Looking for recommendations for large ESD mat - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: warpigs330
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2025, 06:32:38 pm
content: I am working on setting up my lab in a new house. I have a work surface that is 34" x 104" (86.36cm x 264.16cm) that I want to cover with an ESD mat. I bought one from this ebay seller:https://www.ebay.com/str/canvu00but I ended up getting the wrong size and the edges don't stay flat, they curl upward, so I am going to return it.Here's a photo of the curled edges:https://photos.app.goo.gl/K5XCvxb3eEGLcWuGAThis mat has been sitting on my desk for over a week and has gotten no better. Also it was shipped rolled in the opposite direction, so this isn't just a curl from getting rolled up.Since I am going to return this mat anyway, I figured I would ask around here to see if anyone has recommendations for where to get high quality custom sized ESD mats that actually lie flat on the table. FWIW I am in Georgia in the U.S.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2025, 08:33:28 pm
content: Can you not glue the edges down? That would also prevent it from sliding if you put sideways pressure on it.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 18, 2025, 08:43:14 pm
content: I always attach ESD mats with double sided adhesive tape. All edges completely attached and a few strips in the middle, it makes it last virtually forever. If you do not attach it, it's basically guaranteed that mat edges where you place your hands will curl in <2 years of daily use as your main desk and become real bad in 3 years. Tape in the middle is to prevent it forming a bubble due to it expanding due to oil absorption that comes from your hands. Not attaching it is only good if you just place some some stuff on it but do not sit at that table.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2025, 09:17:44 pm
content: I bought my anti static mat from Aliexpress, long time ago, from a huge roll (the material was mostly flat, curved a little towards the downwards, not upwards, and it flattened itself with time, standard width and you can order as many meters as you need). You have to wash it first, then wait a few days for the rubber smell to go away.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/anti-static-mat-smell/msg1022725/#msg1022725Make sure you buy a rubber mat, not a vinyl mat. Rubber mats can withstand a (continuously) heated blob of melted solder, and can withstand to accidental piercing or cutting. Vinyl mats instantly melt when touched with a hot soldering iron, and are easily cut and pierced by any metal tools.Aside from that, my advice is to NOT get a mat at all. Use just a big sheet of white paper as a mat, or reuse the back of a wall calendar page, etc. Unless you are in a very dry climate and wear rubber boots on synthetic carpet, you won't need any anti static mat or anti static bracelet.But if you install a mat on your bench you'll have a huge thermal mass, and charge mass in the mat itself, which will always influence your circuits (will couple with the circuits under test and will induce extra hum and other noises). And it has some thermal inertia too, so you may get strange effects for thermally sensitive circuits. And it has a color that will make harder to spot components and tools laid on the bench (when compared with a white background bench). And, most of all, if you touch the mat with the hand, any sensitive circuit will feel that too, capacitively. And you have to clean it. And with time will get ugly stains (while the sheet of paper is consumable, can be replaced after a while). Plus, if you use a paper instead, you can lift the paper and throw away all the bits of wire (and garbage leftovers) from the desk, cleaning the bench instantly.An anti static mat is a royal pain, and for no real benefit (unless you want to protect your bench against acid spills, which is mostly never needed in electronic work). I have an anti static mat laid on one of the benches, but I avoid that bench, I don't use the anti static mat. I use A3 or A4 paper instead, and replace the sheet of paper with a new one when it gets too dirty.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2025, 09:24:48 pm
content: It may not be a good idea, but I like using a sheet of not-crunchy black ESD foam as a mat. It also works to hold leaded parts in place until I use them.

author: MarkF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2025, 09:31:40 pm
content: I bought a Sierra - FT Series 2-Layer Rubber ESD Mat, 24" x 48" x .080" from All-Spec (Hisco) in March 2016. It has stayed flat and looks like new. They now have one that is2-Layer Diss/Cond Textured Heavy Duty Rubber Worktop Cut Mat, Dark Blue, 30" x 72" x .080". It's going to be pricey. My smaller one was $54.They also have 36" wide and longer rolls if 72" won't suffice.I like their dark blue color.Edit:I found an old photo taken in 2022, when the mat was 6 years old (granted lite use). I just laid it on the table when it was new without any thing holding it down. It has stayed flat and doesn't move around. This is the dark blue color.

author: RoGeorge
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 18, 2025, 10:02:04 pm
content: Found the order from 2016, and a detail photo with the peeled layers.The seller description was:Type :Anti-static Mat60cm x 100cmThickness: 2mmWeight: 1850grams / 1.85kgTemp resistance: 380c