Modular Cleanrooms

The flooring material you choose for your modular cleanroom can have an impact on the cleanliness and control you have over the environment. Starrco cleanroom flooring systems are secured to your existing floor to offer the very best in quality, versatility, and environmental control. Common modular cleanroom flooring options include:

• Perforated raised flooring. Allows for particulate and contaminants to flow out of the cleanroom.
• Seamless vinyl. Reduces the ability for contaminants and particulate to collect in seams on the modular cleanroom floor.
• Epoxy paint on concrete. Offers simple, effective cleaning and sterilization, as well as ultimate durability.
• VCT. Vinyl composition tile (VCT) is a cleanroom flooring solution designed to control static.

The objective of any cleanroom or controlled environment is to reduce the particulate and contaminants within the room. A modular cleanroom makes use of a range of different filters to ensure dust, debris, and other particles are kept out of the cleanroom. Modular cleanroom filter options include:

• Fan Filter Units. An independent filtration system mounted in a cleanroom containing a pre-filter, a filter, and a fan to push air through the unit. Multiple fan filter units are installed in most cleanrooms to provide a consistently treated space that eliminates dead zones. The more stringent the cleanroom classification, the more fan filter units required to reach particle count requirements.
• HEPA filters. (High-Efficiency Particulate Air Filters) are the most commonly used option in cleanrooms. They remove particles that are 0.3μm or larger, effectively filtering out 99.99 percent of those particles from your modular cleanroom.
• ULPA filters. (Ultra-Low Particulate Air Filters) are used in the most highly controlled cleanroom environments. They remove 99.999 percent of particles larger than 0.12μm and are most often used in exceptionally sensitive applications like semiconductor cleanrooms.

How you choose to illuminate your modular cleanroom can have a surprising effect on general cleanroom operations. For today’s high-tech and innovative cleanrooms, LED lighting is by far the most popular option, as they are preferred for their longevity, their strong lighting capabilities, and their low energy use. Since most cleanrooms opt for LEDs, when it comes to lighting, what’s most important is deciding how to implement those lights in your modular cleanroom structure.

Cleanroom lighting fixtures are an important consideration to make. A few popular options include:

• Light Panels. Available in LED and fluorescent, cleanroom light panels are dust, corrosion, and water-resistant, and often feature seamless construction to ensure that contaminants like dust cannot collect on the fixture.
• Light Strips. LED light strips are ideal for modular cleanrooms with strict airflow requirements. Lights strips adhere directly to the ceiling grid, which means they’re out of the way of ceiling filters and do not obstruct airflow.
• Teardrop Lights. A more affordable option when compared to light strips, teardrop lights provide many of the same benefits. They hang down from the ceiling like a pendant light, allowing for air to flow down and around them.
• Flow-through Modules. For modular cleanrooms that require efficient use of overhead space, flow through lighting modules are a good choice. They place fluorescent tube lights directly under the filter system, where air can flow through the module without blocking it.

A modular cleanroom is made up of more than four walls and an airflow and filtration system. Depending on your classification, your modular cleanroom may require additional components that enhance the cleanroom’s environmental control. Starrco supplies a comprehensive range of modular cleanroom specialty components, including:

• Pass-Through Chambers. Allows operators to safely pass materials and samples in and out of the cleanroom, without requiring one to enter or leave the cleanroom.
• Air Locks. For cleanrooms with higher cleanliness standards, an airlock can help reduce the amount of particulate that is introduced to the cleanroom when some person or thing exits or enters the cleanroom.
• Gowning Rooms. Provide a controlled space for employees to don required gowning equipment and PPE before entering the cleanroom.
• Air Showers. A more advanced version of an airlock, air showers blow filtered air at gowned employees to safely shake off any particulate or contaminants before they enter the cleanroom.