In many different types of industries, the use of a cleanroom is considered an essential part of the control of the environment. The use of clean room molding practices and procedures follows this expectation and allows for the production of the parts with extremely low and carefully monitored pollutants.
This is critical for many types of industries and components. The most common requirements for clean room molding will be found in components manufactured for or used in:
- Medical industries and applications
- Biochemical industries
- Experimental research
- Development of pharmaceuticals
- Electronics and electrical components
What is a Cleanroom?
In its most basic form, a cleanroom is a specialized, sealed room which has carefully monitored and control airflow into the room. There are different classifications and standards for cleanrooms which dictate the levels of allowable contamination in the air of specific particle sizes and concentrations.
Different industries will require cleanroom molding at different standards or levels based on the concern of contaminants in the final product. Typically medical, biochemical, and research clean rooms have the most stringent standards while others may allow higher levels of contaminants to be present under the standards.
Keep in mind the level of contaminants in any clean room molding process will be tens of thousands of less than in typical room air, even in the least restrictive clean room standards.
The Machines
The equipment and the machines used in clean room molding processes are modified or have different designs that those similar machines not used in the clean room environment.
These modifications are designed to prevent any possible contamination of the environment within the room by the actual equipment in use with the space. This starts by carefully designing the room to reduce the risk of failure to meet the standards in specific workstations or areas of the room.
Before any equipment use in clean room molding is brought into the room, it is cleaned thoroughly to remove any particulate matter. Any surfaces on the equipment that may trap dirt have to be removed or modified, allowing the interior environment to be easily and effectively maintained.
With the increasing demand for clean room molding new machines, new designs and even options such as self-lubricating and maintenance free equipment is now available. This ensures that there won’t be dust or particles produced by the equipment during operation, keeping the clean room up to the required standards.
