Cat McClintock contributes to the Creo and Mathcad blogs for PTC. She has been a writer and editor for 15+ years, working for CAD, PDM, ERP, and CRM software companies. Prior to that, she edited science journals for an academic publisher and aligned optical assemblies for a medical device manufacturer. She holds degrees in Technical Journalism, Classics, and Electro-Optics. She loves talking to PTC customers and learning about the interesting work they're doing and the innovative ways they use the software.
We’ve all touched a metal doorknob on a dry day and felt a zap of electricity passing from our body to the handle. This electrostatic discharge (ESD) occurs because, by simply rubbing against an object like a cloth chair or shuffling your feet across the floor, you’ve built up a voltage over your body.
The good news is that all that built-up energy does little real harm to you or the door. Most people don’t even feel the discharge until they’ve built up a potential of 2000 V or more.
The same is not true for sensitive electronic components. Had you touched an integrated circuit instead of a door, you most likely would have destroyed a semiconductor or microprocessor—even if you were carrying a scant 100 V potential. In fact, it takes so little voltage to destroy an electronic component that most people don’t realize anything is amiss when it happens.
To make matters worse, ESD damage in electronics can unfold slowly over time, revealing itself only after the component is delivered to customers. These defects can lead to failures, returns, and catastrophes.
“Many industries can’t afford these latent failures,” says Daan Stevenson, CEO of Colorado-based IONA Tech, a company that specializes in ESD mitigation. “Think about an aerospace company that has already sent a satellite into space or a medical device manufacturer whose pacemakers are embedded within a patient’s chest wall.”
Wrist straps are easy to forget
To prevent ESD damage, most engineers, technicians, and assembly workers wear wrist straps that are tethered to a grounding surface—for example, a desk or a metal pole. These devices ensure that wearers never build up a charge and that electronics stay safe.
Yet wrist straps present some fundamental problems. People don’t work in the same place all day. They may walk away to check a schematic, attend meetings, or take a break. “I’ve often seen people forget to put them back on,” says Stevenson.
Furthermore, Stevenson says that the wristbands themselves can become unmanageable. “We hear anecdotes about engineers and technicians knocking expensive pieces of equipment off of the desk with these wristband cords. More damage is probably done with these long tethers than the actual ESD.”
Of course, another solution might be floors specially built for discharging electrostatic charges, but they’re expensive and require shoe straps that can get dirty, which can compromise results.
StatIQ creates new opportunities in ESD mitigation
That’s why IONA Tech invented the StatIQ Band, a modern wearable device that team members place around their upper arm. Unlike the traditional wristband and tether, the StatIQ Band:
- Isn’t moored to anything, so team members are free to move around as they work
- Tracks voltage, alerting workers any time their potential rises above a predetermined level (e.g., 100 V)
- Communicates data with an app, so companies can track compliance
- Runs for 20 hours with a rechargeable lithium polymer battery
Much of the technology within the StatIQ has never been possible before, and it’s opening up new opportunities for businesses. Imagine the following scenarios:
Subcontracting: A subcontractor builds a satellite bus for a major aerospace company. Using the StatIQ Band along with other ESD mitigation products, the subcontractor’s team works freely in and around the satellite body without risking ESD damage. Using the data collected from operators via the StatIQ Network, the subcontractor can prove that there were no lapses in ESD control and that the satellite's electronics aren’t subject to latent ESD damage.
Training: An instructor straps on a StatIQ Band during class to show students in real-time just how little it takes to build up a charge and reach an unsafe voltage.
Audits: A company reduces its dependence on ESD audits with confidence. “There are only a handful of people throughout the U.S. that can carry out ESD audits,” says Stevenson. “The StatIQ Band provides insights that normally require a visit from an ESD expert. It doesn’t replace the auditor entirely, but it can provide reassurance between visits and even reduce the number of needed audits.”
Industrial design and Creo add sophistication to armband
With a background in high-voltage satellite charging, Stevenson was uniquely positioned to come up with the StatIQ Band. “Satellites naturally charge to 10s of kilovolts, and a lot of effort has gone into finding ways to remove that charge from satellites,” he says. “So I developed this intuition for how a charge moves around on objects. I started thinking that a human body holds a charge much like a satellite.”
Soon, Stevenson began designing models. At first he used the same design software he had used in college along with a 3D printer to produce prototypes. These mockups were successful enough to win IONA Tech a Small Business Innovation Research Grant, which inspired confidence that the company was onto something worthwhile.
Yet Stevenson wanted a more professional-looking, consumer-friendly product than he was producing in the lab. So he hired industrial designer Bill Cowles of 50Swiss, an industrial design and engineering firm based in Amsterdam.
Cowles crafted a more sophisticated look for the product, and at the same time encouraged IONA Tech to switch to Creo for their design software. “I encourage all my clients to use Creo over Solidworks because I find the program much more reliable,” says Cowles. “It reduces time-to-market and adds less drag in terms of development.”
Fortunately, the switch was affordable for the fledgling company: IONA Tech qualified for the PTC Creators Program, which offers software, training, and support to startups at an attractive price for three years. The Creators Program includes Creo’s powerful 3D CAD software, including powerful extensions for model-based definition (MBD), generative design, and simulation and analysis. This ensures IONA Tech has the professional software it needs as it grows.
Reshaping an industry
With Stevenson’s technical insights, Cowles’ design skills, and Creo, the StatIQ Band has been turning heads. The company has sold products to most major circuit manufacturers, many aerospace and defense contractors, and blue chip companies in various industries. An end user at Apple told Stevenson, “This is a really well-designed product."
This may be a first for an industry that typically doesn’t place much value on aesthetics. “ESD mitigation is a very specialized market, where all of the other instrumentation equipment just is clunky and the interfaces aren't great,” says Stevenson.
In fact, much of the current technology was developed in the 20th century. “We get asked a lot, ‘So does it take a 9 Volt battery or an AA battery?’” says Stevenson.
Clearly, the industry is about to undergo a shakeup, thanks to IONA Tech. Creo is proud to be along for the ride as IONA Tech reshapes the industry.
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