Evenbound - Hunter, Author at Angstrom Technology

3 Common Types of Cleanrooms

by Evenbound - Hunter | Jul 16, 2020 | Cleanrooms

If you know you need a controlled space to operate your business, a cleanroom is designed to help you achieve a completely clean environment to work, while managing environmental factors like temperature, humidity, static, and pressure. Whether you’re manufacturing, developing, inventing, testing, or packaging, various cleanroom types will offer you different features. Some might be better suited for certain cleanroom classifications or offer special features or more compatibility with your unique application. Let’s take a look at three common types of cleanrooms: HardWall, SoftWall, RigidWall cleanrooms.

HardWall Cleanrooms

For cleanrooms with rigorous classification standards, HardWall cleanrooms are designed to comply with any cleanroom classifications, even the most stringent (ISO Class 1).

HardWall cleanrooms can be freestanding or incorporated into an existing building. Made using a coated aluminum frame with a prefabricated panel, HardWall modular cleanroom panels are designed to achieve a high level of control over static, pressure, humidity, and contamination.

A great advantage of HardWall cleanrooms is that they can be installed in an existing structure around mounted equipment, using light from the building’s windows and connecting to the existing HVAC system. This cleanroom type also offers extreme environmental control beyond particle count and air changes. In addition to management of temperature, static, and humidity, HardWall cleanrooms can be pressurized if your classification requires extra contaminant protection.

HardWall cleanrooms can comply with any industry specific requirements and are well suited for all cleanroom applications such as medical cleanrooms — including research and pharmaceuticals — aerospace cleanrooms, and even sensitive electronics manufacturing or semiconductor cleanrooms. HardWall cleanrooms can be easily modified or reconfigured by adding or removing modular panels, and are durable enough to be reused, relocated, and repurposed while maintaining their quality.

SoftWall Cleanrooms

SoftWall cleanrooms are a minimalist, lightweight cleanroom type that can accommodate most cleanroom classification standards. SoftWall cleanrooms can fit in almost any space and are fully customizable with a wide variety of filtration options, door types, and other modifications.

Featuring an aluminum alloy frame and clear or opaque vinyl curtains around the perimeter, SoftWall cleanrooms are designed to be more compact, so they can work almost anywhere in your facility — even within another cleanroom. Of course, if you’re looking to expand, custom sizes are available. Curtains are made from anti-static or conductive PVC or polyethylene. 40 mil clear is the standard option, but frosted or clear anti-static vinyl are also available as well, in a range of colors for UV absorption. During installation, wiring is installed on-site, with optional pre-assembled wiring harnesses. You can also choose to install standard fan filter units and a control panel for FFUs, lighting, and other wiring.

SoftWall Cleanrooms are able to reach most cleanroom classifications, and are ideally suited for ISO Classes 4-8.

If you’re looking for an affordable cleanroom option that’s easy to assemble and maintain, a SoftWall cleanroom would be perfectly suited for your application. SoftWall cleanrooms have the advantage of being an affordable modular option that don’t sacrifice their high performance capacity. Their extremely flexible design makes them a great choice for applications that need room to grow, including plastics manufacturing, automotive cleanrooms, growrooms, and some medical cleanroom applications.

RigidWall Cleanrooms

RigidWall cleanrooms can also provide a suitable environment for applications with less stringent classification requirements, with some flexibility that allows you to make changes as necessary to the layout and design of your cleanroom. RigidWall panels have a durability comparable to HardWalls, with full visibility floor to ceiling. They are best used for cleanrooms with classifications ISO Class 5-8.

With a choice of acrylic, static dissipative PVC, or polycarbonate wall panels, a RigidWall cleanroom will house your operations in a transparent, attractive style. Unlike the SoftWall curtain or the utilitarian HardWall panels, RigidWall panels are sleek and minimalist. Flat, clear panels allow easier monitoring of the cleanrooms while also creating an attractive feature for the space, making them a perfect frame to show off your work to investors.

An advantage of RigidWall cleanrooms is that they are easy to maintain. Although they aren’t as flexible as SoftWall panels, RigidWalls can be modified with some effort, or even stored if you need to free space for something else. RigidWall panels can be customized in size with heights up to 7-14 feet, and come pre-wired with outlets and switches to control lighting, fans, and equipment. Panels are suspended from a strong ceiling grid which, fully-secured, means the panels will maintain their shape and integrity over time.

RigidWall cleanrooms make a high-performance choice for a number of applications such as automotive cleanrooms, aerospace cleanrooms, and some medical device packaging and plastics cleanrooms.

All cleanroom types can be fully customized or modified to your unique application. Whether you need a highly controlled environment to meet stringent cleanroom classification requirements or an affordable option to allow your operations to grow, a HardWall, SoftWall, or RigidWall cleanroom would be a great choice for your facility.

Still not sure which cleanroom type is best for your application? Talk to the experts at Angstrom Technology. No matter what type of cleanroom you need, we can help you design and install it. To help you decide which cleanroom type is best for you, give us a call!

HVAC System Requirements for Aerospace Cleanrooms

by Evenbound - Hunter | Jul 9, 2020 | Aerospace Cleanrooms

Aerospace cleanrooms require a high level of control. They can range from an ISO 14644-1 Class 5-7, which have vastly different requirements. At a minimum ISO Class 7, the cleanroom will require about 60-90 air changes per hour and need to filter out a range of particle sizes, including all but 352,000 of microns 0.5 or larger per cubic meter. The cleanroom’s filtration system, airflow pattern, and ceiling fan coverage all work together to reach these stringent cleanroom classifications. In addition to these components, there’s another system that is integral to maintaining control and supporting other factors of cleanroom design: the cleanroom HVAC system.

The aerospace cleanroom HVAC system effectively controls temperature, humidity, and ventilation within the space. It helps make sure all processes run smoothly and helps keep the cleanroom clean and efficient. Let’s explore the basic cleanroom HVAC requirements for environmental control of temperature, humidity, and ventilation, and how these three factors can play an important role in aerospace cleanroom operations.

Aerospace Cleanroom HVAC Temperature

A cleanroom HVAC system is crucial for controlling temperature within your aerospace cleanroom. It’s important to manage temperature, not only to keep employees comfortable but to maintain a stable environment. Some processes within aerospace cleanrooms generate significant heat and need to be balanced with proper cooling to prevent both staff and equipment from overheating.

Temperature fluctuations could affect cleanroom operations if some equipment, parts, or materials are temperature sensitive. Some sensors or electronics will not function effectively in an unstable environment. Also, expanding and contracting as a response to temperature changes could affect manufacturing equipment or products and lead to failure.

The cleanroom HVAC system can fine-tune temperature to optimal levels and make adjustments as needed depending on operating needs and project requirements. NASA recommends an optimal temperature of 67-77°F in aerospace cleanrooms ISO Class 5-8. For less restricted aerospace cleanroom applications, higher temperatures up to 80°F are allowed.

Aerospace Cleanroom HVAC Humidity

Humidity can affect aerospace cleanroom operations from minor to major ways, from changes to paint drying time or consistency to the disruption of fine electrical parts or sensors. At a minimum, humidity in aerospace cleanrooms should be controlled to prevent condensation on surfaces, which could not only affect the performance of hardware within the cleanroom but also could attract surface particulates and contaminate products.

The HVAC system is responsible for regulating appropriate humidity levels within the controlled cleanroom environment. Humidity in an aerospace cleanroom should be 30% at minimum, and not exceeding a maximum of 50%.

Aerospace Cleanroom HVAC Ventilation

Proper ventilation is key to meeting stringent air change or air velocity requirements in an aerospace cleanroom. Optimal and consistent ventilation is essential for supplying the cleanroom with clean air, and is the foundation for all other systems to function effectively. Proper ventilation powers the cleanroom airflow pattern, limits airborne particles with the support of filters, and prevents surface particles from settling and contaminating the cleanroom environment.

Airflow also creates a pressure differential. Positive pressure in aerospace cleanrooms helps prevent contaminants from entering the controlled environment, especially through small spaces in the structure around doorways, between panels, or other weak points. To achieve positive pressure, the cleanroom HVAC system will push more air into the cleanroom than is allowed out. Only a slight degree of pressurization is needed to achieve positive results.

Choosing the Right Cleanroom HVAC

Depending on your application, your aerospace cleanroom will have to meet a classification as well as specific industry requirements. These also stipulate control over environmental factors that could interfere with cleanroom operations. In addition to proper filtration and ceiling coverage of FFUs, your cleanroom HVAC system is important to maintaining a controlled environment. Establishing complete control over environmental factors like temperature, humidity, and ventilation, your cleanroom’s HVAC is a vital part to achieving project success.

Depending on your application’s unique needs and cleanroom classification, a more powerful HVAC system might be required. Your capabilities within your cleanroom are determined by your collective systems’ ability to manage the environment, effectively change the air, and consistently remove particles to keep the space clean and contaminant-free.

Is your existing cleanroom HVAC system powerful and efficient enough to meet your needs? Whether you’re shopping for a new HVAC or looking to update your existing one, Angstrom Technology can help! We understand aerospace cleanroom HVAC requirements and can help you get the most out of your system for full temperature, humidity, and filtration control. To have our experts assess your HVAC or go over your requirements for a new system, give us a call or reach out online.

3 Medical Industries that Use Negative Air Pressure Cleanrooms

by Evenbound - Hunter | Jul 2, 2020 | Medical Laboratory Cleanrooms

It’s a well-known natural process for air to flow from high to low pressure. Examples of this are found around us every day. Wind and weather are formed from the uneven heating of the earth’s surface which generates pockets of high and low pressure air. If you’ve ever witnessed the sudden closing of a door as air is sucked out of a room where no breeze was felt, what you experienced was the high pressure air moving to a low pressure area to achieve stasis.

High and low pressure, or positive and negative pressure, can be used as a tool in cleanroom environments to protect against entering contaminants (in positive pressure cleanrooms) or contaminant leakage (in negative pressure cleanrooms). We’re going to focus on negative pressure cleanrooms, how they work, and how they are especially important in some medical cleanroom applications.

What are Negative Air Pressure Cleanrooms?

In a cleanroom, pressurization can be achieved using airflow and air direction. Negative pressure cleanrooms exhaust more air than they supply to create a lower pressure than is found in the surrounding rooms. Negative pressure in cleanrooms is useful because it prevents any contaminants or hazardous substances inside the cleanroom from leaking out where they could contaminate adjacent rooms or endanger employees.

Negative pressure is used in sensitive applications where processes or substances within the cleanroom could be hazardous to work or health outside. Negative pressure is a simple way to further limit the possible escape of harmful particles, fumes, or substances, when used effectively with proper filtration and adequate ventilation.

How Negative Pressure Cleanrooms Work

To achieve negative air pressure, external exhausts pull air from the cleanroom at a faster rate than air is introduced over a span of time. The resulting negative pressure means air will want to flow into the cleanroom to fill the low pressure area, effectively stopping contaminants from going against that natural movement in order to escape the cleanroom.

In order for the negative pressure cleanroom to work, adjacent spaces must be maintained at a higher pressure than that of the cleanroom. A slight difference in pressure will prove effective at limiting contaminants, but the greater the pressure differential, the stronger the force of air that wants to move to achieve equilibrium, and thus the greater the resistance for contaminants to move the opposite direction. However, it is possible to have pressure that is too negative, as this could force contaminants into the cleanroom, where they could be detrimental in some applications.

Some cleanrooms only require a slightly negative pressure in order to contain aerosols, while others require a higher pressure difference to aid in containing hazardous liquids or gases from transferring in pass-throughs or other access points. Depending on your application, you may choose a higher pressure differential in order to limit the possible escape of hazardous liquids or toxic fumes. In any case, having a pressure monitoring system is important to ensuring balance and consistency within your cleanroom. If you’re exploring negative pressure cleanroom design, it’s a good idea to build in a monitoring system so you can always check and alter pressure as needed.

Determining Where to Use Negative Pressure in Cleanrooms

Negative pressure can be used in a small area, as the total cleanroom pressure, or in part of the cleanroom design such as in a passthrough, workstation, or storage cabinet. An external exhaust removes air and airborne contaminants, odors, or fumes, and prevents hazardous, toxic substances from escaping the negatively pressurized space.

Some cleanrooms require an enclosed space within the cleanroom to be at a different pressure than surrounding spaces. These are known as negative pressure rooms and are commonly found in pharmaceutical or medical research cleanrooms working with hazardous compounds or infectious particles. Negative pressure rooms are an example of a segmented cleanroom, where other segments may meet different classification requirements or have different needs for pressure, cleanliness, or operating procedures.

Medical Industries and Negative Air Pressure Cleanrooms

Negative pressure cleanrooms are particularly useful in medical applications where the work involves hazardous compounds, toxic fumes, or infectious substances. A few examples of medical industries that use negative pressure cleanrooms are hospitals, medical research laboratories, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Hospital Cleanrooms

Hospitals use negative pressure cleanrooms to contain airborne contagions, pathogens, and viruses.

Whether for research, treatment, preventative isolation or quarantine, negative pressure helps seal in dangerous contaminants to keep hospital staff and patients safe. Hospital cleanroom applications that work with hazardous drugs or infectious diseases are often required to use negative pressure when handling products and treating patients.

Medical Research Cleanroom

Medical research, especially that which involves hazardous substances, aerosol contaminants, or toxic waste, is generally done within the confines and protection of a biosafe cleanroom. Negative pressure is used to prevent any harmful particles from escaping the cleanroom where they could contaminate other spaces or endanger human or animal lives. Negative pressure cleanrooms protect researchers by containing hazardous materials or substances within the cleanroom, where staff is prepared with proper gowning and protective equipment.

Pharmaceutical Cleanrooms

Pharmaceutical cleanrooms, particularly those that must comply with USP 800 standards for sterile and non sterile compounding of hazardous materials often require negative pressure to operate safely. Negative pressure cleanrooms allow for safer handling of hazardous drugs, presenting fewer risks to employees and consumers. USP 800 pharmaceutical cleanrooms require a dedicated water channel gauge to monitor pressurization, ensuring that the differential is high enough to be effective, but not too high where it could reduce efficiency and potentially bring contamination into critical parts of the cleanroom.

Negative pressure cleanrooms are helpful in cleanrooms where the emphasis is on containing the work, product, or processes within the cleanroom. Although they are particularly useful in many medical cleanroom applications, some negative pressure cleanrooms can be found in other industries where hazardous materials need to be controlled.

Need a negative pressure cleanroom for your sensitive application? At Angstrom Technology, we have the tools and expertise to design the cleanroom that best fits your application and your budget. For a free quote, reach out to our team.

Static Control for Medical Device Cleanrooms: Everything You Need to Know

by Evenbound - Hunter | Jun 22, 2020 | Medical Laboratory Cleanrooms

Even with a powerful HVAC system, a multi-stage HEPA filtration process, and thorough cleaning procedures, contaminants can still threaten a controlled cleanroom environment. Static electricity is common everywhere we live, but in a cleanroom it can be unpleasant, detrimental, and even dangerous. How can the dangers of static affect your application? How can these problems be avoided? Let’s explore static electricity in medical device cleanrooms, and how to build static control into your cleanroom design from the ground up.

Why Does Static Matter?

Static electricity is caused by an imbalance of positive and negative charges on a surface or object. These charges accumulate until they’re neutralized or discharged. It’s a common phenomenon in all parts of the world and is usually harmless. In a cleanroom, however, the buildup of static electricity can be dangerous to products and employees.

Static electricity in cleanrooms can present dangers to any industry, but in medical device manufacturing, assembly, and packaging it could have disastrous, life-altering consequences. Three ways static can influence with medical device cleanroom safety and efficiency are by:

Attracting Contaminants

Static causes contaminants to adhere to charged surfaces through electrostatic attraction (ESA). ESA can occur in many stages of product development and assembly but is perhaps most dangerous in packaging. Particularly if products are packaged using plastic, they can carry charges that are not neutralized during shipping. Once opened, contaminants are attracted to the device, causing it to fail or be rejected.

Inhibiting Equipment

Static that accumulates during product development can interrupt important processes. If parts of the device are repelled or attracted to machinery or equipment it can contaminate them or cause a slowdown in operations, reducing your cleanroom’s efficiency and increasing operational costs.

Generating Charges

Static charges that accumulate on surfaces, equipment, personnel, and products that are not properly discharged or neutralized can interfere with electronics or hardware you use to create devices or the devices themselves, causing them to malfunction or fail. Static charges can also create electric shocks, which, while not likely to cause extreme bodily harm, could cause involuntary movement which could lead to accidents or damage to the employee, delicate equipment, or devices.

Managing static effectively is crucial. Even when the effects of static electricity in medical device cleanrooms are not threatening to the devices you develop, assemble, or package, they may interfere with efficiency and affect operational costs of your facility. How do you control static in your cleanroom? Many potential problems can be addressed in your cleanroom design and then managed with specific static control cleanroom supplies.

Static Control Methods in Cleanroom Design

Cleanroom design can incorporate methods to conduct, dissipate, or neutralize static electricity.

Conduction

In conduction, materials or surfaces that present little resistance to the flow of electrons are used to guide charges to the ground safely. Conductive materials direct charges away from where they can damage products or attract contaminants.

Dissipation

Dissipation, similar to conduction, is the flow of charges to the ground, but occurs more slowly and in a more controlled manner. Materials that allow electrostatic discharge through dissipation can be used in flooring, wall materials, and furniture. ESD products discourage the buildup of static electricity to protect products, employees, and cleanroom operations.

Neutralization

To neutralize static, the imbalance of charges must be corrected through adding electrons to positive charges or removing electrons from negative charges. Air ionization is one method more medical cleanrooms are adopting to neutralize air and surface charges.

An air ionization system adds positive and negative ions to the atmosphere of your cleanroom, directing them with a focused nozzle or blower. The ions are attracted to charged surfaces of the opposite polarity, balancing and effectively neutralizing the surface. Air ionization systems can be incorporated in key areas of production of medical devices, as well as at entry points of the cleanroom to limit the introduction of charges into the cleanroom by employees.

Static Control Equipment Cleanroom Supplies

To control static electricity and prevent harmful effects including damage to your equipment, employees, and products, anti-static cleanroom supplies are used to manage static or avoid the generation of excess charges. These could include:

Air showers
Ionizing blowers
Sticky mats to collect contaminants
ESD safe furniture such as chairs and workstations
ESD garments, gloves, and footwear
ESD monitoring equipment

Static control is also important for cleanrooms using fine electronics and sensitive or flammable substances. In the medical industry the production of medical devices might be the application most threatened by static electricity. With intentional cleanroom design and static control cleanroom supplies, you can protect your products and people, encourage efficient operation, and avoid the potential problems of escalated costs or failed products.

Think you need static control in your medical cleanroom, but not sure where to start? Angstrom Technology can design and build cleanrooms to your specifications using conductive flooring, ESD materials, static control equipment, and more. We have solutions to avoid static buildup and protect your work and employees. Get in touch with our team to learn more.

Where Should I Install My Cleanroom?

by Evenbound - Hunter | Jun 17, 2020 | Cleanroom Installation

Cleanroom installation requires as much careful planning as cleanroom design. When deciding on the best place to install your cleanroom, you’ll need to consider a few factors. First, take a look at your classification. Your cleanroom classification will determine what type of cleanroom you can build, how it should be built, and even what materials you can use in cleanroom construction.

Once you know what kind of cleanroom you can build, you can consider if it will be more efficient or cost effective to install your cleanroom in your existing building or build a freestanding cleanroom. Let’s go over this process in more detail.

Consider Your Cleanroom Classification

Your first stop on the road to a complete cleanroom installation is to look closely at your cleanroom classification. A cleanroom classification defines how “clean” your environment needs to be, specifically noting the allowances for particle sizes and air change rates within your cleanroom.

Your cleanroom’s classification will determine a lot about how your cleanroom can be built and what materials can be used. Depending on the strictness of your cleanroom standards, there may be certain building practices more suited to your needs. For example, cleanrooms with higher cleanliness standards, like aerospace cleanrooms and medical cleanrooms, will have limited options for cleanroom types and materials in order to control airflow and particle size, and limit any potential contamination as much as possible.

Cleanroom Classification and Cleanroom Installation

Higher cleanroom classifications will require more complete control over particle count with frequent air changes and fine adjustments to temperature, humidity, pressure, and static; and filter out not only airborne particulates but also control surface particulates. These types of cleanrooms will likely require the installation of separate, powerful HVAC and filtration systems, and will only use materials that are non-particle shedding and able to be thoroughly cleaned.

If your requirements are less stringent, like in some automotive cleanrooms and plastics manufacturing industries, you will likely be less limited in your material choices and cleanroom types. If you have the room, you may be able to install your cleanroom right in your existing building, and adapt the existing HVAC to control your cleanroom environment.

Whether you can adapt your space for cleanroom installation or you need to construct a separate, freestanding unit, your cleanroom classification will be the guide for your cleanroom design and build.

Where to Install Your Cleanroom

With a full understanding of your cleanroom classification requirements, consider the space and structural demands of your work. Your existing space or designated cleanroom area should leave plenty of room for necessary equipment, furniture, storage, and personnel.

You should also consider your building’s location before your cleanroom installation. Is your building located in an area that experiences more traffic and pollution? Is it next to a manufacturing facility, highway, railway, or shipping terminal? While these might not discourage your location choice, keep in mind they might increase the demand on your cleanroom’s filters, requiring them to be replaced more frequently or the implementation of a strategic airflow pattern to manage contaminants.

Build in Your Space

If your cleanroom classification and available space permit it, you may be able to install your cleanroom in your existing building. Cleanrooms can be built in your manufacturing facility, warehouse, laboratory, or even within another cleanroom. If you’re building a cleanroom using your existing structure, make sure you have enough room for everything it needs to operate, as well as space to allow easy movement and accessibility. You can either build the cleanroom traditionally or complete the cleanroom installation conveniently and quickly using modular cleanroom panels.

The advantages of modular cleanrooms are that they can be installed in less time and for a reduced cost. Fewer people are needed to install a modular cleanroom, which means a quicker lead time, so you can have your cleanroom up and running in just a few days. Modular panels can also be easily customized, repurposed, or modified as your projects and needs evolve.

Construct a Free-Standing Cleanroom

Using HardWall, SoftWall, or RigidWall panels, install your cleanroom in a convenient and accessible place in your facility. Your cleanroom will be designed with the ideal layout to accommodate all equipment, furniture, and employees. The cleanroom can be freestanding and attached to the floor, or suspended from a strong ceiling grid.

When your cleanroom is installed, you’ll also be able to set up and install the HVAC and filtration systems to create your optimal airflow and air change rate, as well as control pressure, temperature, and humidity within the cleanroom environment. Standardized systems and fixtures like fan filter units, lighting modules, and cleanroom furniture make the installation quicker and simpler.

Remodel Your Space for Cleanroom Installation

Depending on the space you’re using to construct your cleanroom, it may require some preparation before the modular panels can be set up and installed. You may need to create more space, adapt existing systems for utilities, heating, and cooling, or hook up new units to connect to your building’s power and ducts. You may also need to add new flooring or insulation in order to meet requirements and prepare the space for cleanroom installation. Always consult your cleanroom classification for guidelines about what materials are acceptable in your cleanroom environment.

With detailed planning and a complete knowledge of your needs and cleanroom requirements, you can install your cleanroom in a place that is convenient, accessible, and compliant with your cleanroom classification. If you know you need a cleanroom, but you’re not sure where you should put it, seek out advice from professionals. The cleanroom design experts at Angstrom Technology can take a look at your needs and your facility, and offer you the perfect solution. To talk with our professional team, give us a call or reach out to us online.