When is a modular cleanroom right for you?
04/01/2003
By Kevin Gingerich
The growing need for flexibility is making modular cleanrooms increasingly popular for operations ranging from ISO Class 5 to ISO Class 3. For manufacturers, packagers and processors, there are three common reasons to go with a modular approach.
1) Since modular rooms make it possible to customize work areas without a large capital expenditure, they are an alternative if manufacturing operations have special requirements. Examples include restricted space, minienvironments around a single process or other unique specifications that make standard cleanrooms impractical.
2) Modularity is a smart option if you anticipate product changes (design or volume), process changes, new workstations, an ISO Class upgrade or a site change. Complete relocation to another part of the building—or to another facility altogether—is easily accomplished if a cleanroom is modular.
3) A modular room is especially attractive in a tight installation schedule or budget—or both. Modular systems use standard components, which suppliers generally have in stock, require no special skills or tools to assemble and can be installed by plant personnel.
Hardwall vs. softwall
Softwall rooms are widely used for fairly simple cleanroom operations. A common construction has vinyl curtains attached to steel tubing or, recently, aluminum framing. Hardwall rooms with rigid panels (acrylic, polycarbonate) attached to a framing system offer more stability and make it easier to achieve a positive seal to maintain cleanroom class integrity.
One of the most economical ways to build a hardwall room is with aluminum structural framing. Most framing systems feature standardized components with a simple t-slot design that allows them to be bolted together in minutes, eliminating the need for welding. Some have even been independently cleanroom-tested and certified and feature extrusions and accessories specially designed for cleanroom use. Configurations are only limited by the range of components and the designer's imagination.
Fast installation
Modular cleanrooms are much easier to assemble than conventional cleanrooms because the structures are typically welded. The bolt-together nature of aluminum structural framing allows even fairly complex structures to go together quickly, typically in a single day.
Companies usually handle installations themselves with a few simple tools, enlisting an electrician for lighting and HVAC connections. Panels made of glass require a little extra care and installation by a glazier, but can also be installed in a single day along with the rest of the project.
Expand or reconfigure any time
Before modularity, updating cleanroom operations was costly and required that much of the original structure be re-worked. However, the t-slot design that makes aluminum structural framing easy to assemble also makes it easy to replace a panel with a light or filter, or to enlarge the room to accommodate a new workstation. If necessary, the entire room can be disassembled very quickly and stored or re-assembled in another location. In a well-planned cleanroom, no original investment need ever be lost.
Cleanroom certifications
Whatever the construction, it is critical that all components be engineered to high standards of precision and quality. Equally important, they must be designed to meet the rigorous demands of controlled environments. Few framing systems include components specifically designed for cleanrooms, and fewer still meet the ISO 14644 standard.
Certified components feature smooth surfaces, without crevices that can trap particles such as grooves and exposed bolts. They also provide flush mountings for panels and filters. Tight fits are obviously important, preferably with sealed, gasketed joints. Components should also provide protection from dust and electrostatic discharge. Non-outgassing materials should be used wherever possible.
Modular cleanrooms offer some less-obvious advantages. Low shipping costs are usually much lower because aluminum and vinyl weigh less than steel and unassembled components make for smaller packages. Savings can be realized at installation as well, since no additional crews or riggers need to be hired for most installations.
Today's modular cleanrooms can provide greater flexibility than ever before, while maintaining the highest levels of productivity and contamination control. The company that matches the functionality and cleanroom compatibility of a modular system to its specific needs should have little trouble satisfying special requirements, staying ahead of changing needs and meeting challenging budgets or schedules.
Kevin Gingerich, director of marketing services for Bosch Rexroth Corp., Linear Motion and Assembly Technologies, has worked in the automation and cleanroom industries for 11 years. He can be reached at [email protected].
Portable cleanrooms stay flexible
Today's portable cleanrooms provide flexibility in design, as well as maintain high levels of productivity and contamination control. Here are a few flexible cleanroom designs that you can mold to your clean process needs:
Single-path softwall cleanroom
The single-path, one-through airflow design of the softwall cleanroom provides near-laminar airflow to keep air clean and prevent turbulence. This modular cleanroom is suitable for ISO Class 8 to ISO Class 5 environments. The company offers a one-year warranty on parts and service for each system.
Airtech, Fullerton, Calif.; www.airtechlaminarflow.com
Vertical flow cleanroom line
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The PCRs feature durable three-inch tubular support legs along with a 2x4-inch upper frame. The structure can be fabricated from painted mild steel or stainless steel. These vertical flow systems are designed to provide ISO Class 4 to ISO Class 8 environments. Other features include flow-through fluorescent lighting, solid walls of pass-through vinyl curtains and a variety of fan/filter modules.
la Calhène Inc., Rush City, Minn.; www.lacalhene.com
Process isolation enclosure
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The SIS 212 framing is constructed using proprietary, universal, durable 2.125-inch square 6063-T5 clear ..anodized aluminum. The modular ceiling frames of the pre-gasketed, durable 2-inch T-bar system are installed between struts and trusses with spans of two feet to 21 feet 10 inches. The barrier wall can be flexible clear standard or anti-static vinyl, with 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick aluminum, polycarbonate or tempered glass inserts.
Simplex Isolation Systems, Fontana, Calif. www.simplexstripdoors.com
Flexible softwall cleanroom
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The QS Series is self-contained and offered in ISO Class 5 through ISO Class 9 ..classifications. Standard rooms are equipped with SAM fan filter units (FFUs), lighting, a four-foot strip door and solid curtain panels.
Clean Rooms International Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich. www.cleanroomsint.com
Softwall enclosure lines
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The Vantage 100 line offers a durable, clear span frame design for small (up to 16-foot span) enclosures where the Vantage 200 line provides a frame system for larger ballroom-type clean enclosures. ..Their design allows for factory crew installation as well as customer installation supported with assembly instructions.
Class One Technology Inc., Anaheim, Calif. www.classonetechnology.com
Modular softwall cleanroom
Available from ISO Class 8 to ISO Class 4, the Series 577 softwall cleanroom can be furnished with a prefab wiring kit for quick connection of the filters and lights to a single electrical connection, as well as outfitted with optional acrylic panels. Each system features lightweight steel frames, clear polished vinyl curtains, motorized ceiling HEPA filters and lights. A number of smaller rooms may be combined for a larger cleanroom project.
Clean Air Products, Minneapolis, Minn. www.cleanairproducts.com
Multi-function cleanrooms
The clean enclosures come in two sizes: a Master Unit and a Slave Unit. Any combination of these can be used to expand the cleanroom area, which can then accommodate changing areas and various processes. The units can be used individually or attached and are portable on non-marking castors.
Connect 2 Cleanrooms, Lancaster, Lancashire, UK www.connect2cleanrooms.com
Softwall cleanroom
Expandable and movable, the structure consists of an epoxy-painted tubular steel framework, leg levelers or locking casters, T-grid ceiling fan-powered terminal filters, non-shedding ceiling tiles, sealed light fixtures and vinyl curtain walls and doors. Rooms are provided from ISO Class 4 to ISO Class 8 in any size or configuration. Options include air conditioning, antistatic curtains, solid wall panels in acrylic, painted steel or aluminum, static elimination and an all-stainless-steel construction.
Atmos-Tech Industries, Ocean, N.J. www.atmostech.com
Modular softwall kit
The UniGrid features a ceiling grid that attaches to the softwall for improved installation times and easier modifications. It upgrades to higher cleanroom classifications by removing ceiling tiles and adding additional fan filter units. The system supports 250 pounds, is walkable and can expand in two-foot and four-foot increments. A hard shell finish of white baked polyurethane powder coating prevents outgassing.
Servicor CPI, San Carlos, Calif.; www.servicor.com
Softwall isolator system
The Softwall Clean Isolator System (SCIS) meets California's Seismic Zone 4 and can free span up to 20 feet. The almost seamless interior—no exposed interior or exterior hardware—of each system can achieve cleanliness levels of ISO Class 5 to ISO Class 9. Its structure is powder-coated white for durability and all systems are pre-fabricated, labeled and packaged for on-site installation. Additionally, it can be upgraded to a hard wall system using various wall materials, without modification to the standard structural platform.
Pacific Environmental Technologies Inc., Corona, Calif., www.peticleanair.com
Chemical-resistant cleanroom
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The construction of the Nova frame system consists of 3x3x3/16-inch welded, painted tube steel, which is resistant to chemicals. The wall panels are construct-..ed of 2x2x0.63-inch tube steel, with Celtec or plexiglass inserts. It also meets all building and U.S. seismic codes.
Flowstar Corp., Gilroy, Calif.; www.flowstar.com
Anodized aluminum softwall cleanroom
The frame construction is an anodized aluminum extrusion framework with levelers or locking casters and fully gasketed ceiling frame sections integrated with a 2x4-inch T-grid crossbar system. Designed for ISO Class 4 to ISO Class 8 cleanroom environments, the perimeter of the system has a clear vinyl curtain with sealed corners and a four-foot section of overlapping strips for entry/exit. It incorporates 2x4 and/or 2x2 fan-powered HEPA or ULPA filter modules, 2x4 four-bulb drop-in sealed cleanroom fluorescent light fixtures with electronic ballasts and T-8 tubes and cleanroom-rated Mylar-coated ceiling tiles.
CleanZones LLC, Manalapan, N.J. www.cleanzones.com