Reduce particulate contamination before personnel or materials enter a controlled environment.
Atmos-Tech designs and manufactures cleanroom air showers and air shower tunnels that use concentrated filtered airflow to remove loose particulate contamination from personnel and materials moving into cleanrooms and other critical environments.
Atmos-Tech air showers deliver concentrated ISO 5 airflow through high-velocity nozzles within an enclosed chamber. Air shower tunnels can accommodate higher personnel volume or material movement where a larger passage is required.
What Is a Cleanroom Air Shower?
Personnel can carry particles into a cleanroom on garments, shoes and exposed surfaces.
Materials, carts and equipment can also carry contamination into controlled spaces.
A cleanroom air shower creates a high-velocity filtered-air environment that helps remove loose particulate contamination before the person or material enters the controlled area.
Inside an Atmos-Tech air shower, concentrated air streams are directed through nozzles toward the occupant or material. Contaminated air is then pulled through lower grilles and returned to the filtration system.
Atmos-Tech describes nozzle velocities between approximately 7,500 and 10,000 feet per minute in its current air shower product information.
Personnel Air Showers
Personnel air showers are installed at controlled-environment entrances to help remove loose particles from cleanroom garments before employees enter the production space.
They may be appropriate for environments where:
- Personnel traffic is a significant source of contamination
- Cleanroom garments are used
- High cleanliness levels are required
- Additional contamination-control measures are desired
- Entry protocols require a defined transition between spaces
Air showers should be considered as one component within the facility’s broader contamination-control strategy.
Material Air Showers
Contamination does not only enter cleanrooms on people.
Materials, components, carts, containers and equipment can introduce particulate contamination as they move from uncontrolled or less-controlled spaces into cleaner environments.
Material air showers can create a dedicated transfer route where high-velocity filtered air is used to help remove loose particulate before the material enters the cleanroom.
Applications can include:
- Manufacturing components
- Production supplies
- Equipment
- Carts
- Containers
- Packaged materials
- Tools
DISCUSS A MATERIAL AIR SHOWER APPLICATION
Cleanroom Air Shower Tunnels
Facilities with higher personnel volumes or larger material movement may require more capacity than a conventional single-person air shower.
Atmos-Tech air shower tunnels provide a larger protected passage that can accommodate greater quantities of personnel or material moving into controlled areas.
Air shower tunnels may be useful for:
- High-volume cleanroom entrances
- Manufacturing shift changes
- Larger production facilities
- Material movement
- Larger equipment or carts
- Applications requiring longer exposure within the filtered-air passage
The tunnel dimensions and configuration can be developed around the facility’s required traffic flow.
How Atmos-Tech Air Showers Work
The air shower process generally follows four steps.
1. Personnel or Material Enters the Chamber
The occupant or material enters the enclosed air shower before reaching the controlled environment.
2. High-Velocity Filtered Air Is Introduced
Air is delivered through strategically positioned nozzles.
3. Loose Particulate Is Removed
The high-velocity airflow creates a scrubbing action that helps dislodge particulate from exposed surfaces.
4. Contaminated Air Returns to the Filtration System
Air and removed particulate travel through grilles and the return-air path to the filtration system.
Atmos-Tech states that its air shower design uses 99.99%-efficient filtration for particles down to 0.3 micron in the described configuration.
Air Showers for Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology Facilities
Pharmaceutical and biotechnology facilities may require tightly controlled personnel and material flows to protect critical production spaces.
Air showers can become part of the transition between support areas and controlled manufacturing environments where additional particulate removal is desired.
Applications may include:
- Manufacturing suites
- Research facilities
- Process areas
- Controlled packaging areas
- Material-transfer entrances
Facility-specific contamination-control requirements should determine whether an air shower is appropriate and how it should be configured.
Air Showers for Semiconductor & Electronics Manufacturing
Semiconductor and advanced electronics manufacturing can be particularly sensitive to airborne and surface-borne particulate.
An air shower at a controlled entrance can provide another layer of contamination control before people or materials enter the cleanroom.
Potential applications include:
- Semiconductor fabrication
- Microelectronics
- Electronics assembly
- Battery manufacturing
- Precision manufacturing
- Advanced materials
Atmos-Tech serves electronics and battery manufacturing among the industries identified on its current website.
Selecting a Cleanroom Air Shower
When requesting an air shower quote, consider more than the dimensions of the chamber.
Who or What Will Move Through It?
Determine whether the air shower is primarily for personnel, material or both.
How Much Traffic Will It Handle?
A single-person application has different requirements than a high-volume production facility.
What Size Must Pass Through?
Consider carts, racks, equipment and other large materials.
What Is the Cleanroom Classification?
Provide the classification and contamination-control requirements for the environment.
What Is the Available Footprint?
Provide drawings or dimensions showing the location where the air shower will be installed.
What Is the Required Door Arrangement?
Door locations and traffic direction should match the facility’s personnel and material flow.
Are Custom Dimensions Required?
Facility layouts and material sizes may make a custom configuration necessary.
What to Send With an Air Shower RFQ
Providing detailed project information helps Atmos-Tech evaluate the correct solution.
Include:
- Personnel or material application
- Expected traffic volume
- Chamber dimensions if established
- Available footprint
- Door orientation
- Cleanroom classification
- Electrical requirements
- Architectural drawings
- Equipment or cart dimensions
- Project schedule
- Quantity
If the configuration has not yet been determined, send the application information and facility constraints.
Custom Air Showers From Atmos-Tech
Cleanroom entrances vary widely by industry, facility layout and process.
Atmos-Tech designs controlled-environment equipment around customer requirements and manufactures air showers and air shower tunnels for personnel and material applications.
Tell us what is moving through the space, the cleanliness requirements and the available footprint.
TALK TO AN ATMOS-TECH AIR SHOWER EXPERT
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a cleanroom air shower do?
A cleanroom air shower uses high-velocity filtered airflow to help remove loose particulate contamination from personnel or materials before they enter a controlled environment.
Can air showers be used for materials instead of people?
Yes. Atmos-Tech describes its air showers and tunnels for both personnel and material applications.
What is an air shower tunnel?
An air shower tunnel is a larger protected passage designed to accommodate greater personnel or material throughput than a smaller air shower chamber.
How fast is the air in an Atmos-Tech air shower?
Atmos-Tech currently describes nozzle velocities ranging from approximately 7,500 to 10,000 feet per minute.
Are cleanroom air showers HEPA filtered?
Atmos-Tech’s current air shower design information describes filtered airflow capable of removing particles as small as 0.3 micron at 99.99% efficiency.