ACL395OperationManual

Rev.11/30/12MKB

ACL395ResistivityMeter
OPERATIONMANUAL

Meteriswarrantedforoneyearfromthedateofpurchaseonpartsandlabor.
Calibrationisrecommendedevery12months.

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ACL395OperationManual

Rev.11/30/12MKB

ACL395ResistivityMeter

TheACL395isalightweight,pocketsized,autorangingsurfaceresistivitymeter.Itisdesigned
totestconductive,dissipative,andinsulativesurfacesforelectricalresistivityaccordingtothe
ESDAsparallelresistivityprobemethodDINEN100015/1&ASTMD257.

Ifthemeterisusedwiththe5lbprobesavailableintheaccessorykit,itwillcomplyto
IEC6134041,ANSI/ESDAS4.1andANSI/ESDAS7.1.
ACL395ResistivityMeterincludes:
*Tester
*Twoaccordioncables(stereotobanana)
*9voltbattery
*Certificateofcalibration

ACL396AccessoryKitincludes:
*Two5lbprobes
*Foamlinedcarryingcase

Limits
*Resistivity:1031012ohms/square
*Resistance:1031012ohms
*Measuringvoltage:10vand100v

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ACL395OperationManual

Rev.11/30/12MKB

INTRODUCTION

TheACL395ResistivityMeterisaneasytousetesterformeasuringsurfaceresistivity.When
usedwiththeACL396AccessoryKit,theACL395ResistivityMeterisadependableauditkitfor
conductiveanddissipativesurfaces.Thismeterisdesignedforuseinallfacetsofmaterial
productionincludingengineering,maintenance,qualitycontrol,incominginspection,
manufacturingandresearch,orinsalesdepartmentsforthetestingofantistaticmats,floor
finishes,paints,wriststraps,smocks,footwear,bagsandcontainers.

Whenusingthebuiltinprobes,themeterstestvaluesforsurfaceresistivityareinohmsper
square(althoughtheyaredisplayedinohms).Whenusingtheexternal5lbprobes,themeters
testvaluesforresistanceareinohms.

DECADESCALE

103
=
1kilohm
4
10
=
10kilohms
105
=
100kilohms
300kilohms
3x105 =
6
10
=
1megohm
3x106 =
3megohm
7
10
=
10megohms
3x107 =
30megohms
=
100megohms
108
8
3x10 =
300megohms
109
=
1000megohms
3x109 =
3000megohms
10
10
=
10,000megohms
100,000megohms
1011 =
1012 =
1,000,000megohms

ThetestvalueisindicatedontheLEDdisplay.Halfdecadesprovidegreateraccuracybygivinga
closerapproximationtothemeasurementvalue.AnLEDwillbrightentotheaccordingtest
result.Colorssignifythetestvaluesfunction.

COLOR
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red

INDICATINGFUNCTION
Conductive
Dissipative:idealtestmeasurement
Dissipative,butclosetogoingoutofspec
Nearinsulativetoinsulative

103105
3x105109
3x1091010
10111012

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ACL395OperationManual

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TESTVOLTAGE

Thetestvoltagesare10vand100v.AccordingtoESDAssociation(ESDA)standardsS4.1and
S7.1,10vshouldbeappliedtosurfaceswithresistivityoflessthan106and100vshouldbe
appliedtosurfaceswithresistivityof106orgreater.TheACL395willautomaticallysimulate
thepropervoltageaccordingtothetestmeasurement.

AsdefinedbytheESDA,valuesindicatethefollowing:

Voltage
Range
Definition

10volt
<106ohmspersquare
Conductive

6
11
100volt
10 10 ohmspersquare
Dissipative

11
100volt
>10 ohmspersquare
Insulative

ANOTEABOUTVOLTAGE

Inpreviousyears,thosedesiringtomeasureresistivityorresistancefollowedtheASTMD264,
ASTM991,NFPA56AorNFPA99teststandards.Theseproceduresrequiredonetotestateither
500or1000volts.Thiscausedconcernregardingsafetyofthepersonperformingthetests.The
ESDAstandardizedthetestproceduressothatlowervoltscouldbeusedwithinspecificranges.

TheACL395meterusesa9voltbattery.Somemeterswith9voltbatteriesdonotgivethe
accuracyneededtoperformthetests,especiallyatvalueshigherthan107.TheACL395isbuilt
withatransformerthatconvertsthe9voltchargefromthebatteryto10voltsor100volts.The
meterappliesaconstantchargeoverthecompletevoltagerange.Accuracydependsonapplied
voltage,temperature,andhumidity.

TEMPERATUREANDHUMIDITY

Ambienthumidityandtemperatureaffecttheelectricalpropertiesofthematerialbeingtested.
Thecombinationoflowhumidityandlowtemperaturewillgivethehighestelectricalresistance
resultsandslowestdissipationtimes.Athighhumidity,athinlayerofwateriscondensedonor
absorbedintothematerialbeingtested.Thisistrueofhydroscopicadditivesthatare
incorporatedintoamaterialinordertoincreasetheelectricalconductivity.Theseadditiveswill
allowmoisturetobeabsorbedintothematerialstowhichtheyareadded.

Atelevatedtemperatures,themobilityoffreeelectronsincreases,therebyalsoincreasinga
materialsconductivity.Thisisespeciallytrueforcarbonblack,metallicoxides,metals,and
othersubstances.Whenthematerialisatalowertemperature,builtinstressesoccurwhich
mayincreaseresistanceduetoincreaseddistancebetweentheconductiveadditives.Thus,
humidityandtemperaturemustbeknown.

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ACL395OperationManual

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RECORDINGDATA

ANSI/ESDAandEuropeanCECCrecognizetheeffectenvironmentalconditionshaveontest
measurementsandspecifyintheirstandardsthattheymeasuredandrecorded.Itispossibleto
testormanufactureamaterialathighhumidityandpassallthetestspecifications,butwhen
thecustomerreceivesthematerialandusesitatalowerhumidityortemperaturethematerial
failstopassthespecifications.Thiscancauserejectionsandlossofproduct.

BothESDS4.1ESDProtectiveWorksurfacesections6.2.4andESDS7.11994Resistive
CharacterizationofMaterialsFloorMaterialssections5.2.4and5.3.3requirereportingof
temperatureandhumidityatthetimeoftesting.

CALIBRATION

Calibrationisrecommendedannually.TheACL395metercomeswithacertificateofcalibration
whichverifiesthecalibrationoftheinstrumentusingequipmentthatistraceabletoNational
StandardsandCADgeneratedtechniques.MeterscanbesentbacktoACLInc.forcalibrationfor
alabfeeortheycanbesenttoacertifiedcalibrationlab.(Seepage12forcalibration
instructions.)ThemetersalsocomewithaCEmarkapproval.

MEASURINGWITHINTERNALPROBES

TheparallelresistivityprobemethodcomplieswithASTMD257.Itisusedtogivefastelectrical
resistivitymeasurementsonflathomogeneousmaterials.Itmaybeusedonmultilayered
materials,butthisshouldbenotedalongwiththetemperatureandhumidityvaluesonthedata
report.

TherailsontheACL395aremadeofconductiverubber.Softrubberrailsprovidethehighestlevelof
surfacecontactforgreateraccuracy.

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ACL395OperationManual

Rev.11/30/12MKB

Whenthemeasurementistakenbetweenthemeterstworubberrails,themeterwillindicate
thesurfaceresistivityofthematerialbeingtested.

A. Priortotesting,makecertainthatsurfacestobetestedarecleanandfreeof
contaminants.

B. Allowthemetertoacclimatetotheatmosphereinwhichitwillbeused.Adjustmentto
newenvironmentalconditionsmaytakeaslongasahalfhour.

C. Placethemeteronthedesiredsurfacetobetested.

D. Pressandholdtheredintegratedtest
buttonwithapproximatelyfivepounds
ofappliedforce.Themeterwilldisplay
thesurfaceresistivity.

E. Whenusingthebuiltinprobes,the
meterstestvaluesforsurfaceresistivity
areinohmspersquare(althoughthey
aredisplayedinohms).

F. ThetestvalueisindicatedontheLED
display.Adecadewillbrightentothe
accordingtestvalue.Colorssignifythe
testvaluesfunction(seepage3).

MEASURINGWITHEXTERNALPROBES

Whenthemeasurementistakenusingthe5lbexternalprobesfromtheACL396accessorykit,
thetesterwillindicatetheresistanceofthematerialinohms.

Theexternalprobesareusedtogivefastelectricalresistivitymeasurementsonflat
homogeneousmaterials.Theymaybeusedonmultilayeredmaterials,butthisshouldbenoted
alongwiththetemperatureandhumidityvalueonthedatareport.

Whenthecableshavebeenpluggedinto
theappropriatesockets,theparallel
probes underthemeterdisengage.

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ACL395OperationManual

Rev.11/30/12MKB

Byconnectingthe5lbprobestotheACL395ssockets,itispossibletomeasureResistance
PointtoPoint(RTT),ResistancetoGround(RTG),andVolumeResistance.Usingtheseexternal
probeswillallowcompliancewithvariousstandardsincludingANSI/ESDAS4.1forWorksurface
ResistanceMeasurements,ANSI/ESDAS7.1ResistiveCharacterizationofMaterialsFloor
Materials.

Whenauditingisfinished,unplugthecablesandstoreprobesintheprotectivecase.
ResistancePointtoPoint(RTT)

RTTmeasurementscanbeusedfortheevaluationoffloors,chairs,carts,worksurfacesand
otherESDcontrolledmaterialsandproducts.Proceduresvaryregardingsamplepreparation,
probepreparationandspacingofthe5lbprobes.Selectandreadthecorrecttestprocedureor
standardforthedesiredmeasurement.Testprocedurescanbepurchasedfromwww.esda.org.

A. Connectoneendofeachbananatestleadintothesocketsofthemeter.Connectthe
otherendofthetestcoilcordsintothe5lbprobes.

B. Placebothprobesonthematerialaccordingtotestproceduresorstandardbeingused.
C. PresstheTESTbuttonandthevaluewillbedisplayedontheLEDs.Themeterwill
applythecorrectvoltage(10vor100v)accordingtothevalueofwhatismeasured.
D. Whenperformingtest,donottouchleadwiresorprobes.Avoidoverlappingoflead
wires.Thiswillensureaccuratereadings.

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ACL395OperationManual

Rev.11/30/12MKB

ANEXAMPLEOFMEASURINGRTTONDISSIPATIVEFLOORING:

Takingroutinemeasurementsoftilescoatedwithdissipativefloorfinishisakeycomponentof
properfloormaintenance.Anyproblemsthatarisewiththefloorwillbeeasilydetected.Keeping
arecordoftemperature,humidityandelectricalpropertieswillprovideareference,andwillpoint
towardablueprintoftrafficpatternsonthefloor.Goodrecordkeepingwillensuresuccesswhen
developingandmaintainingamaintenanceprogram.

Toobtainanaveragemeasurementofafloor,mapouta4x4sectionandconductfivetests
(oneatatime)withinthesquare.Conductatestforeachsideofthesquareandafinaltest
diagonallythroughthecenterasshowninthedrawingbelow.

IneachRTTtest,the5lbprobesareplacedthreefeetapart(36inches).Connectthetestleads
tothemeter.Attacha5lbprobetotheendofeachleadandplacethreefeetapartasindicated
below.PressandholdtheTESTbuttonontheACL395meteruntilavalueisdisplayed.

RTT#1

RTT#4
RTT#2

RTT#5

RTT#3

4x4Section

(nottoscale)

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ACL395OperationManual

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MEASURINGRESISTANCETOGROUND(RTG)

RTGmeasurementscanbeusedfortheevaluationoffloors,chairs,carts,worksurfacesand
otherESDcontrolledmaterialsandproducts.Keepingarecordoftestresultsfortemperature,
humidityandelectricalpropertieswillprovideareference.

ANEXAMPLEOFMEASURINGRTGONDISSIPATIVEFLOORING:

ForTestingResistanceonFloors,S7.1requiresaminimumoffiveRTGtestsper5,000sq.ft.
Connecttheleadsfortheexternalprobestothemeter.

Whenthecableshavebeenpluggedinto

theappropriatesocket,theparallel

probes underthemeterdisengage.

Attachoneleadtoa5lbprobeandplaceprobeontothefloortobetested.Attachtheother
leadtoanalligatorclipandconnecttoagroundablepoint(RTGP).Ifusingagroundadapter
plug,plugthebananaleadintotheadaptoraftertheadapterispluggedintothereceptacle.

5lbweightsitsonthefloor

Pushreddot forvalues

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ACL395OperationManual

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ANEXAMPLEOFMEASURINGRTGONDISSIPATIVETABLEMATS:

A. TotestRTGonaworkstation,connectthefirstleadtothemeterandtoa5lbprobe.Place
theprobeontheworksurface.Connectthesecondleadtothemeterandtoagroundable
point(RTGP).

B. ToattachleadtoRTGP,slipthealligatorcliptotheleadandconnectittothegroundsnapor
connectthebananaplugtoacommonpointgroundplug:

b. PresstheTESTbuttonandthevaluewillbedisplayedontheLED.Whileperformingtest,
donottouchleadwiresorprobe.Avoidoverlappingofleadwires.Thiswillensureaccurate
readings.

c. Resistancevaluesareinohms.Whenrecordingtestvaluesalsomakenoteofthe
temperatureandhumidity,astheenvironmentcanaffecttestresults.

ToGround

Clipalligatorcliptosnap

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ACL395OperationManual

Rev.11/30/12MKB

VolumeResistanceMeasurement

VolumeResistancemeasurestheelectricalpaththroughamaterial.

A.
Connectoneendofeachofthebananatestleadsintothesocketsofthemeter.
Connecttheotherendofthetestcoilcordsintothe5lbprobes.

B.
Placesamplematerialonaconductivemetalplate(suchasstainlesssteel).Placeoneof
the5lbprobesontothematerialsothatthematerialissandwichedbetweentheprobe
andmetalplate.(Seebelow)

C.
Placethesecond5lbprobeontheconductivemetalplate.

D.
PresstheTESTbuttonandthevaluewillbedisplayedontheLED.VolumeResistance
ismeasuredinohmscm.

ConductivePlate

TestMaterial

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ACL395OperationManual

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ACL395CALIBRATIONINSTRUCTIONS
Thismetershouldbecalibratedeverytwelvemonths.Toverifyifthetesteriswithin
specification,atestresistancecanbeappliedacrosstheparallelbarsusingaresistancedecade
box.CalibrationcanbeobtainedbycontactingACLIncorporated.

SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions:

Weight:

Power:

Connections:

TestRange:

DissipativeRange:

UnitofMeasurement:

Accuracy:

Decaderange
10E3to4
10E4to5
10E5to3x10E5
3x10E5to10E6
10E6to3x10E6
3x10E6to10E7
10E7to3x10E7
3x10E7to10E8
10E8to3x10E8
3x10E8to10E9
10E9to3x10E9
3x10E9to10E10
10E10to11

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70mmx130mmx35mm(approximate)
103grams(approximate)

BatteryoperatedPP39volt
2x3.5mmjackplugforearthconnection
103to1012+
3x105to3x109(decadebetweeneachdecadeonalogarithmicscale)

Surfaceresistivity

Ohmspersquare
Resistancepointtopoint
Ohms
+/0.5decadeinconductiverange
+/0.25decadeindissipativerange
Changeoverpoint
3x10E3
3x10E4
1.7x10E5
6x10E5
1.7x10E6
6x10E6
1.7x10E7
6x10E7
1.7x10E8
6x10E8
1.7x10E9
6x10E9
3x10E10

value

Page12of13

value
3,000
30,000
170,000
600,000
1,700,000
6,000,000
17,000,000
60,000,000
170,000,000
600,000,000
1,700,000,000
6,000,000,000
30,000,000,000

3Kohm
30Kohm
170Kohm
600Kohm
1.7Mohm
6Mohm
17Mohm
60Mohm
170Mohm
600Mohm
1.7Gohm
6Gohm
30Gohm

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ACL395OperationManual

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TESTEQUIPMENTUSED
*ResistanceDecadeBox
*TestLeads
Theresistancedecadeboxrequiredwillneedarangeoffrom1kilohm(103)to999megohms
(109).Measurementsgreaterthan109arecalculatedusingCADgeneratedtechniques,ashigh
resistancesgreaterthan109aredifficulttoverifywithatestvoltageof9volts.
Connectthetestleadsfromtheresistancedecadeboxtothetestprobesofthemeter,setthe
decadeboxtothedesiredresistancei.e.103=1K,thenpressandholdthemeterstestbutton.
The103LEDshouldlight,10K104LEDshouldlightandsoon.Tomeasurethechangeoverpoint
betweendecades,increasetheresistanceofthedecadeboxwhilepressingthemeterstest
button.RecordtheresistancewhenthenextLEDlightspermanently(thisisthechangeover
resistance).
Example:ThefirstgreenLEDisilluminated103=1kilohm.At3or4kilohms,104LEDis
illuminated.Thechangeoverpointis3or4kilohms.104=10kilohmssobetween3or4kilohms
and30or40kilohmswillbethechangeoverpointsfrom104to105.

Pleasenotethatthemeterhasnointernalpartstoadjust,soverificationofcalibration
canbeachievedbyusingtheaboveprocess.Ifverificationcannotbeachievedtheunit
shouldbereturnedtothesupplier.

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