EMI-ESD shielding enclosures

I get these rubidium cells shipped in big tin cans, longer and less wide. I never thought of them for electronics. I get 10-20 cells in a shipment, I'm thinking one cell costs, more than all the butter cookies I've ever eaten. (~$250)

If the price of the product has anything to do with the worth of the container. :^)

George H.

On Fri, 1 Apr 2016 18:54:28 -0700 (PDT), George Herold Gave us:

They ain't worth a shit unless you keep them grounded or on a grounded mat with a conductive base on the can.

Isolated, they can (and will) gain a charge and then there will (always) be a discharge 'event'.

Sure, but the stuff inside won't notice.

Jeroen Belleman

On Sat, 02 Apr 2016 13:58:09 +0200, Jeroen Belleman Gave us:

Sure it will. The can acts as a Faraday cage against EM, but electrostatic charge elevates the entire can and its contents. ES charge on an insulator is carried on its surface but charge developed on a conductive node isolated from a drain elevates all element s which are co-conducting with the node. Couple that stupid move with someone opening the can without also being brought to ground level, and there will be an event after the can gets opened as well.

The premise of ESD protection is to keep the protected devices AT ground potential, balanced with all others. So one element is not at a different potential from another, which can cause a discharge event (or a field) between them. "ground potential" means ones workstation, storage surfaces, etc. are all held at least at the lab's assumed "ground state", even if it is not a earth driven ground rod level value.

When one walks up to a rack of gear, one should always discharge one's self to the rack frame, even if not hooking up to perform work. You can carry a field which can impress on elements installed into the rack. Same with a workstation (bench). One should always touch the mat for a few seconds, even if all you are there to do is shoot-the-shit.. Or one could find that one's shit shooting shot some unwanted shit into something on said workstation's surface. Any time one is not hooked up, one is building a charge. ANY time. Smocked up or not. The only exception is a floor surface grounding system and heel/shoe straps.

Are they good for storage, or maybe for project boxes? :)

Danish Butter Cookies used to be my favorite boxes for prototyping RF stuff. Since earlier this year I have something way more cool and the contents were more tasty, albeit probably less healthy.

You should avoid talking about stuff that you don't understand, like electronics.

Stick to things you know and love, like poop.

MILK chocolate?

I buy the black Tobler triangles in bulk from Amazon; tossing a couple of those on the table makes me more popular at meetings. They do have an inner foil layer, but it's not very reusable as shielding.

The ones I got were milk chocolate.

That's only a calorie shield. Toblerone is good stuff. We don't buy it anymore because it causes me to raid the fridge.

It's not what you don't know that's the problem. It's what you think you know but isn't so.

Jeroen Belleman

Used Danish butter tins are intended for storing sewing supplies, not electronics:

On Sat, 02 Apr 2016 08:31:36 -0700, John Larkin Gave us:

You're an idiot. You put your assemblies and sensitive components in painted cookie cans. YOU, decidedly, do not know electronics.

On Sat, 02 Apr 2016 23:48:29 +0200, Jeroen Belleman Gave us:

Then you should update your education. Provided that you are not ineducable, as appears may well be the case.

AlwaysWrong strikes again!

I get to eat the cookies first. Those cans a great; they stack, they are electromagnetically tight, they are a nice size for bookshelves.

How's that biz thing working out?

I have a bin full of 70-mm film cans that I bought from Surplus Shed some years back. They're nickel-plated steel, and work great as EM shields. They're also small enough that I can use one per project and keep them around with the test boards till they're no longer needed.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Digital imaging is great, but we're running out of film cans.

Cheers

I use those Christmas chocolate and popcorn assortment tins, about 12" diameter and 12" tall, as mediocre dry boxes for storing blank circuit boards until I need to assemble them. I throw a couple dessicant bags in them.

Jon