Cleanroom Terminology 101

Cleanroom Terminology 101

by | Jan 22, 2019 | Cleanrooms, Helpful Tips

If you’re new to cleanrooms, the terminology surrounding them might seem like a foreign language, but it’s crucial to understand in order to design and run an effective cleanroom. Here’s a run-down on the most basic terms you need to know when it comes to cleanroom terminology.

What’s a cleanroom?

A cleanroom is a controlled environment that limits contamination and particles, as well as temperature, humidity, static, and other factors, in some cases. Specialized air circulation and filtration systems filter out particles and contaminants from the air. Cleanrooms can be used in a variety of industries and for a variety of applications, including storage, manufacturing, and testing and analysis. Read more about the various types of cleanrooms here.

What’s classification?

Cleanroom classification is a way of identifying the level of contamination control within a cleanroom. The classes are defined by the number of particles of certain sizes that are present in a cubic foot of air within the cleanroom. Cleanrooms are usually classified to either the ISO standard or Federal Standard 209E. Read more about cleanroom classifications here.

What’s ISO?

ISO stands for International Organization for Standardization, which is an international scientific body that creates standards for organizations for manufacturing, organizational success, and workplace conditions, among other things. ISO has created a standard for cleanroom classification that classifies cleanrooms into eight classes. Read more about the cleanroom ISO standards here.

What’s certification?

Certification is a process of testing and verifying cleanroom environmental controls to ensure that they meet the standard required for the industry and the application. This includes testing of the major components including filters, air flow equipment, HVAC, ionization equipment, etc. Read more about cleanroom certification and validation here.

 

Need to learn more about cleanrooms or need help designing one? Contact the cleanroom experts at Angstrom Technology. For more on cleanroom terminology, check out our cleanroom glossary.

Everything You Need to Know About Cleanroom Design

Everything You Need to Know About Cleanroom Design

by | Jan 8, 2019 | Cleanroom Design

There are so many things to consider when designing a cleanroom, from the necessary classification to the equipment to the budget to the application, even down to the material of the walls and the furniture inside the cleanroom. Here are our best resources with everything you need to know about cleanroom design to make your cleanroom project a success.

Most Common Cleanroom Design Problems

Don’t get tripped up before you even begin! It’s not enough to just design a cleanroom that meets your ISO standard, it needs to be efficient in terms of your processes. Most cleanroom issues are the result of poor planning and design, and that can easily be avoided. Read more about the most common cleanroom design problems here.

New Trends in Cleanroom Design

If you’re designing a new cleanroom, you want it to be up-to-date and cutting-edge, especially when cleanrooms are such a significant, long-term investment. This post breaks down the biggest emerging trends in cleanroom design, like sustainability, and how you can apply that to your own cleanroom design project. Read more about the new trends in cleanroom design here.

What to Think About When Choosing Cleanroom Furniture

Furniture is probably low on your list of design concerns, but it’s a crucial consideration to achieve an efficient, well-designed cleanroom. This post will help you ask the right questions to determine what you’ll need for your cleanroom, based on the specific application, processes, tasks, materials, and other things that will be happening or used within the cleanroom walls. Read more about what to consider when choosing cleanroom furniture here.

How to Decide on the Right Wall Material for Your Cleanroom

There’s more to cleanroom walls than just how many there are. There are several different types of walls that your cleanroom can have, all of which have different characteristics that suit differing applications. This post can help you determine, based on factors like cost, flexibility, cleaning, and durability, the right type of wall material for your cleanroom application. Read more on how to select the right cleanroom wall material here.

Design Options to Reduce Your Cleanroom Budget

While a cleanroom may be necessary for your application, oftentimes, you have little money to work with when designing a new cleanroom, and you need it to go a long way to meet your required cleanroom classification. This post has several suggestions on how to cut down on the expense of designing a cleanroom, from cost-efficient lighting choices to design features like pass-thru chambers that can help keep contamination down and reduce energy costs. Read more on how to design a cleanroom on a tight budget here.

Angstrom Technology has years of experience in designing efficient, effective cleanrooms for a variety of industries and applications. If you’re designing a cleanroom, get in touch with the experts at Angstrom Technology.

 

What Is A Cleanroom?

What Is A Cleanroom?

by | Dec 18, 2018 | Cleanrooms

The term “cleanroom” is a seemingly simple one: a room that’s clean. But it’s actually more complicated than that. Cleanrooms are specialized environments that are necessary for sensitive processes and operations, requiring careful planning and consideration, as well as specialized equipment and construction. There are many types of cleanrooms, but what exactly is a cleanroom in the first place? 

What is a cleanroom?

A cleanroom is a controlled environment that is regulated to certain standards specific to the application, for the purpose of preventing contamination of a process or product. This generally includes controlling the amount of particulate matter in the air, which involves air filtration, control of air entering the cleanroom, and special clothing and other equipment worn by people inside the cleanroom, such as sterile gowns and gloves.

Who uses cleanrooms?

Cleanrooms are used in a variety of industries, including (but certainly not limited to) aerospace manufacturing, medical device manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, water treatment, food preparation and manufacturing, medical marijuana grow rooms, biotech manufacturing, e-cigarette and e-liquid manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, industrial manufacturing, and hospitals. The industry and cleanroom purpose (clean storage, process control, manufacturing, quality testing, etc.) determine the cleanroom standard that is used to control the environment.

What are cleanroom standards and classifications?

Cleanroom standards define the amount of particulate contamination that is allowable in a cleanroom space for each particle size. Cleanroom classifications use these standards to classify cleanrooms and measure them for compliance. There are two classification systems that are generally used, categories in which overlap. One is the ISO Classification system, which has eight categories ranging from least strict (ISO Class 8) to most strict (ISO Class 1). The other is the Federal Standard 209E (Fed-Std 209E) which ranges from Class 1 (most controlled) to Class 100,000 (least controlled).

Read more on cleanroom classifications and standards here.

No matter what your application or cleanroom needs, Angstrom Technology can design the perfect cleanroom for you.

When Is It Time for a New Cleanroom?

When Is It Time for a New Cleanroom?

by | Dec 6, 2018 | Cleanrooms

If you have a cleanroom or laboratory space, chances are it cost your company a great deal of money to construct and get into working order. Because of that investment, you want to get the most mileage out of your cleanroom. But you shouldn’t put off updating, redesigning, or even installing a new cleanroom, especially when its integrity and functionality are crucial to your processes and operations. Here’s when you know it’s time for a new cleanroom:

When your application changes

If you’ve been using your cleanroom space for one purpose and your product offerings or processes have changed, you may need to redesign your cleanroom to meet your new process needs. For example, if you have a softwall cleanroom that you use for clean storage of e-liquid for e-cigarettes, but you now need a controlled environment in which to manufacture and test your e-liquid products, you’ll need a new cleanroom that can provide a higher level of environmental control and can accommodate the larger space you’ll need for workstations and equipment.

When your current cleanroom doesn’t meet your needs

If your cleanroom doesn’t meet your needs for your current application, even if your application hasn’t changed, don’t make do, upgrade. If your cleanroom doesn’t offer the level of environmental control that you need, have enough space, or accommodate the equipment you need for your process, it’s time to go in for a cleanroom redesign.

When you need more space

When people are bumping into each other in your cleanroom on a regular basis, having to share cramped workspaces, or waiting in line to use the fume hood, you need more space in your cleanroom. This could mean building an entirely new cleanroom, if your cleanroom is traditionally constructed, or expanding your cleanroom if you have a modular cleanroom.

When your current cleanroom lacks integrity

If your cleanroom is unable to meet the standard for environmental control that your application requires, it’s time for a new one, or at least an evaluation and replacement of what’s not working in your current cleanroom. It could be that your filtration system is not operating efficiently and needs replacement or that your space is not properly sealed from the outside environment.

If you’re updating your current cleanroom, or starting from scratch, call the experts at Angstrom Technology.

 

Understanding Cleanroom ISO Classes

Understanding Cleanroom ISO Classes

by | Nov 19, 2018 | Helpful Tips

Cleanroom classification can be confusing, especially when there are multiple standards used in multiple industries and even multiple types of cleanrooms, and when there is overlap in those standards. Here we’ll focus specifically on ISO classes: what they are and why they matter.

What are the ISO classes?

The ISO classification system has eight classes, ISO Class 8 being the least controlled and ISO Class 1 being the most controlled.

Maximum Number of Particles in Air by Particle Size

ISO Class≥ 0.1μm≥ 0.2μm≥ 0.3μm≥ 0.5μm≥ 1μm≥ 5μm
ISO 11020000
ISO 21002410400
ISO 310002371023580
ISO 41000023701020352830
ISO 51000002370010200352083229
ISO 61000000237000102000352008320293
ISO 7–––352000832002930
ISO 8–––352000083200029300

 

Why does ISO classification matter?

Most laboratory and cleanroom applications require a controlled environment. The level of control depends on both the industry and the specific application. Cleanroom classes serve as a standard that can be easily referenced for the required level of environmental control. Additionally, they serve as a standard for certification to ensure that a cleanroom meets the proper level of control for the industry and the specific tasks performed in that cleanroom.

To create a cleanroom that meets your required ISO standard, contact Angstrom Technology. For more on cleanroom classifications and standards, including Federal Standard 209E, check out our guide.