How to keep a cleanroom clean

How to keep a cleanroom clean

by | Mar 6, 2023 | Cleanroom Standards, Cleanroom Supplies

It can be challenging to keep a cleanroom clean and maintain its ISO class. Everything you introduce will likely release particles into the air — especially people! So, what are the best ways to keep your cleanroom up to the standards you so painstakingly maintained? Here are some basic concepts and helpful suggestions to maintaining the highest level of cleanliness.

Gowning: First and foremost, anyone entering the cleanroom must wear protective clothing. Humans are full of particles: our hair falls out, our skin flakes, and there’s no way to control it. That’s why anyone entering the cleanroom must wear appropriate protective clothing. Depending on your cleanroom’s class, this might be a gown and gloves or a full head-to-toe cleanroom coverall complete with a mask and goggles. You first have to define your standards, but then you should know what your employees should wear in the cleanroom.

Cleaning: Why do you need to clean a cleanroom if it’s already clean? Because of the inevitable introduction, generation, and retention of particles! If you are concerned with bioburden, you don’e just need to clean. You need to clean and disinfect! This is a two-stage process. First, you clean away the dirt (or, as we call it in the cleanroom industry, non-viable contamination), then disinfect the germs (viable contamination).

Cleanroom Furniture: Believe it or not, furniture can give off particles even when it’s just sitting there. And even when furniture doesn’t generate particles, it can accumulate them. That’s why cleanroom furniture has smooth edges and joins. Without dirt traps, particles and dust won’t build up on furniture. You’ll need to invest in this type of furniture to keep your cleanroom clean.

Air Shower: To limit the number of particles brought into your cleanroom, you might consider investing in an air shower. Used in conjunction with the gowning room, it blows off any particles that could easily fall off people entering the cleanroom. It’s a great way to eliminate extra particles before operatives enter the room. The experience can also get operatives into the right mindset of controlling contamination.

Sticky Mats: This is the best way to reduce foot-borne or wheel-borne contaminates. If your cleanroom has a high standard for cleanliness, this is a useful addition to your cleanroom.

Proper Cleanroom Gowning Techniques

The cleanroom gowning process may seem like a hassle, but you spend a lot of money getting the cleanroom installed and maintained, so a few extra minutes gowning properly isn’t a big deal if you’re protecting that asset and keeping your cleanroom as clean as possible. But what, exactly, do you have to do to make sure you and your employees are following proper protocol and protecting the environment of the cleanroom? It starts with a standard procedure. It will be much simpler if everyone follows the exact same process and understands the different areas of the gowning space. Generally, most gowning spaces have a “getting dressed” area and a “cleaner” area. Make sure employees understand these boundaries, and know where to stand at what point in the gowning process. Here’s an example of a standard gowning process. Remember, however, that most gowning processes will vary depending on the standard you’re required to adhere to.

  1. Perfume and Cosmetics – If you’re working in a cleanroom, the gowning process starts before you even get to work. It’s important to remember that products like perfume, make-up, hair gels, etc. give off extra fumes and particles. To keep your cleanroom as clean as possible, it’s necessary that anyone entering the room not wear these types of products.
  2. Remove personal items – Personal items like jewelry also have to come off before you go into your cleanroom. They, just like cosmetics, release extra, unnecessary particles into the air that you’re better off without.
  3. Change Shoes – Shoes pick up all kinds of dirt and dust when you walk around. It’s a good idea to change your shoes once you walk into the building, and then as you enter the gowning area, make sure you step on a sticky mat to remove any excess particles.
  4. Enter Gowning Area – Now you’ll enter the gowning room, and most places have a “getting dressed” area, which is where you’ll start. Make sure to put on a set of “donning gloves” or just a first set of gloves to eliminate particle contamination of gowning clothes. When gowning, remember to dress from head to toe; this eliminates particles from falling onto already gowned parts like coveralls and booties.
  5. Don Bouffant – First, you’ll put on your bouffant, or hair cover. Make sure to only touch the inside of it, and before you move on, ensure that all hair is covered and out of the way. After this, you may also have to don a hood, depending on your cleanroom’s standards.
  6. Don Coverall – If your coverall is one piece, start with the feet and move upwards. If it’s two pieces, start with the top and then sit down to put on the bottom half. Do not let the coverall touch the floor or walls. Make sure you zip all zips, and snap all snaps.
  7. Booties or Shoe Covers – Now, sit on the bench to don booties or shoe covers. Make sure you tuck your pants into the booties or shoe covers, and don’t step in the “getting dressed’ area. Instead, step into the “cleaner” area of the gowning room. If your cleanroom has an automatic shoe cover dispenser, use that for cleanliest practice.
  8. Don Goggles or Shield – If your cleanroom requires them, this is where you put on your goggles or face shield. Some cleanrooms do not require this level of protection, so you may be able to skip this step.
  9. Final Pair of Gloves – Depending on protocol, you may now remove the first pair of gloves and put on a second, or you may put a second pair of gloves over the first. Roll the cuff of the gloves over top of your sleeves.
  10. Enter – Now that you’ve properly gowned, you may enter the cleanroom. Remember that at this point you are as “clean” as you’re going to get, so if you touch anything before you get inside, you’ll have to start over, or at the very least change your gloves.

If you have anymore questions regarding the information provided above, please reach out to one of our experts. The experienced experts at Angstrom Technology can answer any of your questions quickly and efficiently, and would love to hear from you!

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The best wall panels for a dry room for battery manufacturing

The best wall panels for a dry room for battery manufacturing

by | Feb 22, 2023 | Cleanroom Supplies, Filtration

Our recent blog post discussed HVAC systems that deliver low dewpoint air to create a dry room for battery manufacturing. But we can’t overlook the importance of an envelope system in a dehumidification system. A fully sealed panel system with well-sealed doors will insulate and protect a dry room from moisture ingress. The experts at Angstrom Technology can create a stable low dewpoint production environment to meet your requirements. In this blog post, we explain how.

DRY ROOM for battery manufacturing wall PANELS: ROBUST & FLUSH

A critical building envelope decision is the fabric of the panel finish, which must consider cleaning regimes, robustness, and surface resistivity. The latter is often most important within the battery, semiconductor, and microelectronics industries.

A flush cleanroom system eliminates trapping points, allowing for the best particulate control possible. Vision panels and doors should have flush integrations to avoid dead zones in air flows and trapping points for particulate.

STATIC DISSIPATIVE PANELS

Static dissipative plastics have a surface resistance that allows electrical charges to dissipate within milliseconds. The use of static dissipative materials will allow charges to flow to the ground in a slow and controlled way, preventing discharge to or from human contact.

ANTI-STATIC PANELS

Anti-static materials usually have a surface resistivity that inhibits the build-up of electric charges created when two materials rub together. Suppressing initial charges prevents the build-up of static electricity and provides a very slow rate of static charge decay from a hundredth to several seconds. This method can control building envelope charges in micro-electronic facilities.

PANEL CORE

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can cause lithium to catch fire or micro-electronic components to fry, so battery dry rooms must be designed and built to ground charges safely. Panels with PIR or PU cores are highly insulative, so they can trigger ESD, making them inappropriate for these environments. Instead, panels with an aluminum honeycomb core and either anti-static or static dissipative facings will help manage the grounding of charges.

FIRE RISKS

Ultra-low humidity levels combined with highly combustible materials give battery dry rooms a high fire risk, which needs careful management. A low surface spread of flame tested to ASTM E84 is essential.

 

 

Whitepaper: Dry room design guide for lithium battery manufacturing

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BATTERY DRY ROOM DESIGN & BUILD PROJECTS WITH ANGSTROM TECHNOLOGY

As Angstrom Technology are cleanroom specialists, our dry rooms can also achieve ISO classification. Not only that, but a dry room for battery manufacturing from Angstrom can also meet any applicable international engineering and building standards and regulations.

We’ve developed proven envelope solutions and reliable cleanroom HVAC designs for many applications. The Angstrom Technology group pride ourselves on our in-house expertise and capability to deliver over 100 cleanrooms annually across America, the UK, and Europe.

Tell us about your new dry room project!

 

 

Fan Filter Units and Air Handling Units. What’s the Difference?

Fan Filter Units and Air Handling Units. What’s the Difference?

by | Feb 16, 2023 | Cleanroom Supplies, Filtration

If you’re considering different options for filtering and treating the air in your cleanroom, you’ve likely come across fan filter units (FFUs) and air handling units (AHUs). What’s the difference, and how can you design a cleanroom filtration system that will offer you the control you need with maximum efficiency? Let’s break down fan filter units and air handling units in more detail.

Fan Filter Units and Air Handling Units: What’s the Difference?

Both FFUs and AHUs filter and treat the air in cleanrooms and controlled environments. However, they do this differently. The most significant difference between these systems is their connection to cleanroom HVAC.

Air Handling Units

An air handling unit is synonymous with the HVAC system and acts as a centralized unit for air processing and filtration. When an air handling unit is solely responsible for delivering clean air to the cleanroom, a fan pushes treated air through a filter positioned right before the plenum and into the room.

AHUs can be simple or complex, depending on the needs of the cleanroom. Simple AHUs consist of a HEPA filter, a heating coil, a cooling coil, and a fan to push air through the unit. More complex AHUs can also contain a sound attenuator, return fan, relief air section, humidifier, intakes for outside air, and a discharge plenum.

Fan Filter Units

Fan filter units sit in the cleanroom envelope, and to reach air cleanliness standards, you can increase or decrease the quantity as needed. They are individual units that each deliver filtered air into the cleanroom. The HVAC unit still controls temperature and relative humidity, but air enters the cleanroom after terminal filtration through the separate FFUs.

Fan filter units have a more straightforward construction multiplied across the cleanroom to reach peak effectiveness. They consist of a HEPA filter, a pre-filter, and a fan to push air through the unit. The more stringent the cleanroom classification, the more fan filter units are required to reach particle count requirements. For example, while an ISO Class 8 cleanroom may only need 5-15% of ceiling coverage dedicated to FFUs, ISO Class 3 cleanrooms may require 100% ceiling coverage with these powerful filtration units.

Fan Filter Units and Air Handling Units: Pros and Cons

While one system is not inherently better than the other, fan filter units offer some advantages over an air handling unit alone.

Drawbacks of Relying on an Air Handling Unit

AHUs deliver fresh, filtered air directly into the cleanroom. Because the entire system is in-house, all filters, heating, and cooling coils are maintained in one central location. It may seem like a more straightforward construction, but using AHUs to manage the treatment and filtration of air for an entire cleanroom requires more energy and becomes more inefficient (and expensive) as your ISO class gets lower.

Disadvantages of Relying on an AHU for Filtration

  • Higher Airflow Requires More Power: The entire system pushes air into the cleanroom through one or a few filtered openings. Depending on your cleanroom size and classification, a lot of air is forced through a limited space. Using an AHU to cool and filter the air in a cleanroom takes a lot of power, especially at lower ISO levels.
  • Inefficient Configuration for Low ISO Cleanrooms: As the ISO class gets lower, there’s more reliance on the AHU and filter to provide clean, cool air for the room. When cleanrooms get more complex and house large or sensitive equipment that generates a lot of heat, making it challenging to manage heat and ACH with just an AHU.
  • Vulnerable to Filter Loading: AHUs should run 24/7 to prevent filter loading. This is when particles settle on filter media and are forced through when the system is turned back on. Tears and filter loading can reduce filter performance and are challenging to spot and address.

Why Implement Fan Filter Units in Your Cleanroom

Many cleanrooms opt for modular construction with fan filter units installed in a grid ceiling. Especially those that must support sensitive processes at a lower ISO level. That’s not to say that an air handling system couldn’t do the job just as well. But the easy installation and maintenance of FFUs make them a more widespread, efficient, and cost-effective choice.

Advantages of Using Fan Filter Units

  • Modular and Customizable: Each filter and housing is an independent system mounted in a modular ceiling grid. FFUs are entirely customizable in size, flow rate, and filter options. When designing a cleanroom filtration system with FFUs, you have more flexibility to meet your classification, project, and budget requirements.
  • Thorough and Efficient Cleanroom Filtration: Fan filter units are 99.99% efficient with HEPA filters. Or 99.9995% with ULPA, making them ideal for various sensitive applications. They also produce less noise than a large AHU.
  • Easy to Modify: Fan filter units are ideal for projects that need room to grow. To meet increased cleanliness requirements, you can simply add more FFUs. With AHUs, this would require a certified contractor to reconfigure the system and run extra conduit.
  • Easy to Maintain: FFUs also present an advantage during maintenance. Self-contained units can be accessed and replaced as needed without having to disable the entire system.

To meet productivity demands, a reliable and easily accessible filtration system is a must. And the higher filtering power means that sensitive applications, such as those working with sensors or delicate electronics, are protected from the smallest particles with accuracy and consistency.

CLEANROOM DESIGN & BUILD PROJECTS WITH ANGSTROM TECHNOLOGY

As Angstrom Technology are cleanroom specialists. We’ve developed proven envelope solutions and reliable cleanroom HVAC designs for many applications. The Angstrom Technology group pride ourselves on our in-house expertise and capability to deliver over 100 cleanrooms annually across America, the UK, and Europe.

If you’re interested in designing a cleanroom that runs at peak efficiency to cut unnecessary costs, get in touch with the cleanroom experts at Angstrom Technology. We’re happy to help design the right airflow pattern and install the solutions that will make your cleanroom cleaner.

 

 

 

 

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Best Ergonomic Cleanroom Furniture for the Plastics Industry

Best Ergonomic Cleanroom Furniture for the Plastics Industry

by | Feb 17, 2021 | Cleanroom Supplies

Plastics industry cleanrooms are only successful if they are operated by employees who use their time wisely and productively. Therefore, the key to any productive cleanroom is taking care of its personnel. Providing your employees with cleanroom furniture that is not only functional, but helpful and designed for their comfort will help them do their jobs better and enjoy their work more, producing better results for your facility. 

Let’s take a look at the best ergonomic cleanroom furniture for plastics industry cleanrooms, and how your cleanroom design affects employee comfort and productivity. 

 

 

Cleanroom Furniture for Employee Comfort and Productivity

 

 

When choosing cleanroom furniture for your plastics industry facility, consider all parts of the cleanroom where your employees spend time. What can you do to make them more comfortable while they develop new products, test out materials, and work on equipment?

Some cleanroom furniture you might include in your facility could include cleanroom tables, chairs, and anti-fatigue mats.

 

Cleanroom Tables

 

Including cleanroom tables in your facility is a great way to improve operations within your plastics industry cleanroom. They can be made of a variety of materials, from laminated resin to stainless steel, have perforated surfaces to allow for easy airflow, and are designed to be completely adjustable for the height and comfort of your employees.

 

Cleanroom Chairs

 

Quality cleanroom chairs are essential for employees that must spend any serious amount of time seated while performing work tasks. Choose cleanroom chairs that encourage good posture and are fully adjustable for all body types.

 

Anti-Fatigue Mats

 

Anti-fatigue mats are used to cover areas where employees stand for extended periods to operate equipment or perform tasks. They come in different sizes and thicknesses, depending on the area your employees are working in and the desired level of cushioning. Anti-fatigue mats for cleanrooms are designed to be non particle-shedding and easy to clean, which makes them a perfect choice for cleanrooms with stringent cleanliness standards.

 

 

Ergonomic Cleanroom Design

 

 

In addition to choosing the right cleanroom furniture, your cleanroom design is just as important to any successful cleanroom.  An exceptional cleanroom design that uses a convenient layout, has plenty of storage, and makes use of high performance systems will make your employees’ jobs easier and their workdays more productive.

 

Cleanroom Layout

 

Your cleanroom layout can make the difference in your employees level of comfort and ease at work. A cleanroom designed with a convenient layout has a logical traffic pattern, which allows employees and air to move easily without obstruction or turbulence. If your cleanroom is too crowded or cluttered for this to happen, it might be time to consider expanding or upgrading your cleanroom before you risk serious consequences for your cleanroom’s productivity and cleanliness.

 

Cleanroom Storage

 

A well-designed cleanroom should include plenty of cleanroom storage to keep all the items your employees need within reach. Equipment, tools, cleaning supplies, and more should all be easily accessible and properly housed to limit the risk of contamination. Adequate storage within the cleanroom will also limit traffic in and out of the cleanroom.

 

Cleanroom HVAC and Systems

 

Your cleanroom HVAC and filtration systems do more than control the environment and air quality for your products, but also keep your personnel comfortable. Your cleanroom HVAC system should be powerful enough to regulate temperature, humidity and pressure within your cleanroom to the ideal levels for employee comfort, while the powerful HEPA filters remove particles and dangerous substances from the environment. 

Employees who are well-supported and comfortable are happier and more productive. A successful cleanroom depends on cleanroom furniture that helps employees do their best work as much as a clean, non particle-shedding environment. Any top-of-the-line cleanroom should factor employees into its design, as they are the ones who will need to operate and work in it. 

At Angstrom Technology, we design, build, and install cleanrooms made to keep your employees safe, comfortable, and productive. To learn more about our designing an ergonomic cleanroom, give us a call or reach out online.

Plastic Industry Cleanroom Design Tips: How to Choose Cleanroom Tables

Plastic Industry Cleanroom Design Tips: How to Choose Cleanroom Tables

by | Oct 21, 2020 | Cleanroom Supplies

When it comes to choosing the right cleanroom furniture for your plastics industry application, you have many options. Cleanroom tables come in a large selection of shapes, sizes, and materials, but not every table is a good fit for your cleanroom. Understanding the difference between common types of cleanroom tables could help you find the best option for your plastics industry cleanroom.

Cleanroom Tables, Workbenches, and Workstations

Cleanroom tables are just one type of surface you can use in your cleanroom. Other similar cleanroom furniture includes workbenches and workstations. What’s the difference? Tables, workbenches, and workstations are often used interchangeably, and the furniture itself could be used to serve a variety of purposes within your cleanroom design, but they do have small differences which could make one a better choice for you.

Workbenches are typically made to withstand a greater weight capacity. Built with sturdy, powder-coated steel frames, these surfaces are great for applications involving manual labor, such as in manufacturing and assembly.

Cleanroom tables are often used for lighter purposes, though not always. Cleanroom tables are versatile pieces of furniture, and can be used to hold equipment, serve as a desk, or a work space for conducting detailed tasks.

Workstations are typically for focused work, assembly of small parts, or as standing desks. They can also be used to support equipment like microscopes or vision systems for quality control. Workstations often have adjustable height options, so the user can decide what’s most comfortable for them.

Types of Cleanroom Tables

Cleanroom tables are made of sturdy materials that won’t shed particles or contribute to contamination of the controlled environment. The most common types of cleanroom tables are laminated, stainless steel and perforated.

Laminated Cleanroom Tables

Laminated cleanroom tables are coated with an epoxy resin or polypropylene to create a non porous, chemical-resistant surface that’s easy to clean and sterilize. These cleanroom tables are great for cleanrooms in ISO Class 5 or greater. Many laminate tables can be made conductive or electrostatic dissipative if the application demands anti-static properties.

Stainless Steel Cleanroom Tables

Stainless steel tables are a popular choice for cleanroom tables because they are easy to clean and sterilize, and are corrosion-resistant and non particle-shedding. These tables will work with any cleanroom classification standard, even the stringent requirements of ISO Class 3.

Perforated Cleanroom Tables

Perforated cleanroom tables are typically made of stainless steel, and offer all the same benefits, but have the added advantage of laser-cut holes across the table’s surface. This allows air to pass through the table without interrupting the cleanroom’s laminar flow or creating turbulence. Perforated cleanroom tables have powder-coated steel bases for great load bearing capacity.

Choosing the Right Cleanroom Table

To choose the best cleanroom tables for your application, you should also consider how you’ll use the furniture, and any other features that would make your work easier. These might include:

  • Size: Consider how you’ll use your cleanroom tables: for working on larger tasks, or small, focused work. Keep in mind that larger tables also take up more space in your cleanroom.
  • Height: Cleanroom tables with an adjustable height feature are ergonomic for employees and can be adaptable to a variety of uses.
  • Storage: Some cleanroom tables have built-in storage in the form of drawers or shelves.
  • Weight-Bearing Capacity: Consider what types of projects your cleanroom is involved in, or the weight of equipment cleanroom tables will be required to support.
  • Anti-Static: Some plastics industry cleanrooms require conductive laminate or electrostatic dissipative materials for cleanroom furniture.
  • Material: Your cleanroom classification will dictate which materials are acceptable within your cleanroom, but it should be a material that won’t corrode, shed particles, or be sensitive to chemicals used for cleaning.

Although there are many options to consider when choosing cleanroom tables, this gives you a great opportunity to find the ideal furniture for your application. If you’re still not sure which table will suit your needs best, talk to the cleanroom design experts at Angstrom Technology. With your industry requirements and cleanroom classification in mind, we can help guide you toward the best tables for your cleanroom design.

How Much Cleanroom Furniture Do I Need?

How Much Cleanroom Furniture Do I Need?

by | Apr 16, 2020 | Cleanroom Supplies

From the layout of your cleanroom to the procedures you follow to keep it clean, every part of your cleanroom’s design is crucial to its function. This also includes the materials and furniture inside its walls that help you create or test your products. 

Furniture inside a cleanroom serves many purposes. It not only provides spaces for you to develop your work or to support the equipment you use, it also provides comfort and support to your employees and controls excess movement that could be detrimental to your processes.

 

Too Much or Not Enough Cleanroom Furniture?

Generally, the fewer things in your cleanroom the better. Any furniture you use should be streamlined to maximize space and to allow for easy movement of people and air. That being said, you should have enough furniture to ensure your workers are comfortable and they have everything they need in the space to work effectively. Constant exiting and reentering of the cleanroom poses a higher risk of contamination than keeping a clean environment with all of the necessary materials already within the room.

 

Planning Your Cleanroom Furniture

When selecting cleanroom furniture, you’ll need to think about how many people you have working in the cleanroom at any given time who need tables to work at and places to sit. You’ll also need to keep in mind the ways your workers will interact with the furniture, pre-planning paths to doors, cabinets and counters. Every good cleanroom design will include a workflow around your furniture that is obvious and efficient.

The cleanroom furniture itself must comply with the needs of your work. It has to meet standards determined by your class type, be sturdy enough to hold any machinery or equipment you need and be able to withstand the chemicals you work with or use for cleaning.

The furniture you include might be specific to your application, but many types of furniture are needed by most cleanrooms: pieces like tables and chairs, countertops and cabinetry, shelves or other types of storage.

 

Surfaces and Work Areas

Almost every cleanroom will require a table or work surface for employees to use for note-taking, performing detailed work or to support equipment. Tables can either be fixed or moveable with casters. Depending on your cleanroom’s design, countertops may be the best work area because they double as storage, but they must be built into the cleanroom itself. Some cleanroom-specific furniture can be designed to be put away when not in use, which frees up a lot of open space in the room.

 

Chairs or Stools

When deciding on seating for your cleanroom, you’ll need to consider space as well as function. Stools take up less room, but chairs might provide more support and comfort to your workers if they have to remain at their stations for extended periods. Cleanroom seating should be ergonomic for workers as well as your space. Selecting adaptable furniture is a great choice because you can adjust settings to have the piece work for different employees or serve multiple purposes within your cleanroom. Multi-purpose furniture also cuts down on the amount of furniture you need to get the job done.

 

Storage Systems

Proper storage in a cleanroom is essential. Your cleanroom’s storage needs may differ if you must have special containers for cleaning supplies or hazardous materials. Having ample and accessible storage in place will help your cleanroom function effectively. Additionally, places to store materials and extra cleanroom furniture you don’t use all the time can help to keep your space clear of obstacles, which further maximizes the efficiency of your space.

Cabinets and shelves are great storage options that are easy to install and keep materials off the floor. They capitalize on vertical space and can help you keep your work areas clutter and contaminant-free.

 

Your Cleanroom Furniture Should Work For You

Knowing all of the pieces that need to come together within the cleanroom will affect the choices you make during its design. Your cleanroom furniture should enable your workers to be comfortable without getting in the way of important processes. Don’t forget to factor in furniture that supports your equipment such as fume hoods, gowning racks or HVAC vents. You should try to have a general idea of what furniture you’ll need prior to construction. Or, if you’re updating your current furniture, look at the space you’re using to determine how much and what kind of furniture works best.

Is it time to furnish your cleanroom, but you’re not sure where to start? As a cleanroom design, service, and installation company, we can help you choose the furniture that’s right for your classification and your budget. Reach out to Angstrom Technology to get started.