Safety Instructions

General safety instructions and information.

Electrical Circuits

  • The usual precautionary measures when handling electrical voltages have to be observed.
  • Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can instantly destroy electronics if you do not take appropriate precautions.
  • Inductive and capacitive voltage spikes can instantly and unexpectedly destroy electronics when you apply power, even if you are careful about electrostatic discharge (ESD). Further Information: Pololu - Understanding Destructive LC Voltage Spikes
  • Fully charged batteries can have a significantly higher voltage than their nominal voltage value.
  • Wall wart power adapters are often unregulated, so that a 9V adapter might initially output 12V and with the voltage dropping as the load increases.
  • Breadboards and jumper wires are not appropriate for carrying high currents.
  • Connectors (pin headers) only have a contact when they are soldered to the PCB.

Batteries

  • Mechanical damage or strong thermal stress can cause internal short circuits, which can lead to high currents and thus to high heating.
  • Lithium is a highly reactive metal. Burning batteries with lithium are not allowed to extinguished with water, please use for example sand.
  • Damaged batteries have to be disposed of in appropriate safety containers immediately.
  • Do not leave rechargeable batteries unattended while charging.

Lasers

  • The usual protection and precautionary measures when handling laser radiation and high power light sources have to be observed.
  • We strongly recommend wearing appropriate safety glasses when working with laser or high power light sources.

Magnets

  • Be careful when handling strong magnets (e.g. made of neodymium) to prevent pinching and splintering due to their brittleness.
  • Magnets create a far-reaching and strong magnetic field. Among other things, they can damage or harm computers, memory disks, credit cards or pacemakers.

Chemicals

  • The usual protection and precautionary measures when handling chemicals have to be observed.
  • Further necessary preventatives can be taken from the product label and packaging and the safety data sheet.