What is an ESD Footwear Tester?
A footwear electrostatic discharge (ESD) tester is an instrument used to test and verify the electrostatic discharge (ESD) resistance of footwear (such as shoes and heel grounding pads/straps). Its main purpose is to ensure that the resistance of footwear worn by individuals is within specified limits, preventing static electricity buildup and related ESD risks.
What are ESD Shoes?
ESD footwear refers to specialized footwear designed to control electrostatic discharge (ESD). The main categories of ESD shoes include:
Antistatic Shoes: These shoes have excellent conductivity, effectively dissipating static electricity from the human body.
Antistatic Soles/Insoles: These conductive soles or insoles can be used in conjunction with antistatic shoes to further enhance static control.
ESD Shoe Covers: These shoe covers can be worn over ordinary shoes to provide static control capabilities for footwear that does not have inherent ESD protection.
ESD Heel Straps (Heel Grounding/Sole Grounding): Wearing this conductive ankle strap allows for rapid discharge of static electricity from the human body.
How to Test Antistatic Shoes?
An ESD footwear tester can quickly and easily test the grounding effectiveness of ESD-resistant shoes, ensuring the effectiveness of electrostatic control measures.
Ground the ESD footwear tester to a reliable grounding point.
Wear anti-static shoes, ensuring good skin contact.
Stand on the ground.
Press the test button and observe the reading on the display.
The reading should be between 750 kΩ and 35 MΩ, indicating good grounding performance.
Readings outside this range mean the shoes need to be replaced or repaired.
Use the SL-031 personnel grounding tester.