Benefits of Static Dissipative Tile (SDT)

1. SDT dissipates any charge that is on your body when you come into the room. The charge has to get to the floor from your body. So if you are wearing rubber soles, sneakers or tennis shoes, the charge cannot get from your body to the floor. They are like an insulator. You need to have something conductive to get that charge from your body to the floor.
2. SDT also prevents charge build up as you walk across the floor. This is called tribo-electric charging. If you have rubber sole shoes on, you will tend to build up more charge than if you don’t. They are insulators. That is why we say to get the benefit of the floor, you should wear conductive footwear of some kind. (Will accumulate less 100 volts when wearing conductive footwear.)

With the use of static-sensitive electronic equipment in virtually every work environment, the control of electrostatic discharge (ESD) has become vitally important to production efficiency and cost containment – not only for the people who manufacture this equipment but also for those who use it.

In fact, the cost of ESD-caused information loss, disruption, and damage of microelectric components and equipment is currently estimated to be billions of dollars per year.

And these losses can be caused by relatively low ESD levels. A perceptible “static shock” – from a doorknob on a winter day, for example – is caused by a discharge of at least 3,000 volts. Compare that to the levels necessary to damage some common electronic components:

• Integrated circuit 500 volts
• Diode 300 volts
• Operational amplifier 200 volts
• Transistor 30 volts

In most work environments, the floor is the largest single surface and the primary source of static-charge buildup, so the floor covering must be a major consideration in any ESD-control program. Until recently, the typical solution has been to specify conductive tile floors, but these are frequently over engineered for the requirements of many applications.

The Excelon SDT system provides an alternative for most static-sensitive work environments. It’s the product of a new technology – a modified vinyl composition tile that removes the necessity for over engineered solutions and offers several distinct advantages over conductive tile, including improved appearance, easier installation, and better value.

Excelon SDT is not recommended for potentially explosive environments, like munitions plants, certain chemical-processing plants, or operating rooms where explosive gases are in use.

Excelon SDT is a complete three-part system – offering superior value in most applications, with excellent ESD control at lower installed cost than for conductive tile.

1. Excelon SDT Tile, offering the durability and maintainability of vinyl composition, plus integral static dissipative elements to provide ESD control through the entire thickness of the tile.
2. Armstrong Flooring S-202 Static Dissipative Tile Adhesive, with copper grounding strips, providing continuous static dissipation from tile to tile throughout the installation: a one-part latex adhesive offering faster, easier installation than the two-part epoxy systems used for most conductive tile floors.
3. Armstrong Flooring S-392 Static Dissipative Tile Polish, allowing regular maintenance to preserve the floor’s like-new appearance and providing a redundant static-control system that enhances the tile’s electrical properties.