Modern measurement and cleanroom technology for time and cost efficiency

Key-ready test chamber from Weiss Klimatechnik – including thermal insulation.

If measurement and cleanroom technology fails or works unreliably, people's health is at risk. Anyone who wants to set up or renovate a measurement or cleanroom should therefore not only consider the quality of the equipment but also check the service offerings of a provider. This is especially true when a cleanroom requires the highest accuracy in cleanliness and climatic conditions.

There are many providers of measurement and cleanroom technology. Often, the technical data of the devices differ only slightly. But as always, the devil is in the details. And so, the cheapest provider is not always the one that offers reliability and sustainable solutions. The Swiss company Zimmer also knows this. For almost a hundred years, they have been producing high-tech medical products such as hip and knee prostheses, foot and ankle systems, hand and foot joints. Manufacturing these high-quality products also demands the highest standards from measurement and climate technology.

Every prosthesis produced here must be reliably tested during final inspection and quality control — using extremely precise 3D coordinate measuring machines. These are located in a special measurement room, which was planned and built by Weiss Klimatechnik GmbH. "The requirements for maintaining the climatic values in such a measurement room have been internally intensified," explains Marc Baumeister, Manager of Technical Services at Zimmer.

The technical requirements for the measurement room of quality class III are specified in the VDI/VDE 2627 guideline. Parameters such as humidity and temperature are fixed. The room where the measuring devices are located must be continuously climate-controlled so that temperature fluctuations do not exceed +/- 0.5 Kelvin within one hour. Measurements are taken at 20°C, because deviations in the micro range are critical for the workpieces being tested.

Karl-Heinz Lotz, Head of the Strategic Business Area Cleanroom at Weiss Klimatechnik GmbH, is familiar with such precision requirements. "We are specialists when it comes to custom solutions in measurement and cleanroom technology," says Karl-Heinz Lotz. "The room-in-room concept we developed for Zimmer ensures constant climatic conditions. For this, we encapsulated the measurement room, which is evenly and brightly illuminated with 1,000 Lux, with thermally insulated enclosure surfaces."

Zimmer is extremely satisfied with the conception and implementation by Weiss Klimatechnik, as well as the results. "The new measurement room allows for greater accuracy in measurements. Additionally, it improves time and cost efficiency," says Marc Baumeister. Previously, each measuring machine was in its own room — spread across the entire factory site. Opening these rooms caused temperature changes, which often required repeated measurements due to large fluctuations. The new large room makes it significantly easier to maintain the temperature. Thanks to the heated airlocks, the temperature does not change when doors are briefly opened. The entire testing process can thus be carried out much more efficiently.

"What matters most to me is that the customer is satisfied and that we can offer a sustainable solution from which they can benefit for as long as possible," says Karl-Heinz Lotz, pleased with the success of his engineering and development team. Ensuring that the measurement room continues to operate with the same precision in the coming years is now the responsibility of the Weiss Klimatechnik service team.