Modular CleanRoom

What is a modular clean room?

A modular clean room is a prefabricated, customizable facility designed to maintain controlled environmental conditions with minimal contamination. These spaces are constructed from modular components, allowing for quick assembly and flexibility in design.

Compliance with Standards

These clean rooms can be designed to comply with stringent regulatory standards, such as ISO cleanroom classifications. This compliance is essential for maintaining product integrity and meeting industry-specific requirements.

Cost-Effectiveness

Modular clean rooms often represent a more cost-effective solution compared to traditional construction. Their rapid installation, lower labor costs, and ability to be reconfigured contribute to overall savings for businesses.

How does a modular clean room work?

A modular clean room operates by creating a controlled environment that minimizes contamination and maintains specific cleanliness levels. This is achieved through a combination of advanced engineering, air filtration, and strict operational protocols.

Air Filtration System

Central to the functionality of a modular clean room is its air filtration system. High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) or Ultra-Low Penetration Air (ULPA) filters are used to remove airborne particles, ensuring that the air quality meets industry standards. The filtered air is circulated throughout the room, maintaining a sterile environment.

Positive Pressure Control

Modular clean rooms often operate under positive pressure. This means that the air pressure inside the clean room is higher than that outside, preventing external contaminants from entering. Controlled airflow is carefully managed to maintain this pressure differential.

Temperature and Humidity Control

Maintaining specific temperature and humidity levels is crucial for many clean room applications. Modular clean rooms are equipped with HVAC systems that regulate these parameters, ensuring optimal conditions for processes and product integrity.

What are the benefits of modular clean rooms?

Flexibility and Customization

One of the primary benefits of modular clean rooms is their flexibility. They can be easily customized and reconfigured to meet specific operational needs. This adaptability allows businesses to scale up or down based on production demands or changes in technology, making them suitable for a wide range of applications.

Quick Installation

Modular clean rooms are designed for rapid assembly, which significantly reduces construction time compared to traditional clean rooms. This quick installation process minimizes downtime for businesses, allowing them to begin operations sooner and respond swiftly to market changes.

Cost-Effectiveness

These clean rooms often represent a more economical solution than conventional construction methods. Lower labor costs, reduced construction time, and the ability to relocate or expand the facility contribute to overall cost savings for businesses, improving return on investment.

How much does a modular clean room cost?

1. Impact of Area on Price

The size of the clean room is one of the most significant factors affecting cost. Larger clean rooms require more materials, labor, and installation time, leading to higher overall expenses. Additionally, the complexity of the design—such as the need for multiple rooms or specific layouts—can further increase costs.

2. Impact of Cleanliness Level on Price

The required cleanliness level, often classified by ISO standards, directly impacts the cost. Higher cleanliness levels (e.g., ISO Class 5 or Class 7) necessitate more advanced filtration systems, more stringent construction materials, and more complex HVAC systems, all contributing to increased costs. The need for specialized equipment and maintenance for higher-class clean rooms also adds to the price.

3. Impact of Material on Price

The materials used in constructing a modular clean room significantly affect the price. For instance, clean rooms built with stainless steel and other high-grade materials that resist contamination typically cost more than those made with standard materials. Additionally, the choice of flooring, wall finishes, and ceiling types can also influence overall costs, as higher-quality materials provide better durability and easier maintenance.

What industries use modular clean rooms?

1. Pharmaceuticals

The pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on clean rooms for the manufacture of sterile products, including injectable medications, vaccines, and biologics. 

2. Biotechnology

Biotech companies use clean rooms for research, development, and production processes, particularly in the creation of biologics, gene therapies, and cell cultures. 

3. Semiconductors

The semiconductor manufacturing industry requires clean rooms to produce microelectronics and integrated circuits. 

4. Medical Devices

Clean rooms are necessary for the design and manufacturing of medical devices, such as implants, diagnostic equipment, and surgical instruments. 

5. Aerospace

In the aerospace industry, clean rooms are used for the assembly and testing of sensitive components and systems, such as avionics and propulsion systems. 

6. Research Laboratories

Academic and industrial research laboratories often use modular clean rooms for experiments that require controlled environments, such as materials science, microbiology, and nanotechnology research. 

7. Optics

In the optics industry, clean rooms are essential for the manufacturing of lenses, mirrors, and other optical components that require precision and cleanliness to ensure quality performance.

How to design a modular clean room?

 1. Frame Structure Design  

Design the modular cleanroom using interlocking panels of aluminum or stainless steel for durability and easy installation. Ensure the frame allows for airtight seals, easy maintenance, and flexibility for future modifications or expansions. The structure should support doors, windows, and FFUs while providing structural integrity.

 2. Purification System Design  

The purification system integrates FFUs with HEPA/ULPA filters to ensure clean airflow, designed to maintain unidirectional flow (laminar flow) for particle containment. Air handling units (AHUs) supply conditioned air, while positive pressure prevents contamination. Air exchanges per hour (ACH) must be designed based on cleanroom classification.

 3. Cleanliness, Temperature, and Humidity Control  

Maintain cleanliness by adhering to ISO class standards, using HEPA/ULPA filters for air quality. Control temperature within 18-24°C and humidity between 30%-60% with HVAC systems. Sensors continuously monitor and adjust environmental factors to ensure optimal conditions for production or research.

What is the HVAC system in a modular cleanroom?

The HVAC system in a modular cleanroom is designed to control the temperature, humidity, and airflow to maintain the required cleanroom conditions. It consists of components such as air handling units (AHUs), ductwork, fans, and filters (HEPA/ULPA) to regulate the air quality and provide consistent air exchange rates, preventing contamination. The system is responsible for maintaining a positive pressure to prevent the ingress of contaminants.

In addition to air filtration, the HVAC system in a cleanroom also manages temperature control (typically between 18-24°C) and humidity control (usually 30%-60%), ensuring optimal conditions for processes that require a controlled environment. The system must be highly efficient, with built-in redundancy and monitoring to ensure continuous operation and compliance with cleanroom standards.

Modular clean room manufacturers

Deiiang Cleanrooms, Inc. (CHINA)

Specializes in providing customizable cleanroom solutions, including modular and portable cleanrooms. They offer a wide range of products for various industries, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and electronics.

Kenneth D. Miller (KDM) Cleanrooms (USA)

KDM offers modular cleanroom designs for industries such as pharmaceuticals, electronics, and medical devices. They provide turnkey solutions, including design, installation, and maintenance services, along with high-quality modular cleanroom systems.

Ardmac (Ireland)

Ardmac is a leading provider of cleanroom solutions across Europe and globally. They specialize in modular cleanroom design, offering adaptable and scalable systems for sectors like life sciences, healthcare, and microelectronics. They are known for their innovative and high-performance cleanroom solutions.

What is the modular clean room panels?

Modular cleanroom panels are pre-fabricated, interlocking wall components used to construct cleanroom environments. These panels are made from materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, or composite materials to ensure durability, cleanability, and contamination control. The panels are designed to be easily assembled, disassembled, and reconfigured, offering flexibility for the cleanroom’s size and layout. The design allows for quick installation and modification without significant downtime.

The panels often feature airtight seals to maintain positive pressure within the cleanroom, preventing external contaminants from entering. They can be customized with features like windows, doors, and integrated systems for air filtration. Modular panels are designed to meet specific cleanroom classifications (ISO 5, ISO 7, etc.) and provide an efficient, scalable solution for industries requiring stringent environmental controls, such as pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and electronics manufacturing.

How to monitor the environment of modular cleanroom？

central control system that provides real-time data, allowing operators to ensure compliance with cleanroom standards. HEPA/ULPA filter efficiency, air changes per hour (ACH), and airflow patterns are also monitored to maintain the required air quality and cleanliness levels.

In addition to physical sensors, modern cleanroom monitoring systems often include automated alarms and data logging to alert operators if any parameters fall outside acceptable ranges. This data is critical for maintaining regulatory compliance, ensuring product quality, and preventing contamination. Remote monitoring and automated control can further enhance system efficiency by allowing for 24/7 oversight and quick adjustments to environmental conditions when necessary.

What are the classifications of clean areas in modular clean rooms?

The classifications of clean areas in modular cleanrooms are based on the ISO 14644-1 standard, which defines cleanroom classifications according to the maximum allowable concentration of airborne particles. These classifications range from ISO 1 (the cleanest) to ISO 9 (the least clean), with each class specifying the particle count per cubic meter at a specified particle size (typically 0.5 microns). The higher the ISO number, the more particles are allowed in the air. For instance, an ISO 5 cleanroom allows fewer particles than an ISO 7 cleanroom, making it suitable for applications requiring a higher level of contamination control.

5 major features of modular cleanrooms

Common modular cleanrooms include: hard wall modular cleanrooms, soft wall modular cleanrooms, sandwich panel modular cleanrooms.

• Flexible and customizable design: Modular cleanrooms are composed of prefabricated modules, which can be flexibly customized in layout, size and configuration as needed, making it easy to expand or reduce according to different needs.

• Quick installation and disassembly: Due to the use of prefabricated panels and standardized design, the assembly process of modular cleanrooms is quick and easy, reducing construction time and easy to disassemble and reorganize.

• High-efficiency air filtration system: Equipped with HEPA or ULPA filters to ensure that particulates in the air are effectively removed and the air quality in the cleanroom meets strict cleanliness standards.

• Easy to maintain and clean: Modular cleanrooms use smooth, non-porous materials (such as stainless steel or aluminum alloy), making the surface easy to clean and easy to access components such as air filters and lighting equipment during maintenance.

• Compliance with industry standards and specifications: Modular cleanrooms can be designed according to international standards such as ISO 14644 to ensure that the specified cleanliness level is achieved. They are widely used in industries such as pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and electronics to meet strict production and research requirements.

These features make modular cleanrooms an efficient, flexible and economical solution in different environments.

Modular cleanrooms Group control system

FFU intelligent distributed control system is mainly used in large clean rooms, which can easily realize on-site decentralized control and centralized unified management functions. It can flexibly control the start and stop and speed regulation of FFU fans. The control system uses partition control technology to solve the problem of limited 485 drive capacity, and can control thousands of fans at most.

The computer is composed of professional FFU monitoring software. The software is divided into main interface and sub-interface. The main interface displays the FFU system distribution map and partition map. The main interface can directly control the partition switch. Click the main interface to enter the sub-interface to view the FFU status of each partition and control each FFU control unit. The FFU group control system for thousand-level purification plants is a highly integrated automation product.

The FFU group control system of the purification plant has the following characteristics:

• It can conveniently realize the start, stop and speed regulation functions of multiple FFUs and partition control of FFUs;

• It can monitor the working current of any FFU to determine whether it is no-load or overload fault;

• It can set the number of fans in a certain area (each area has a maximum of 60 control units);

• It can query the operating status of a fan in the entire clean room;

• Overload protection function: when overload occurs, automatic remote alarm;

• When the computer is in standby mode, the FFU host can independently control the system operation.