Bob Vermillion, SME Electrostatics, NASA ESD Technical Authority

01 Jun 2017

Due to an astounding rise in the number of non-compliant and suspect counterfeit products, the author has found (in the testing of electrostatic materials) that a significant number of today’s OEMS, CMs, and suppliers either manufacture and or use many ESD   safe products that do not meet current ANSI/ESD or Military Standards.

Suspect counterfeiting is no longer limited to cosmetics, watches and hand bags; this problem extends to the cordless wriststrap, soldering irons, ionizers, static shielding bags and other static control products.

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This article does not address cleanroom gloves that will be featured in an upcoming publication for Controlled Environments new sister publication, Pharmaceutical Processing.   

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Bob Vermillion, ESD & Product Safety Engineer, RMV Technology Group  ​

14 Apr 2016

According to the 12 February 2016 edition of the EE Times, President Barak Obama indicated a day earlier that he will sign into law a customs bill passed by the U.S. Senate that includes a provision to combat counterfeit semiconductors (Figure 2)[1]. This will be called the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 644/S.1269). This bill will mandate that U.S. Customs & Border Protection share information and samples of suspected counterfeit EEE parts for inspection and testing that are identified as counterfeits.

In 2011, the Semiconductor Industry Association estimated that counterfeiting costs U.S. based semiconductor companies more than $7.5 billion per year. 

Bob Vermillion, iNARTE ESD & Product Safety Engineer, RMV Technology Group  ​

10 Feb 2016

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Today, suspect counterfeit ESD control and non-compliant packaging is a growing issue throughout the global supply chain. Not only are EEE parts (ESD sensitive devices) damaged, but components can also be destroyed. Suspect counterfeit static control or non-compliant electrostatic discharge (ESD) shielding bags can be purchased from the internet, catalogs, brokers, authorized distributors or directly from the manufacturer.

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The author is the First to Present on Suspect Counterfeit ESD Materials in the Supply Chain at the NASA Quality Leadership Forum 2010, Cape Canaveral, Fla. No longer can a supplier’s Technical Data Sheet serve as proof of compliance for a static control shielding bag. A site undergoing certification for ANSI/ESD S20.20-2014 (ANSI/ESD S20.20) compliance must now demonstrate that products used in the ESD Protected Area (EPA) have traceable in-house or third party test data.

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