Will conductive paint applied to the inside of an ABS case prevent the case from getting electrically charged? It was suggested to me to use a conductive plastic enclosure to prevent triboelectric charging, but they are not as easy to find in the form factor I want. So for aesthetic and practical reasons I want to paint the inside with conductive paint rather than the outside. Would this work?
Thanks!
I want to prevent triboelectric charging (charging by rubbing it on a table) so it does not zap people.
[...]
I want to paint the inside with conductive paint rather than the outside. Would this work?
No.
Now you have explained your aim is to prevent tribocharging on the outside of an insulating material (it wasn't clear originally whether you meant tribocharging the outside or inside). Making the inside of the case conductive, does not significantly affect the behaviour of the insulating material on the outside.
It isn't clear why there is so much rubbing of the case that tribocharging is actually a problem (tribocharging effects vary depending on the two materials involved - I'm surprised that rubbing on a table causes a problem...). However for the situation you describe, the options that I can see are either:
Or, of course, accept your existing results as "expected behaviour" for devices with ABS cases, if you find other products / devices with similar cases, exhibit similar tribocharging in whatever test you are performing.
I work building test gear for testing electronic products. We are often concerned with this issue because we don't want the device being tested to be damaged by a static discharge from the test equipment.
Will conductive paint applied to the inside of an ABS case prevent the case from getting electrically charged?
It will prevent the inner surface of the case from getting charged, but will do nothing to prevent charge build up on the outer surface.
So for aesthetic and practical reasons I want to paint the inside with conductive paint rather than the outside. Would this work?
I expect not.
