Intelligent control for cleanroom airlocks

Electrical control cabinet decontamination shower (Image: UNITRO-Fleischmann Störmeldesysteme)

Increasingly complex manufacturing processes in the electronics and optical industries lead to a rising demand for cleanrooms, especially also in the pharmaceutical sector.

Cleanrooms are hermetically sealed, climate-controlled rooms that maintain dust-free conditions under slight positive pressure and contamination protection under slight negative pressure.

Therefore, access is generally only possible via airlocks.

It must be ensured that there is never a direct connection to the outside world.

Intelligent electronic control systems monitor all access doors even in larger rooms. It is visually indicated whether a door can be opened. When opened, all other doors are electronically locked. Often, an explosion-proof design is also required for the installed components if necessary.

For work in contaminated cleanrooms with personnel wearing protective clothing, airlocks with additional decontamination showers are used.

An electro-hydraulic system controls not only the airlock function but also the operation of the entire shower system.

All necessary components for an SPS-controlled sequence of the shower process are located in a separate control cabinet.

The hydraulics are also installed in a separate wall cabinet. The special shower medium for cleaning is dosed via valves, with control over concentration and shower duration.

After leaving the shower cabin, the cabin is cleaned, with subsequent flushing of the pipelines and drying.

Overall, such intelligent cleanroom technology enables safe and effective production of high-quality products.