Why You Need a Cleanroom Design Company, Not Just a Contractor

Why You Need a Cleanroom Design Company, Not Just a Contractor

When beginning the cleanroom design process, it may seem like the simplest, easiest, most inexpensive route is to design the cleanroom yourself, then hire your general contractor to build it. After all, you’ve worked with your contractor before and trust them. But in reality, cleanrooms are complex, complicated, and delicate environments that require experience and specialized knowledge to design and build—knowledge and experience that cleanroom design companies have that contractors may not.

Cleanrooms have special design features

Cleanrooms are not regular rooms and have special design concerns. They need to be optimized for laminar air flow to control contamination, they need to be made of materials that are low particulate emitters, and they often have special features like air showers and pass thru chambers that must be specially designed to reduce the amount of contamination that enters a cleanroom. A poorly designed or integrated pass-thru chamber or other design feature will defeat your efforts to control your cleanroom environment and increase your energy cost and consumption, which is why you should leave those features to a specialist.

Cleanrooms require special equipment

Not only do cleanrooms have specialized features, they also require special equipment that must be seamlessly integrated with HVAC, filters, and other systems. Your general contractor might not have knowledge of fume hoods, hazardous material storage, or cleanroom HEPA or ULPA filtration systems, which, if those systems are not installed and integrated properly, could result in contamination or hazardous conditions in your cleanroom

Traditional construction isn’t always the best option

If you hire a contractor to build a room or suite of rooms for you, they’re going to build those rooms. But sometimes, you don’t need a room in the traditional sense—four permanent walls. With cleanrooms particularly, your company’s needs can change as you add or remove equipment, change your processes, or expand your operations.

Modular construction allows you to change your cleanroom when need be. Additionally, certain types of cleanrooms, like storage cleanrooms, may not require the space, control, or rigidity of a traditionally constructed cleanroom, and a softwall cleanroom may suffice. Modular construction can also be more cost-effective than traditional construction because it depreciates at a quicker rate.

We’re cleanroom design experts who design and build custom cleanrooms, not just general contractors. Angstrom Technology can design the perfect cleanroom for your application. Contact us today.

 

What Cleanroom Supplies Do You Need?

What Cleanroom Supplies Do You Need?

Designing and building a cleanroom is one thing, but knowing what you need to buy to keep that cleanroom clean and within the environmental controls for your desired cleanroom classification is another. Here’s a quick rundown on some of the supplies you might need for your cleanroom.

The cleanroom supplies that you need will generally depend on your classification. An ISO Class 1 cleanroom will have the strictest cleanliness and gowning procedures, because that is the most stringent classification, whereas an ISO Class 8 cleanroom may require fewer garments with a more infrequent replacement schedule.

Additionally, your industry and the specific tasks and processes performed in your cleanroom will affect the supplies you need. If your process includes the use of hazardous materials, you’ll need more PPE than a cleanroom of the same ISO or Federal Standard 209E classification. Check out our guide to cleanroom classifications for more information on cleanroom classifications and standards here.

General list of cleanroom garments:

  • Hoods
  • Hair Covers
  • Coveralls
  • Intersuits
  • Boots or Shoe Covers
  • Facial Covers
  • Gloves
  • Frocks

General list of cleanroom cleaning supplies:

  • Brushes & Brooms
  • Buckets
  • Mops & Mop Handles
  • Scrub Pads
  • Sponges
  • Squeegees
  • Wringers
  • Disinfectants
  • Detergents
  • Solvents

If you’re designing a cleanroom, get in touch with Angstrom Technology to see how our modular cleanroom designs can work for your application.