New research and testing equipment for technically demanding surface treatment

For special customer requirements, Plasmatreat has expanded its research and testing equipment with a cleanroom that achieves a cleanliness level of class 6.

New ideas, regulations, or standards are constantly changing the requirements for Plasmatreat GmbH: Customers from sectors such as electronics or medical technology repeatedly present extraordinary and innovative tasks in the field of surface treatment with plasma technology to the company. Therefore, the capacities of the technology and research center opened in 2019, which includes 14 laboratories and various testing facilities, have now been expanded with a Class 6 cleanroom. Additionally, many Plasmatreat products are now also certified by UL, a global independent organization for safety sciences. This allows internal developments, tests, and customer approvals to be carried out under the actual cleanroom conditions prevailing later in production and according to the desired standards.

"Growing requirements due to new industry standards, the highest demands for environmentally friendly and safe processes, but also the realization of solutions tailored to the customer's specific, highly individual manufacturing process – these are the challenges our customers repeatedly bring to us," explains Christian Buske, Managing Director of Plasmatreat. The most recent investment was made, among other reasons, due to a large customer project from the electronics industry. The positive response to the inquiry whether Plasmatreat could supply complete systems for manufacturing processes in the semiconductor industry led the company to expand its capacities according to the customer's wishes. "Especially with new projects, the innovative spirit of Plasmatreat, the development and derivation of new or alternative process steps, as well as collaborative partnership with customers, are the cornerstones for the successful integration of openair plasma into various production lines," Buske further explains.

"The project involved developing a surface treatment system for the semiconductor industry, which is set to be commissioned this year. All internal tests of the system had to be conducted under the cleanroom conditions applicable in production," explains Nico Coenen, Market Segment Manager Electronics at Plasmatreat. Within the customer project, the installation of a Class 7 cleanroom was prescribed. This class was exceeded after final testing, so Plasmatreat can now demonstrate a Class 6 cleanroom. Cleanroom classes are defined according to DIN EN ISO 14644-1. The achieved level of cleanliness is determined by the maximum permissible particle concentration per cubic meter of air and divides cleanrooms into classes 1 to 9. Class 1 is the cleanest, with the lowest allowable particle concentration. Conversely, Class 9 achieves the lowest level of cleanliness. For most applications within the ISO range, cleanroom classes 7 and 8 are sufficient.

For internationally active customers, the company has additionally certified many of its products according to UL standards. This makes the quick and seamless introduction of new systems worldwide even easier. The compliance of Plasmatreat products with US safety regulations has been demonstrated through a certification mark from a qualified and recognized testing laboratory. With this expansion, customers can trust that all requirements for the safe operation of the systems are met and that integration into manufacturing processes is supported with ease.

Plasmatreat considers both points as essential components for future projects. The company expects that the resulting opportunities will help customers better evaluate the use of openair plasma for their respective products and processes. This is an attractive offer, for example, both for electronics manufacturing and medical technology, as early research and testing scenarios can already be conducted at Plasmatreat, making the evaluation of new products significantly more efficient. "We will utilize the new capabilities for demanding projects," Coenen continues, as prototypes often need to be developed under conditions similar to those in later serial production. The cleanroom is designed to accommodate large applications, such as those involving robots, which can be tested and implemented there.