ESD facility removes built-up charge from boards

This is achieved via a heavy-duty contact embedded in the guide rail, which is in permanent electrical contact with the chassis.

The system has been tested to IEEE1101.11 and UL1950 to 30A capacity.

Initially designed as a rear I/O guide rail for 80mm assemblies, the high-current discharge contact and associated guide may also be used for front-mounted panels where excessive static build-up is likely.

The guides include the facility to safely discharge any remaining static or operational charge (such as that stored in capacitors) from boards being inserted into the system directly following a test under power.

For this, an additional grounding clip is fastened to the guide rail in the direct path of the PCB, which needs to be designed in accordance with IEEE guidelines.

Additionally, the guides have chambers at the front for the insertion of coding keys to prevent incorrect board insertion when used in conjunction with IEEE-type lever handles on the plug-in board/front panel.

When used at both the top and bottom of a 6U board/front-panel combination, these provide almost 4,100 different coding variants.