Contamination poses an enormous risk to electronic products during the manufacturing process. If electronic products become contaminated, it can lead to complete failure of the device and unreliable and low-quality products. Contaminated products cost electronics manufacturers millions of pounds each year and even the loss of their ISO certification. This means that when manufacturing electronic products and components, cleanliness is integral to the manufacturing process. This has highlighted the importance of using cleanrooms in electronics manufacturing substantially.
Electronic Cleanrooms
Electronic cleanrooms are used during the most critical stages of the electronics manufacturing process. An electronics cleanroom is designed to comply with strict cleanliness standards to ensure complete sterility of the electronics manufacturing environment.
Here is a quote from an article by Power Electronics News: always maintaining a mission-critical project mindset…
“Keep in mind that electronics may go into all kinds of devices, including some where consistency is mission-critical. For instance, air compressor cleaning is crucial for PCBs used in robotics development, including competitive robotics and aerospace robotics. Poor quality and performance consistency could result in a NASA rover glitching on Mars or a robotics competition ending up skewed due to a contaminated PCB.
To prevent incidents like these from happening, manufacturers need to use electronics manufacturing cleanrooms and treat every component like it’s mission-critical. Using the best cleaning solutions and tools available, as well as a clear cleaning regimen, will ensure every electronic component ships out with the best quality and performance possible.”
How Can You Keep Your Cleanrooms in Electronics Manufacturing Facilities Free of Contamination?
It is extremely important to limit the exposure of pollutants from entering the manufacturing and cleanroom environment. The staff in your facility are one of the biggest contributors to contamination, producing up to 100,000 particles per minute, like hair, skin particles, and fingerprints.
Electronics Cleanroom Requirements
- Unpack equipment before moving it inside
- Use HEPA air filters and filtered vacuum cleaners
- Use monitoring systems
- Maintain the cleanliness of the floor, ceiling, walls, and all filters
- Establish and maintain a temperature and humidity profile
Also, make sure to…
- Observe proper hand-washing procedure and gowning technique.
- Cautiously enter and exit the cleanroom and ensure that the doors are properly shut.
- Don’t wear perfume, make-up, jewellery, or chewing gum inside the cleanroom.
- Don’t scratch your head or rub your hand. Also, don’t touch your skin with the gloved hand.
Contamination Control at the Floor Level
The electronics industry extensively relies on components of the cleanroom, like contamination control mats, to ensure optimal contamination control throughout the manufacturing process. It is crucial for facilities to implement a comprehensive strategy. One key aspect of this strategy should be finding effective ways to minimize contamination at the floor level.
Electronic cleanrooms and manufacturing facilities battle to control contamination at the floor level, as most of it enters through shoes and wheels. To address this, Dycem offers polymeric mats and flooring with superior contamination control properties. Our polymeric mats and flooring have a natural tack, antimicrobial properties, and high surface energy, allowing them to attract, capture, and retain up to 99.9% of contamination from shoes and wheels and up to 75% of airborne contamination.
If you think Dycem’s Contamination Control flooring and mats could help you, please get in touch with us today.