That also works in large!

Cleanroom online has already reported multiple times on air-supported cleanrooms made of fabric. Now there is one that is making headlines due to its impressive size. And it can also hold its own visually.

The idea is called "sphairlab," which first appeared on the market as a purchasable product in 2018. Driven by positive pressure and encased in fabric walls, these futuristic-looking, flexible, and very well-made clean and sterile rooms attracted a lot of attention even back then. They even received innovation awards. However, the market viewed the concept with suspicion, and some potential users probably wondered whether such a large, clean tent could truly deliver on its promises.

Over time, however, supported by the diligent acquisition efforts of the provider and accompanied by published reports on realized projects, interest in purchasing grew. Business was picking up. But then came COVID-19, and the air was literally let out of the balloon. Investment caution, fear of the future, waiting... Many understandably preferred to rent rather than buy at that time. But now, interested buyers are approaching the sphairlab team directly, who are indeed very busy.

Very large and very flexible

This summer, a quite large and versatile sphairlab cleanroom was realized in record time at the company Streicher Maschinenbau in Deggendorf, Bavaria. The "white tent with the two tipper" is nearly 9 meters high, 25 meters long, and 15 meters wide. It stands within a 16-meter-high and extensively large manufacturing hall, where very large parts for even larger custom machines, vacuum systems, and pressure vessels are produced. These components can be lifted from outside by 50-ton cranes through the "tipper" for assembly and packaging inside the cleanroom if needed. These funnel-shaped extensions allow the crane hooks to operate without introducing particles.

Inside, which can be resized at any time by a movable partition wall, there is another crane to easily move smaller parts at any time. The airflow in the room is managed by 12 sleek, very quiet fans. These pump the fresh air, purified through activated carbon and particle filters, via vertical and horizontal textile hoses from above into the shell, where it exits near the floor through exhaust flaps. Regular particle measurements monitor the consistent air cleanliness. Of course, in a mechanical engineering environment like Streicher, ISO class 1 standards are not necessary, but ISO 7 is achieved here, ensuring dust-free assembly and packaging of parts.

Blockout fabric and open-up walls

The textile shell of the entire room is made of blockout fabric, which does not allow daylight from outside to pass through or vice versa. This was a key requirement from the customer, who conducts UV light tests for quality control inside the sphairlab. Another interesting detail is the "Open-up" side walls of the room, which can be opened via zippers and raised like theater curtains to allow large material movements without involving a sluice. Additionally, there are exchangeable ceiling elements as needed, as well as two fixed and one mobile sluice for materials and personnel. The entire room is thus extremely flexible in its use.

The sphairlab team took only about three months from order to delivery to manage the entire project. Starting with needs assessment and customer consultation, through planning, calculation, and construction of the components—including the elegant fans and lamps, sewing the large fabric panels, up to the actual implementation and setup, which took just under three weeks—all came from a single source.

For Max Lindemann, who has taken on increasing responsibility for projects at sphairlab GmbH over the past year and a half and is set to succeed owner Jens Hutzenlaub as managing director next year, this project was an excellent test of their capabilities.