Rapid expansion of the cleanroom area through modularity

The BSH Home Appliances GmbH expands its cleanroom to a connected area of more than 400 m². The integration of the new cleanroom system was completed in just 5 working days. Using 15-meter-long ceiling supports, the entire area of the facility was designed as a continuous space without columns or supports.

BSH Traunreut processes highly sensitive components in the production of their home appliances, some of which are manufactured in cleanrooms to minimize failure rates. In 2021, a cleanroom of over 300 m² in ISO Class 7 was installed for up to ten process systems, with a future expansion of the area already planned. The Bavarian company relied on a modular cleanroom system from Schilling Engineering, which offers the possibility to reconfigure and connect individual elements.

Expansion of the cleanroom area planned

The decision to use a modular cleanroom system proved to be correct, as a planned expansion of around 100 m² was necessary after just two years. The cleanroom renovation entrusted to Schilling Engineering was to be carried out with a maximum of one week of downtime during ongoing operation. A special requirement was to expand the cleanroom into a continuous space without intermediate walls or supports. Since hanging structures were not possible in the factory hall, the existing cleanroom was designed as a free-standing structure, with the 15 m wide space spanned by specially constructed trusses 1.20 m high. The cleanroom extension was constructed in the same manner.

Renovation during ongoing operation

The renovation was carried out in two phases. In the first two-week phase, initial preparations were made for later connection. The material lock, which was located in the later removed connecting wall, was dismantled and relocated, a sliding door was replaced with a roller shutter, and a second dehumidifier and a second control monitor were installed. Thanks to the system's modularity, these tasks could be completed quickly and without interrupting ongoing operations.
In a second six-week phase, the extension was assembled and the electrical preparations made. The room expansion was completed with an open offset of 1.5 m as a gap. This meant that the 15 m long ceiling supports were pre-fabricated and delivered as a single piece from the cleanroom manufacturer’s plant to Traunreut. The approximately 100 m² large ceiling of the free-standing space was designed to be fully walkable upon request.

Five working days for final connection and commissioning

In a tightly scheduled period of only five working days, production was temporarily interrupted once to carry out the final connection of the two cleanroom systems. During this time, production machines were packed, and a dust protection wall was installed to protect the existing cleanroom area. Service technicians from the cleanroom company had to work in coordination and quickly to successfully complete the 1.5 m open connection within the short timeframe. The panel was opened, and the partition wall to the existing cleanroom was removed. The ceiling was supplemented, connections adjusted, final sections of the ducts connected, and sealing work carried out. A particular challenge was the electrical rewiring, as the expansion components could only be installed after the shutdown within the available space. After further fine-tuning, the cleanroom was handed over ready for operation on schedule. The production of home appliances could continue seamlessly. The BSH cleanroom staff are especially pleased with the large glass surfaces with daylight and the very quiet operating state of the ISO 7 cleanroom, where noise measurements < 60 dB were recorded.