Where To Buy Anti Static Bubble Wrap

Hey, all. Since there were conflicting answers on the aluminum foil suggestion, I did a bit of poking around and discovered that Staples has anti-static bubble wrap -- -Anti-Stat... . Not the zero cost solution I was hoping for, but not too expensive and it should last me pretty much forever.

where to buy anti static bubble wrap

I've been working with computers for over 30 yrs now and hardly ever use any anti-static protection for anything. Why? Because the chance of static discharge that would cause such an event is SOOOOO freakin' rare. Unless of course you like to rub your feet on the carpet and poke someone's nose before you start working with your boards or chips.

I've had hundreds of units (mobo's, video cards, memory chips, etc.) laying in drawers, cabinets, shelves, etc. I can pick them up 10 years later, after they've been in 3 or 4 machines even, and they still work just fine. I've shipped umpteen times in bubble-wrap that was discharged by my own hand before packaging. I've stored and shipped items sandwiched between plain foam with no problems, EVER.

Its more about doing everything "correctly" so that you mitigate your own liability. I mean if a customer receives an item and damages it then claims it's your fault because you didn't use an anti-static bag, well let's not give a customer any such excuses as they already have enough.

THANK YOU!! Ive been selling hard drives on ebay for years, 700+ drives sold in the last 4 years alone. My rate of defect is less than 2% , and thats for ALL reasons. But, every once in a while i will get a message from some know it all who has "been in the business for 30+ years, and has never seen anyone ship hard drives so carelessly wrapped in bubblewrap without an anti-static bag."

Look for pink bubble wrap. Anti-static bags are usually plastic (PET) and have a distinctive color (silvery for Metallised film, pink or black for polyethylene). The polyethylene variant may also take the form of foam or bubble wrap, either as sheets or bags. Because of the need for protection against mechanical damage as well as electrostatic damage, layers of protection are often used; because of this, you might find:

Wikipedia says an anti-static bag is essentially a Faraday cage. Since you can make a Faraday box by covering a cardboard box with aluminum foil, it should be possible to make an anti-static enclosure by wrapping the item first in newspaper and then in aluminum foil. Then put this in a protective bag and whatever shipping protection is needed.

Antistatic bags (or any antistatic surfaces) fall into a strange space. The issue is like the Three Bears story with the porridge: one was too hot and one was too cold, the one in the middle was just right. Here the conductivity of the material is the factor - metal foil is just too conductive and can chafe off causing problems. You want something in the middle just enough conductive to dissipate the static but not too conductive or insulatative. You also need to worry about the material building a static charge. In your case the newspaper would do that.

Foil was used back before there was such a thing as astatic bags. I had CMOS chips stored for decades on my truck that only had foil around them. Later you got foil around the chip seated in conductive foam. Plastic tubes for chips came later. I'd wrap in foil, then paper to protect the foil. Certainly better then how I've gotten PC boards off eBay just dropped in a box with packing peanuts.

I've never heard of an anti-static vacuum bag, why would you use one? A vacuum by nature is a static charge collector (running it across the carpet or floor as an example). To protect one from a discharge when changing the bag? It serves no function to have an anti-static bag in it as far as I can see. Inside chip processing plants they don't use vacuums for cleaning only micro cloth dusters and special ones at that.

I have always used newspaper to set my electronics boards down on and even turn them on. Newspaper does not conduct electricity. I am not sure as far as its antistatic and shipping properties, though. Maybe someone else has had this experience as well?

Aluminium foil will protect against electrostatic discharge as well as, if not better than, an anti-static bag. (An anti-static bag is only slightly conductive, so a direct ESD event onto it can be transferred to the board inside.) But aluminium foil is NOT suitable for boards that have power sources, such as lithium backup cells, because it will short them out and discharge them if it makes contact with them. Boards containing supercaps for short-term backup are safe if the supercap is discharged.

You should do some reading - Any metal can be used to protect against an electrical discharge and you would only need a single layer that completely wraps around the thing you were trying to protect. Creating a faraday cage wikipedia info. You are correct as one of the reasons not to use foil is the risk of discharge of electrolytic capacitors as the foil is too conductive. The second is the risk of it shedding off and creating a short when the device is reused. Antistatic materials are conductive at the high voltages of a static discharge but also have some level of resistance so the will not sort out lower voltage devices or cause a discharge with capacitors. And yes, some antistatic material is better than other types: the Pink stuff is the lowest grade (good for packing, not for coverage) and the metalized bags are the best grade (good for coverage).

No your not correct here antistatic materials are conductive. I just put my Ohm meter across a black conductive PVC bag and a 3M metal film bag, granted the resistance was quite high. At a high energy of a static charge the charge will go around the surface. As for aluminium foil I didn't say it couldn't be used it's just not the best thing to use as it carries risks. As to the effect of layering it it makes no difference how many layers you use the effect of ESD dispersal only needs one layer and adding layers does not solve the chaffing of metal particles where the foil hits the exposed leads popping through the PCB. As to so called SuperCap's review this Super capacitors note they use an electrolytic hence they are an electrolytic type of capacitor which I was including in my comment by using the term electrolytic.

I would have thought the foil would be more conductive than the anti static bag? More worried it may short something out (well on a drive there is less chance) or that parts rip off and stay with the PCB

The risk is the bits of foil that come off and are left on the device once you power it up. While anti-static material is conductive (high voltage - Static) it is resistive (low voltages) as well so any bits left in most cases won't effect the devices operation.

Aluminum foil will give you too conductive a bag, not an anti-static bag. Similarly an anti-static wrist band is not just a metal connection to ground. On the contrary the purpose is to SLOWLY discharge the high voltage across a high resistance. Fast discharge could do the opposite of the intention, create damage where it wouldn't have occurred otherwise.

Recommended use: For fragile and static sensitive electronics such as flat screen TVs, speakers, computers. This bubble wrap is anti-static, perfect for electronics or other delicate items.

Packing R Us Packing Supplies meet all your wrapping requirements for your most fragile and delicate items. Whether you're moving offices, shipping a gift to a loved one with our UPS, FedEx, and USPS compatible boxes, or storing we have bubble wrap, foam wrap, peanuts to packing tape ranging in a variety of sizes. Our bubble wrap is 3 times stronger than any other on the market! It's Efficient, economical, and provides surface protection from scratches, denting, and chipping. A must when wrapping all your fragile items, such as: glasses, cups, plates, china, electronics, Laptop, TV, framed pictures, wine bottles, mirrors. Large bubble wrap can also be used as filler in moving boxes.

EDCO Supply Corporation is one of the largest manufacturers and converters of static shielding bags. Our static shield bags are static-safe and testable to any industry standard, and they can be printed with or without an ESD warning symbol. We also manufacture pink anti-static bags and tubing.

A single layer might be used just as a surface protective layer. Anti-Static Bubble wrap is commonly formed from poly film with a rounded side bonded to a flat side to form air bubbles. The bubbles that deliver the cushioning for breakable or sensitive objects are generally obtainable in different sizes, depending on the size of the object being packed, as well as the level of cushioning protection that is needed. Some types of bubble wrap have a higher penetration barrier film to allow longer lifetime and endurance to loss of air in vacuums. Evenly spaced, protruding air-filled bubbles deliver cushioning for breakable items. Anti-Static Bubble wrap is a flexible transparent plastic substance used for packing breakable items. Multiple layers might be needed to deliver shock and vibration isolation. Bubble wrap is used to form some types of mailing envelopes.

Type C FIBC bags are made with different types of fibers, chosen for their conductivity, that are woven together and meet up at a grounding point. The ESD Association defines conductive materials as a material that has a surface resistance of less than 1.0 104 ohms or volume resistance of less than 1.0 104 ohms . Bags made out of these materials must always be grounded first with an undamaged grounding point. It is similar to antistatic wrist straps used when handling electronic components like motherboards or circuit boards. Conductive bags are typically used to transport flammable powders or when in close proximity to flammable gases, vapors or combustible dusts.

Anti static bulk bags allow for proper handling of combustible or hazardous materials. They are also suited for environments where flammable gases are present. There are some pros and cons to consider when purchasing anti static bags. 041b061a72