An Electrostatic Protected Area

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EPA can function both in a small working environment and in a large manufacturing area. These zones provide safe environment for both operators and electrostatically sensitive devices and components, such as integrated circuits that are susceptible to ESD damage. Equipment or products used in EPA should be certified and should comply with the international standard IEC-61340-1-5 to ensure safe electrostatically controlled environment.

Anything that does not easily dissipate charge must be excluded from the EPA. Using the EPA System we are able to control static electricity at all levels of the protected space. Employees and other conductive or dissipative objects should be electrically bonded together and connected to the ground (or common connection point when ground is not available) to equalize the electrical potential between the objects.

EPA ZONE

What is an electrostatically protected area – EPA?

An electrostatically protected area, also known as EPA, is a designated area where electrostatics are controlled in accordance with dedicated regulations. An electrostatically safe handling area may be a cabinet, room or other designated area where no “static field” greater than 100V should be present. Within this designated area, all electrostatically sensitive (ESD) surfaces, objects, people, and devices are kept at the same electrical potential – all surfaces, products and people are connected to the ground. Linking means connection, usually through a resistance between 1 and 10 MΩ.

Purpose of using EPA System

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can damage electronic components and products. It is the hidden enemy of many high-tech factories. Often these damages cannot be detected by quality control inspections and their negative effects may only become apparent after some time has elapsed. ESD damage can negatively impact product quality and reliability, therefore reputation and profitability of the company. EPA is an area that has been established for the effective control of ESD and hence its aim is to avoid all problems arising from ESD failures.

Our goal is to meet the needs of our partners, create unique solutions and, above all, guarantee high quality of services. The safety of our customers’ designs is our priority and that’s why we operate strictly in accordance with the EPA System in our technology park.

Manufacturing cycle

Nordes offers a comprehensive range of services throughout the product life cycle: from product development, through product design, equipment manufacturing, to after-sales service.