EEVblog #247 - Anti Static Bag Myth Revisted
Why Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange recommends it
Electronics Stack Exchange answerers point people to it when asked whether pink or grey ESD bags really protect components during storage and shipping.
Recommended by 4 people across 3 different months, 2014 to 2023.
What it is
Dave Jones of EEVblog revisits the myth that pink 'anti-static' bags protect chips like proper static shielding bags. He measures static charges on different bag types and tries to destroy a chip to see what actually happens. It is an 18-minute bench demo prompted by a parts shipment packed in anti-static rather than shielding bags.
What people said
Strong rec user68591 · 2016-02 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “How do I store and transport microcontroller boards safely?”
"Anti-static" bags are one thing. Dave Jones made some testing ( [this video] ). Really worth watching. In general the grey ones dissipate charge while the pink ones don't. In the case of foam cutouts - funny enough that I've seen those in both grey-black and pink versions (the grey ones being used in high-end electronics). They might be made of the same materials, but that's just a wild guess.
Recommends Arsenal · 2015-11 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “Anti-static bags - safe to support powered circuit boards?”
There are different bags available. Some of them are insulators (nearly, see below) and only prevent the build-up of static charge. Others are conducting (grey-metallic ones typically or black ones). I wouldn't place any powered electronics on conducting anti-static bags or mats. Even the fairly high resistance can have a big influence on the electronics (depending on function and design). Low powered stuff often works with fairly high resistance values, so the effect of parallel resistance there is quite profound. I often use a sheet of paper to put my circuit boards on (note it can be charged, so make sure to wipe the charges off). Or just a holder where you clamp it from both sides so the
Recommends Dave Tweed · 2016-02 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “Are all pink bags anti static?”
See EEVblog #247 - Anti Static Bag Myth Revisted [this video] for a full discussion about about how bags work. In a nutshell, a pink bag won't *generate* static charges, but it will NOT *protect against external charges*.
Recommends Andrew Morton · 2023-03 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “ESD safe soldering without PE”
You might want to watch EEVblog #247 - Anti Static Bag Myth Revisted [this video] (YouTube video) regarding the bags the components come in.
Cites user39075 · 2014-03 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “Anti-static vs. conductive vs. dissipative foam?”
UPDATE: I have included some basic answers inline that I received after talking in depth with an application engineer at a foam company. I think it would still really help for someone to help flush out the theory behind these answers. I am having some custom foam inserts cut to transport a fully assembled tablet/laptop inside a polypropylene hardshell case (Pelican brand). This kit will be used in a very low humidity environment, which is why I thought it might make sense to use either a conductive, dissipative or anti-static foam. I am not an electrical engineer, so please excuse any ignorance that follows, but these are my thoughts (I would greatly appreciate clarification!): Conductive Fo
Cites LorenzoDonati4Ukraine-OnStrike · 2016-07 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “How to protect electronics from static electricity during shipping”
Silvery anti-static bags are (should be) conductive, so they act as a Faraday's cage against ESD coming from outside the bag , i.e. they protect from the ESD events coming from outside the bag. If the electronics in the bag rubs against something inside the bag that can build-up static charges, the bag won't protect it. Therefore you should ensure that whatever is inside the bag, especially if it could move and rub against the electronics, doesn't build up charges. For example, the foam you use, if it is in contact with the electronics inside the silvery bag, should either be somewhat conductive or static-dissipative, i.e. a material that doesn't allow charge to build up (that pink plastic t
Cites Alex Hajnal · 2020-04 · Electrical Engineering Stack Exchange · on “What's the difference among these static protection bags?”
There are two types of anti-static bag: static-dissipative (pink, red, or occasionally black) and static-discharge (silver or grey). Static-dissipative bags are designed to remove any static build-up that gradually builds up during shipping by transferring the charge to ground (i.e. what-ever the bag is touching). However, they are not designed to handle electrostatic discharge (e.g. sparks) since they are not good conductors of electricity. Measured with a multimeter one should be able to measure a resistance through this material; I measured about 10M Ω across 1 mm. I don't have one at hand to examine but I suspect that the cross-hatched bags 1 fall into this category. The red/pink bags us