Nick’s Niche: Finding solid ground
It’s surprising the number of times people ask me: "How do I measure ground on a part?" or "What is considered good ground on a part?" Occasionally, they ask the question in a backdoor fashion like: "How often should I clean my hangers?” or "Why is the part arcing in the booth?" In any case, they all are trying to find solid ground, like Lewis and Clark were trying to find a commercial water route across the continent to further trade. Fortunately, the quest for finding solid ground is easier than walking a couple of thousand miles through wilderness.
Let's start out with the definition of part ground. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) guidelines state that parts must have less than 1.0 megohm resistance to electrical ground. One megohm is equal to 1 million ohms, a sizeable amount of resistance. This stated recommendation from NFPA in their Guideline Bulletin Number 33 has a safety factor to ensure that sources of igniting the atomized powder are nonexistent.