Soldering irons touch the most sensitive components in your electronics assemblies. Yet, if the soldering iron is not grounded properly, these components may be exposed to significant overvoltage that can cause severe damage and affect reliability of the product. According to some studies*, soldering irons with poor grounding can inject current in excess of several amperes into the circuit. Poor grounding may be caused by many factors, including ground failure in an electrical outlet to which most soldering irons are grounded, internal failure of the soldering iron, oxidation of the tip and other factors.

3M™ Iron Man™ Workstation Monitors measure voltage directly on the circuit board during assembly. If there is any electrical overstress (EOS) on the board, 3M Iron Man Monitors will provide both an audio and a visual alarm to the operator.

Soldering irons are not the only threat; metal tools such as tweezers and screwdriver bits can also induce significant overvoltage to the circuit. Iron Man Monitors will detect most occurrences so that the corrective action can be immediately applied.

The 3M™ Iron Man™ Plus Workstation Monitor adds complete monitoring of the entire workbench; wrist strap and dissipative mat monitoring. The operator is monitored for proper connectivity and for excessive body voltage. The dissipative or conductive mat is monitored for its proper connectivity. 3M Iron Man Plus Monitors provide complete coverage of the entire workbench for ESD and EOS.

Key Advantages
Electric Overstress Monitoring on Each Board
Iron Man monitors indicate instances of electric overstress that each of your assemblies experiences.

Instant Feedback
Iron Man Monitors enable your operators to immediately react to instances of electric overstress. This way the causes of EOS can be identified and further damage to the assemblies prevented.

Isolation of Exposed Assemblies If a particular board experienced electric overstress, the operator can now set it aside for a thorough examination.

Complete Workbench Coverage
Iron Man Plus Monitors provide complete coverage of a workbench for ESD and EOS. With Iron Man Plus Monitors, an operator, a dissipative mat, and most importantly, all board assembly in progress are covered.

Down to Earth Family
Iron Man and Iron Man Plus Monitors are members of the new 3M™ Down to Earth monitor family - a practical and cost effective solution to ESD and EOS in electronics assembly.

Small and Inobtrusive
3M™ Iron Man™ Monitors are small enough to fit on each workbench where assembly and service occurs. Connect the overvoltage input to any ground plane connection of the board with the supplied alligator connector and when there is a dangerous EOS exposure, the operator will be instantly informed. Additionally, the board itself will be reliably grounded via a 1 Meg ohm resistor inside the 3M Iron Man Monitor. The 3M Iron Man Plus Monitor features a patented jack for the wrist strap which does not require soldering for its replacement improving reliability and reducing cost of ownership.



For additional information and complete specifications, please refer to the following product sheet: