Dave's Benchtop is all crusty... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 08:57:00 am
content: OK, this has bothered me for a while. Has anyone else noticed that Dave'sconductivestatic dissipative mat has gone a kind of crusty green sort of colour (supplier linked in down below)? 'Twas a nice vibrate blue colour.If I recall correctly, Dave installed the current ESD matting back in episode 679 (uploaded 02/11/2014). But less than a year later, it's looking a bit sad (as at episode 810, uploaded 21/10/2015). What's causing the colour fading? Does the green or grey matting fare any better?(Matting:http://www.oritech.com.au/productDetail.aspx?productID=20508&name=ESD-Mat-Dual-Layer-600mm-X-10M-Blue)

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:07:56 am
content: Could that just be lighting/colour balance?(never noticed that, it does look duller)

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:10:23 am
content: Quote from: crispy_tofu on October 27, 2015, 09:07:56 amWhite balance looks pretty close in both shots to me :-)I happen to like blue; not so much green.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:14:46 am
content: I'm only guessing here but didn't he change the lighting and probably the camera during those time periods, this could explain why it looks a bit darker, again just a stab in the dark and not easy to tell from where I'm standing, in the dark with a migraine.....An off cut tucked away in a drawer somewhere might come in handy about now for comparison.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:18:06 am
content: It does look like it has yellowed. I know vinyl is hard to keep from yellowing. I wonder if the rubber (or whatever is used) in that mat has a similar problem.

author: andtfoot
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:18:35 am
content: The stuff I have at work here I think was grey, but has now more of a brown tinge after 6 months or so. I guess they just fade over time.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 09:51:22 am
content: It's not the white balance, it's actually the rubber changing colour.Here is a shot of my mailbag bench that was covered for most of the time with a big plastic tub of magazines.You can see the curved corner of the box. That dark was not used, it has just magically darkened. It's actually worse than this photo shows.I can only conclude that is UV/whatever exposure from the studio LED lights above.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 10:01:53 am
content: That's not right at all, your trademark toe in the shot is missing......

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 10:06:11 am
content: I'd be interested to find out more of the science behind it. Is it UV from your LED lights? If so, how much is being emitted? Is it the same effect that we see with old electronics (being yellowed by UV exposure reacting with the bromide)? Could it be due to certain chemicals out-gassing from the rubber itself?

author: Tim F
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 10:19:44 am
content: I have the exact same antistatic matting that Dave does and mines gone green as well. It must be UV sensitive because underneath equipment it's still blue. Mine only ever sees indirect sunlight.

author: Muttley Snickers
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 10:35:26 am
content: It does look pretty terrible actually going by Dave's picture, could this be classed as a defect and potential warranty claim?, I dont know their policy that's why I'm asking.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 10:50:36 am
content: Quote from: Muttley Snickers on October 27, 2015, 10:35:26 amI doubt it. Australian Consumer Law allows for protection against products that aren't "fit for purpose" (among other things). So unless the ESD properties have failed, good luck getting it replaced. I very much doubt colour would fall under the "durability" rule either.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 11:08:39 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on October 27, 2015, 09:51:22 amWhat brand is it? I hope the ESD matting is NOT from Oritech, which you did a nice blog on. Based upon that blog, I spent a small fortune recently on a big roll of that stuff, but have not rolled it out yet (new benches to be built).Also, depending upon the LED lights you are using, they might be emitting some UV. In any case if only a small amount of UV that is is making your once blue matting change colour, the matting is a dud.I like the appearance of the blue matting from Oritech. I hope it stays blue and does not go snot colour.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 11:11:11 am
content: So long as it is still static dissipative and isn't emitting some horrible plasticiser gas, it wouldn't worry me, I am more interested in what is on top of it!

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 11:14:51 am
content: Quote from: Tim F on October 27, 2015, 10:19:44 amWhere did you get the matting from Tim? I am getting worried. I am considering putting in skylights in the lab that filter out 95% of the UV. But if the 5% UV from the harsh Australian sun change the colour of the matting, I will use LED lights instead that have practically no UV component - if I can find some.I dislike snot green, but hate inconsistency in colour. Pure blue is very nice. It might not matter to some, but a show-piece electronics bench is a lot more appealing than a couple of planks painted in pea soup green on top of some packing cases.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 11:18:19 am
content: Quote from: VK3DRB on October 27, 2015, 11:14:51 amAs far as I know Dave is using the Oritech stuff. Plus his lab has no windows so any UV is being generated by whatever office lighting he has + the LED lights he installed. Forgive me if I'm wrong but most modern lights these days are very low in UV emissions so the fading might just happen overtime regardless.

author: crispy_tofu
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 11:22:20 am
content: It's also probably a bit of dirt as well, not just UV...

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 11:26:19 am
content: Quote from: crispy_tofu on October 27, 2015, 11:22:20 amIt seems pretty uniform though, even under the shaded area covered by shelves. It's not limited to areas where palms and elbows rest constantly. This indicates to me less of a UV/wear issue but more of an off-gassing issue on areas exposed to the regular atmosphere (as opposed to areas covered by equipment/objects where the discolouration happens more slowly).If my initial theory is correct you'll see a far more "gradient" effect under the step-down transformer on the left than you would under the device on the right. (See attached). Both are shaded by the shelf above and any UV is likely to be negligible, but one has better airflow than the other.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 11:46:06 am
content: Quote from: VK3DRB on October 27, 2015, 11:08:39 amSorry, it is from Oritech.

author: deadlylover
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2015, 01:10:34 pm
content: I got mine from Mektronics, and it's probably the same stuff that Oritech sells.It's only 11 months old so it still looks pretty good, there's a window on the far side of the room so it doesn't get much sunlight at all, and the lighting is just normal fluorescent tubes.I swear to god this is impossible to photograph, but mine is also starting to discolour in 'strips' along the whole 4 metre length of the mat so it's not like I left some equipment on the table or anything. I tried to point out the borders with the red lead bendy things, it kind of looks like a shadow but it's the actual mat.

author: mswhin63
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 28, 2015, 12:47:39 pm
content: I wonder how much dusting Dave does. Looks like a load of build up to me, not discolouration.Bit of a clean, might bring it back.