IC chip best practices/sensitivity

[bloxstompboxes]

Seriously, folks - to eliminate static buildup, take off your shoes and socks. Feet are conductive, shoes are often not. Conductive feet don't build up static like any shoes do. Think about static sparks when you shuffle across a carpet in a heated house in the winter. You can't do that with bare feet.

In the winter when heating boils out all the humidity, as Paul says, put on some water to boil to put some humidity back in, or work in your bathroom with the shower blasting hot water. Both put water back in the air. Static buildup can't happen with humidities above about 40%.

Discharge yourself before touching semiconductors directly by touching something that's grounded. Touching the conductive plastic bag, tube, or black foam the semis are in and letting your charge equalize with the semis is very effective too.

Just think about what you do to get a good carpet-static zap, then don't do it.

All of what RG says...


Then there are these as well:
https://www.google.com/search?q=disposable+anti+static+foot+straps&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=643&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=dOk9VNHNNYS8igLgs4CAAg&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=anti+static+foot+straps

Often, at many places I worked at in the 80's we used a one time use, disposable foot strap.
It was just a cheap looking anti static strap that would wrap around your shoe and you would stuff the 2 ends into your socks so they would make direct contact with your skin.
You probably know the kind I'm talking about RG . I couldn't find any pictures of them though.

We used those in addition to the wrist straps.
Although I didn't use a wrist strap when I ran wave solder machines. Wrist straps are not really practical or safe in that environment.
Just used the foot strap.

We still use the heel straps and wrist straps at work. Although, this week we are getting fitted for the ESD shoes they use to wear way before I got here. The new project is a class 3 under IPC so the customer is worried about contamination and all kinds of fun stuff. It's because the product has part of vehicle's safety system integrated into it.

[amptramp]

Sounds just like mine almost to a "T" except we had a 3 - 4 foot iron plate that preheated things.
And there were a few times I didn't get that pin put in just right and after a few inches, it would "drop" in. What a mess. Parts everywhere.
And we used water soluble flux which made whatever company made our board washer happy.
And we didn't have any oil in the solder. We just poured dross retardant to separate the impurities a few times a day into the tray (Which was just a small part of the bath that stuck outside the enclosure). Then spoon the impurities out.
Although the one I ran at Litton did (And I have those scars as well, one of which gave me the rest of the day off, which I spent at the nearby bar (After getting my pain meds at the occupational center of course).

Still as hazardous as it could have been and how much you had to really be on your toes, it was a great job.

If you are talking about Litton Systems in Toronto, I may have seen you there.  We had wave soldering for through-hole stuff and vapour-phase for SMD.  If you spent time at the nearby bar, you would have run into most of the company directors.

[CodeMonk]

Sounds just like mine almost to a "T" except we had a 3 - 4 foot iron plate that preheated things.
And there were a few times I didn't get that pin put in just right and after a few inches, it would "drop" in. What a mess. Parts everywhere.
And we used water soluble flux which made whatever company made our board washer happy.
And we didn't have any oil in the solder. We just poured dross retardant to separate the impurities a few times a day into the tray (Which was just a small part of the bath that stuck outside the enclosure). Then spoon the impurities out.
Although the one I ran at Litton did (And I have those scars as well, one of which gave me the rest of the day off, which I spent at the nearby bar (After getting my pain meds at the occupational center of course).

Still as hazardous as it could have been and how much you had to really be on your toes, it was a great job.

If you are talking about Litton Systems in Toronto, I may have seen you there.  We had wave soldering for through-hole stuff and vapour-phase for SMD.  If you spent time at the nearby bar, you would have run into most of the company directors.

Not Toronto
Litton Data Systems in Van Nuys, California.
The bar was called Callahan's.