constant monitors

Reliable performance of ESD matting and ESD wrist straps is critical for your product’s integrity and reliability. But the hand testing and hand logging of wrist straps and tabletop material performance that is required is a cumbersome, labor-intensive paperwork nightmare. Use of our ESD wrist strap and ESD bench mat monitors continuously verifies the effectiveness of your ESD protected workstation, simultaneously satisfies ISO logging requirements and insures outstanding product quality.

Operators plug their ESD coil cord into the grounding jack of the constant monitor right at their workstation. The constant monitor grounds the wrist strap and simultaneously monitors for faults in the ground path from the strap to the earth ground, including proper contact with the operators skin. A proper working ground path results in the LED on the constant monitor to glow green (indicating GOOD). If a fault is detected, the LED will blink red (indicating FAULT), and the unit will repeatedly beep.

Types of Constant Monitors

Capacitance (or single wire) constant monitors
This type of monitor is simplest and most cost-effective constant monitor. When a person is wearing the single wire wrist strap the monitor detects the person and puts the monitor in the unalarmed state. The monitor circuit detects a person (a conductive object) and its relationship to ground (another conductive object).  View our Capacitance Monitors.

Impedance (or single wire) constant monitors
The impedance monitor uses a detection circuit designed to reduce false alarms and eliminate adjustments. It uses the phase difference between current and voltage to detect changes in impedance of the cord, band and person. A very low AC voltage is used for constant sensing. Any standard wristband and coiled cord can be used.

Resistance (or Dual Wire) constant monitors
This type of monitor is used with a two wire (dual conductor) wrist strap. When a person is wearing a wrist strap, the monitor observes the resistance of the loop, consisting of a wire, a person, a wristband, and a second wire. If any part of the loop should open (become disconnected or have out of limit resistance), the circuit will go into the alarm state. An important feature of the Dual Wire Wrist Strap is that even if one conductor is severed, the operator has reliable path-to-ground with other wire.  View our Resistance Monitors.

Resistance Monitoring
Resistance based monitoring is the most complete wrist strap monitoring system available. Workstations using resistance monitors are almost never at risk. Basic systems use impedance technology and single wire wrist straps which can be easily fooled. If a wrist strap is worn incorrectly, the monitor can still register a “pass” condition or if the wire of the wrist strap is severed the workstation could be put at risk for ESD damage. Dual conductor wrist bands offer fail safe protection because the monitor will alarm if the operator looses contact with one ground wire. It is very rare to loose both ground wires at the same time, so the workstation is still protected even during a alarm condition. The CM2800 series from Transforming Technologies is a high quality resistance monitor and provides continuous monitoring of two operators, two mats, or two grounded workstation tools.

CM2800 Dual Wire Constant Monitor

A New Cost Effective Source
For many years, resistance monitoring and dual conductor products were limited to mainly 3M.  But  Transforming Technologies now offers a value alternative for these premium 3M* dual conductor products. We incorporate the best design elements of expired patent # 5,018,044 with our own experience making premium quality ESD products to produce the WB5000, WB7000 to be used with the resistance monitor CM2800 series. Transforming Technologies and 3M’s dual conductor products are functionally equivalent*. The wrist bands, coil cords and resistance monitors can be used together in any combination!

Both 3M and Transforming Technologies’ Speidel metal band feature two 180 de-gree conductive paths around the wrist, providing maximum skin contact. The expandable band is constructed with two stainless steel back plates and is available in small, medium and large sizes.

Transforming Technologies and 3M’s fabric wrist strap features a band made of a silver plated, monofilament, continuous thread woven together with elastic nylon to maintain full conductivity, comfort and reliability, while providing rapid and con-tinuous drain of static charge.

Coil Cords
Used in conjunction with dual conductor constant workstation monitors, Transforming Technologies’ CC3000 series dual conductor coil cords provide unmatched reliability and value. A double insulated jacket provides incredible durability and a wide diameter straight plug makes it easy to insert and remove the cord from a remote input jack. The coil cord come standard in 5’, 10’ or 12’ lengths and are functionally equivalent to the 3M coil cords.

*Compatibility with particular resistance monitors should be verified.

For information on resistance monitoring, dual conductor grounding products or any general questions, please contact Transforming Technologies at 419-841-9552 or email at info@transforming-technologies.com.

Constant Monitors are excellent tools for static control and should be considered for any grounded workstation.  ESD Constant monitors reduce production costs by eliminating the time spent on testing wrist straps before each shift. Further savings may be realized by reduced ESD damage from malfunctioning wrist straps. But a quick web search results in a dizzying amount of options.  The following article outlines the important considerations when choosing an ESD Constant Monitor.   For more information, please read “Survey of Constant (Continuous) Monitors for Wrist Straps” in the ANSI/ESD S20.20.

Type of Constant Monitors:

There are several types of constant monitors available. Understanding the different technologies used for constant monitoring will make your decision easier.  For the purpose of this article, we will be reviewing the two most common types:  Impedance and Resistance Monitors.

Impedance (or single wire) constant monitors
Impedance monitors use a very low AC voltage to detect a person though a single wrist strap. When a person is attached and the wrist strap is functioning, the monitor is in an unalarmed state. The impedance monitor uses the phase difference between current and voltage to detect changes in impedance of the cord, band and person. A detection circuit is used to reduce false alarms and eliminate adjustments. These types of monitors list anywhere from $30-$100 and any standard wristband and coil cord can be used. The CM400 series from Transforming Technologies are single wire impedance monitors.

Single Wire Constant Monitor CM420

Resistance (or Dual Wire) constant monitors
This type of monitor is used with a two wire (dual conductor) wrist strap. When a person is wearing a wrist strap, the monitor observes the resistance of the ground loop, consisting of a wire, a person, a wrist-band, and a second wire. If any part of the loop should open (become disconnected or have out of limit resistance), the circuit will go into the alarm state. An important feature of the dual wire wrist strap is that even if one conductor is severed, the operator has reliable path-to-ground with other wire.  These types of monitors range from $80-$200 and must use dual wire wrist straps. The CM2800 series from Transforming Technologies area full line a Resistance Monitors and can be used with most commercially available dual wire wrist straps.

CM2800 Constant Monitor

Monitoring Features:

Constant monitors can be very simple, or can be loaded with bells and whistles depending on the application. The following are some common features:

Work surface Monitoring: An option available with some constant monitors is the ability to monitor work surface ground connections.
Tool Monitoring: Constant monitors may also monitor grounded equipment  in a manner similar to work surfaces.
Data logging: Some monitoring systems have data recording capabilities.
Adjustable Alarms: Some monitors allow users to set the alarm parameters in order to satisfy higher ESD standards.
Alarm Accessories: Display modules, external relays and sirens are available for specific applications.

Conclusion:

Constant monitors are reliable, money saving devices used ensure elements of a workstation are grounded. Single wire monitors, such as the CM400 series from Transforming Technologies use single wire wrist straps and impedance technology to ensure grounding.  The CM400 is the most cost effective and monitors one wrist strap.  The CM410 monitors one wrist strap and the work surface. The CM420 is the fully loaded model that monitors two wrist straps and the work surface.  The CM2800 dual wire constant monitor from Transforming Technologies is the top of the line and monitors two wrist straps, two work surfaces, two grounded tools and has user programmable alarm parameters.  The entry level CM2815 monitor uses the same great design of CM2800 and monitors two wrist straps, and two work surfaces.  Use the following graph to help choose your constant monitor:

Constant Monitor Selection Guide from Transforming Technologies