ESD vinyl flooring is widely used in clean rooms, manufacturing & assembly workshops of electronic products, hospitals, data centers & computer rooms, and other areas that require an anti-static environment. There are two kinds of ESD vinyl flooring, ESD tile and ESD sheet. Both tile and sheet are homogeneous structures, and electronic resistance can meet both conductive(10^4-10^6Ω) and static-dissipative(10^6-10^9Ω).
Manufacturing
The raw materials of tile and sheet are almost the same; materials include polyvinyl chloride resin, conductive materials, stabilizers, plasticizers, pigments, and other auxiliary materials. But their production processes and equipment are entirely different. The main machine for tiles is vulcanizing press machine, and production processes include granulation, tile making(hot press), board split, polishing, and punching. The main machine for producing sheets is belt press machine, and production processes include granulation, sheet making(belt press), lacquering, embossing, and relaxation.
The difference in the production process of tile and sheet determines the difference in the implementation of conductivity. Tiles utilize a conductive network electrostatically formed by the interface of plastic particles. It ensures permanent conductive properties. The ESD sheet inserts carbon-encapsulated granules throughout the whole thickness, and a conductive backing is attached, providing optimum and consistent conductive properties.
Size&thickness
ESD tile is in tile form, while ESD sheet is in roll form. ESD tiles have different sizes for different markets, such as 600×600mm, 608×608mm, 900×900mm, 12”×12”, 24”×24”, 36”×36”, etc., the thickness can be 2mm, 2.5mm, and 3mm. ESD sheet size is fixed, the standard size is 2×20m and thickness is 2mm, custom size is 2×15m, and thickness is 3mm.
Installation
The installation tools and accessories for tiles and sheets are the same. The accessories include conductive glue, welding rod, copper tape, and so on. Due to the different sizes, the installation steps are different. Compared with tiles, the single area of sheet is much larger, and the installation professionalism is higher. Check specific installation processes as below videos.
Price&popularity
ESD tile manufacturers are mainly located in Asia, while ESD sheet manufacturers are located primarily in Europe. This makes tiles more popular in Europe and surrounding areas, while sheets are more prevalent in Asia and other regions. The price of sheet is higher than the price of tile.
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