The New Statfree® T2 Plus Still Outlasts the Competition

In March 2020 Desco Europe introduced the new Statfree® T2 Plus Worksurface Matting to replace the previous version, Statfree® T2. The NEW Statfree® T2 Plus was designed with a new compound to limit oil absorption into the mat that would cause the edge of the mat to curl, this is usually from operators arms resting on the material.

Statfree® T2 Plus, like the previous Statfree® T2 mats, also has UV additives in the compound that ensure ESD performance over time. A 2012 InCompliance article titled – Early Life Failure of Dissipative Workstation Mats based on a study at Plexus in Neenah, WI found that ESD mat materials exposed to UV lighting commonly used in electronics manufacturing causes the ESD properties of the material to degrade more rapidly. In their study they confirmed that the Desco Europe’s Statfree® T2 was the top performing worksurface mat (Mat ID#4 in the article).

So what makes the new Statfree® T2 Plus the best ESD Worksurface Matting?

1. Superior wear, heat, and chemical resistance.
2. Withstands abrasion, stretching and tearing.
3. Ultraviolet (UV) additives stabilise colour retention to ensure ESD performance over time and eliminate surface layer deterioration.
4. Compound to prevent oil absorption, preventing the edges from curling
5. Statfree® T2 Plus offers a lifetime warranty on the electrical properties of the material

What was the conclusion of the study?

Part of any good ESD Control Programme is periodic verification of the specs of products being used for the ESD Control Plan. The most obvious example of periodic testing is when operators test their foot grounders or wrist straps before entering an ESD Protected Area. Plexus Manufacturing Solutions in Neenah, WI noticed during periodic verification of their workstation mats, that the mats were drifting out of spec and wanted to determine what was causing the mats to fail. Through their in-house tests, they concluded that:

• A solid ESD control programme including compliance verification periodic testing with data collection provides valuable and useful information.
• Factory fluorescent lighting, likely from ultraviolet (UV) radiation, can have a measurable effect on the electrical properties of ESD dissipative mats over time.
• Different mats tolerate or resist the effects of factory fluorescent lighting.
• Since this experiment did not take into account lot to lot variation at the supplier for each mat P/N, future mats purchased will require lot traceability information to be stamped on the bottom of the roll, every 0.9m minimum.
• The ESD Association technical report ESD TR4.0-01-02 Worksurfaces and Grounding Survey should consider adding ultraviolet light resistance as a property to consider in the Worksurface Selection Guide.

Desco Europe’s Statfree™ T2 Plus mats include Ultraviolet (UV) stabiliser additives in the mat formula to stabilise colour retention, ensure ESD performance over time and eliminate surface layer deterioration resulting in cracking when the product is flexed. Additionally, we mark lot traceability information on the bottom of the roll every 0.9m to provide tracking information for lifespan of the product and to ensure quality control.