packaing DIP and SOIC parts --- antistatic concert

[Dennis Hui]

Hello,

What is a good way of sealing the ends of the plastic tubes that
8-DIP and SOIC parts come in? I'll be shipping out a bunch
of such parts. I've seen rubber bands used when I ordered opamps
from Digikey. That works because of the shape of the 8-DIP plastic
tube. The SOIC tube is much smoother. I'm wondering if it's
ok to just wrap the two ends with aluminium foil before putting the
tube in an antistatic bag.

What about taping the tube ends closed with an antistatic shield
grid tape, something like this:

http://www.desco.com/ViewProduct.aspx?pid=81250&h=1123

Will this work or will it cause more problem when the tape
is removed?

Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dennis

[Tom2]

I've seen IC tubes use rubber stopper plugs.
Another method is plastic pins that are pushed through holes
at the end of the tube.

Maybe you could make (or use the existing) holes at the end of the tubes
and use a ty-wrap at each end through the holes to keep the IC's from falling out. --- Just an idea.

Tom

[pinkmouse]

Wrapping in foil works, and is cheap and simple. If the tube is much longer than the chips enclosed, you can also just squash the end closed with a pair of pliers.

[BrianDonegan]

I ship them all the time, and typically just use paper-based masking tape to seal the ends.

I cut the rails with a hot-wire cutter, which you can also use to seal the ends, but it can get pretty smelly.

I also have been using small anti-static boxes in some cases, with antistatic foam in them. I got a few hundred from here and cut foam to fit inside. For an idea of size, I can fit a PGA2311, 3 8-pin dips, 3 8-pin sockets and a G6H relay in each box, but they are still quite small.

[BWRX]

You can use rubber bands on SOIC tubes. Just make sure it's tight. I also like to tape the rubber band to the tube near the ends of the tube for a little extra security. If the tube is small just close the ends with tape.

[theAnonymous1]

This thread poses a good question....... How concerned should a person really be about ESD?

I've been building/working on computers for about 10 years. I have never once used a grounding strap or ESD pad while working on a PC and almost all the parts I have are just piled up in boxes without anti-static bags. I have never killed any PC parts by ESD, nor have I ever had a dead PC part that I would even suspect of ESD damage.

I've only been DIYing other forms of electronics for a few years, but I haven't had any problems with IC's dieing from ESD, and I am pretty care free about the way I handle them.

I'm not saying there isn't any real risk; I know there is, but it seems some go a bit overboard with ESD safety measures.

I know, I know...... better safe than sorry.

[BrianDonegan]

I really depends on the components in question.

MOSFETs are particularly susceptable to ESD damage, whereas BJTs and JFETs are not (not immune, however).

I would say any MOSFET or ICs with MOSFET inputs or outputs (some opamps, drivers, etc) should get more extreme attention as far as ESD is concerned. All else should get care, but you don;t need to be quite as particular.

[Dennis Hui]

Hello,

Thank you very much for all your responses.
The part in question is the LM4562 opamp.
The datasheet shows an ESD Susceptibility
of 2000V, but only 100-200V on the pins.

I guess a bit of care is probably required.

Thanks again.

Dennis