Electronic – Child-Safe setup for ESD protection environment on desk

antistaticesdgroundingpowerstatic

I need to setup an anti-static workbench in my spare office, and kids sometimes get into it ever since they learned how to pick the locks.

My intended approach is to:

  1. Lay out an ESD mat on the desk.
  2. Punch a whole through the mat, and connect an ESD common point ground to the mat through the whole with a snap-cap.
  3. Connect my ESD wrist strap by removing the alligator clip and connecting the wrist strap to the common point ground.
  4. Connect the banana jack of the common point ground to the GND pin on the NEMA-5-15 wall outlet or equivalent on the power bar on my desk, ie:

NEMA-5-15 Outlet

I have one problem with this setup, assuming it is correct: I have a small, flat nema-jack connected to the GND of the wall outlet with an exposed banana plug sticking out of the wall. I'm worried that one of the kids could pull the banana plug out of the GND plug, and plug the banana jack into the hot or neutral blade slots of the wall outlet.

Is there a safer way to go about this? Are there maybe 3-prong plugs that have two plastic blades for the neutral and hot, and a fixed metal plug for the GND so there's no way someone can electrocute themselves by playing with the connector to the mat?

Best Answer

This is what you're looking for.

Anti-static grounding plug

Assuming the same thing is available in your local plug style, and your house grounds are correctly wired.