ESD foam also called anti static foam. The difference between esd foam and conductive foam mainly on the resistance. The resistance of anti-static foam is 10e6-10e11 Ω, and the resistance of conductive foam is 10e3-10e6 Ω.
Take ESD PE foam and conductive PE foam for example.
Antistatic foam is a new type of polymer functional material with permanent antistatic effect, which is made by chemical, physical modification, high energy electron beam radiation cross-linking foaming and other processing technology.
Conductive foam is a kind of foam formed by extrusion of polyethylene or modified polyethylene with conductive fillers and anti static agents, cross-linked by radiation and foamed at high temperature.
The electrostatic half-life of conductive foam is much smaller than that of anti-static foam, and the electrostatic voltage of conductive foam is much lower than that of anti-static. However, both of them can release charge automatically, and conductive foam is more suitable for electronic products with high electrostatic sensitivity.
Anti Static polyethylene foam Properties
- Excellent electrical conductivity,Foam surface resistance:10e6-10e9
- Density 2.5-6.25 lb/ft
- Anti static low charging – minimizing electrostatic charge generation
- No chemical corrosion: It has no corrosion to the components and packaging
- Buffer good performance,ideal for protecting the devices.
- Provides protection from physical shock during handling, packaging, shipping, and storage of ESD sensitive devices
- Ideal for long term use
- Easy to adapt for custom uses by die-cutting, laminating, etc.
- Non-contaminating, non-corrosive, and non-sloughing
- Temperature resistance:IXPE maximum temperature 80℃.
Anti Static polyethylene foam Usage Consideration
- Not recommend for lead insertion applications.
- When exposed to the environment, the foam will not discolor over time
- When cutting or laminating, the foam surface resistance will change a little.
Conductive foam properties
- Conductive foam surface resistance 10e3-10e6
- Density 5-6.25lb/ft
- Permanently conductive; will not lose electrical properties – can be used in applications where permanent ESD properties are required
- Improved packaging against shock and vibration
- Provides protection from physical shock during handling, packaging, shipping, and storage of ESD sensitive devices
- Durable, resilient, attractive and light weight
- Chemical resistance: resistant to organic solvents, acids, bases, etc.;
- Non-contaminating, non-corrosive, and non-sloughing
Conductive foam Usage Consideration
· Better value for long term applications
· Not recommended in applications where Static Dissipative properties are required
All in all the properties of anti-static foam and conductive foam materials are similar, just the conductivity is different, one is conductive, the other is anti-static. It mainly depends on customer’s needs and cost considerations.
