded.if fact, i've do it only because i found ionizer funny

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2013, 11:20:28 pm
content: friction generated static charge : one side will hold electrons, other side will loose electrons.so if the material building a charge is an electron donor it will be charged positively.so you need to apply air containing excess of electrons to 'null it out'.it depends on the material if they become a donor or acceptor for electrons.

author: ddavidebor
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 12, 2013, 04:52:23 am
content: Just make contact between the two side