On September 13, the new cleanroom of the FAULHABER headquarters was unveiled and presented with both management and project managers present at the opening.

The cleanroom has a surface area of ​​90 sqm and will be used in the future to make products for medical technology and the pharmaceutical industry under controlled conditions. Production in the cleanroom will start in the middle of next year.

The medical technology market is continuously shaped by new trends, and the requirements for quality and purity of the applied drives pose specific challenges. To create more production capacity for drive systems for this future industry, FAULHABER recently installed and opened a new cleanroom at its main location. The drives that will be made here from 2024 meet the special requirements of the medical industry and are suitable for all kinds of medical and pharmaceutical technology.

The new cleanroom has a surface area of ​​125 sqm, of which 90 sqm is reserved purely for production, surrounded by airlocks for personnel and equipment to ensure that cleanroom conditions are maintained.

Andreas Melzer is the head of the Safety, Facility & Maintenance department at FAULHABER. He explains: “Our cleanroom is certified according to ISO Class 7. This means that the permitted concentration of particles in the air is limited, as is microbiological contamination of the air.”

This level of cleanliness is achieved by changing the air 25 times per hour, which means that the air is completely replaced approximately every two and a half minutes. By comparison, in other production areas without cleanroom conditions, the air is replaced three or four times per hour. That shows how powerful the ventilation system for the new cleanroom is.

It took the project team seven months to set up the new production space.

The construction work was carried out behind a wall, which protected the ongoing production from penetrating dust. The new cleanroom was opened on 13th September, 2023 in the presence of the project team and Managing Directors Lutz Braun, Dr Udo Haberland and Hubert Renner.

For FAULHABER, the new addition means an increase in production capacity. The branch in Schönaich, Germany, has had a cleanroom tent for products for the semiconductor industry since 2021.

Melzer added: “But the first permanent cleanroom at this location is something very new, and very exciting for us.”

Commissioning is planned for mid-2024, when there will be a permanent team of FAULHABER employees trained and equipped for cleanroom work, who will primarily work in the new facility.

Before then, the room still needs to be equipped with workstations and equipment, and the cleaning system still needs to be connected to the material lock. This ensures that all components used meet cleanroom requirements.

Thanks to the modular structure of the new FAULHABER cleanroom, future expansion of production capacity in this area is possible.

IPA Clean Swab is a high quality, cleanroom swab for the critical cleaning of small and hard-to-reach areas. The wide paddle head offers extraordinary cleaning abilities by featuring an inner layer of foam for absorbency and an outer layer of micro-denier for holding contaminants and avoiding cross-contamination.

A four-inch handle containing a reservoir of 99.7% isopropyl alcohol adds even more cleaning power to the paddle head. Once the solvent is released from the handle, it is absorbed into the soft paddle head. Unlike some self-saturating swabs, the IPA Clean Swab is wrapped in microfiber for ultimate cleanliness. This easy-to-use system is ideal for removing lubricants, adhesives, residues, or other contaminants on circuit boards, sensors, or stencils. It is perfect for cleaning laboratory testers, electronic components, keyboards, print heads, and printers.

Class 100 laundered and packaged, IPA Clean Swab is free of particulates making it suitable for medical surfaces. With no tribogeneration, the swab is safe to use on ESD static-sensitive devices when the head is moist.

IPA Clean Swab is effective for medical device manufacturing and assembly, electronics manufacturing and assembly, IoT, and telecom applications.

• ISO Class 4-7 (class 10 – 10,000) compatible
• Ultra-low particle fiber, NVR, and Ion levels
• High solvent capacity
• Micro-denier polyester over foam
• Non-abrasive wide paddle head
• 99.7% IPA-filled 3.5″ polypropylene handle
• Free of silicone, amides, DOP contamination
• Safe for ESD static-sensitive surfaces
• Ultrasonic welding with no adhesives

Tulane University has secured $5 million in state and federal funding to build a new state-of-the-art nano-fabrication cleanroom that will enable students, faculty and commercial partners across the region to conduct advanced semiconductor and materials science research and development.

Approximately $2 million of the funding comes from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and will be used to purchase equipment for the facility. Another $3 million was appropriated by Louisiana lawmakers this past legislative session and will go toward construction of the cleanroom.

“This facility is another step forward in Tulane’s effort to reimagine New Orleans as a centre of research and discovery that will change the world for the better,” President Michael A. Fitts said. “It will help attract a critical mass of world-class researchers to our region and support the incredible work taking place at area universities, as well as at startups and leading companies across the Gulf South.”

“This facility is another step forward in Tulane’s effort to reimagine New Orleans as a centre of research and discovery.”, says President Michael A. Fitts.

The cleanroom will be housed in the soon-to-be-opened Steven & Jann Paul Hall for Science and Engineering on Tulane’s uptown campus. Its location next door to the Scot Ackerman MakerSpace will provide the opportunity for quickly prototyping discoveries. The facility will be available to researchers at Tulane, Xavier University, the University of New Orleans and others with the goal of promoting rapid development of existing regional research collaborations.

“The support we have received from the state and federal agencies, with the help of U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy and State Sens. Cameron Henry and Royce Duplessis, has allowed us to build a facility that will be a resource for the entire region,” said Kimberly Foster, dean of the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering. “This type of facility is used for research and education, developing innovations in electronics, sensing and biotechnology, and training the next generation of tech workforce.”

Nanotechnology is driving innovation in biotechnology, drug development, energy, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing. Cleanroom facilities are needed to meticulously safeguard delicate testing and fabrication processes from contaminants. There are only a few such facilities among Gulf Coast states.

“Tulane’s new micro/nano-fabrication facility will lead to new technologies that harness quantum materials, capture and store renewable energy, advance our understanding of the brain, create new platforms for biosensing, and much more,” said Matthew Escarra, an associate professor in physics and engineering physics at Tulane, who also serves as faculty director of the nano-fabrication facility.

The cleanroom will join the statewide Core User Facilities (CUF), a network of cost-recovery centres dedicated to shared advanced instrumentation and facilities to support materials and manufacturing research.

Most people tend to believe that if a person is wearing a wrist strap, an ESD Lab Coat or smock is redundant. This is due to the belief that any charge on the person or their clothes would find its way to ground via the wrist strap. This is a very common misconception.

What is the Purpose of ESD Lab Coats?

Put simply, it is to shield or replace standard high charging insulative clothing.

Clothing, particularly when made from synthetic fibres, is a significant charge generator. Worse still, the fabrics are insulative so the charge cannot be taken away to ground. As we have learned previously, all process essential insulators should be kept at a minimum distance of 30 cm from ESD Sensitive (ESDS) items. Is this feasible for operator’s clothing?

By wearing groundable static control garments such as an ESD Smock or Lab Coat you can shield the insulative clothing and minimise the electric fields generated from their clothing.

Some believe that Static Control Garments represent the single most important step to demonstrate commitment to an ESD Control Programme.

Properties

Most lab coats are constructed of a dissipative material that incorporates texturised polyester and carbon nylon fibres. The conductive nylon fibres are woven in a chain-link design throughout the material, providing continuous and consistent charge dissipation.

ESD Lab Coats are an ESD protective product that should possess the following ESD control characteristics:

• Antistatic low-charging so they minimise the generation of electrostatic charges.
• Dissipative so when grounded they will remove charges to ground.
• Shielding creating a “Faraday Cage” effect so they will restrict charges generated on the user’s clothing to the inside of the ESD lab coat and.
• Groundable so the user can easily and reliably connect them to ground.

Polyurethane Foam Swab is a high quality, economical swab for critical cleaning. The open-cell foam structure provides an excellent capacity for absorbing and holding liquids. The fiberless construction generates little to no particles for optimal maintenance of office equipment and electronic devices.

Comprised of medical grade foam, it offers exceptional particle entrapment making it clean enough for sensitive applications such as medical device manufacturing. Free from adhesives and binders, this swab is ideal for removing flux residue from printed circuit boards and working with fiber optics.

All swabs are ultra sonic welded with no adhesives.Ideal for medical device, electronics, and automotive manufacturing and assembly.

• Class 10 laundered and packaged
• ISO Class 4-7 compatible
• High solvent capacity
• Medical grade foam
• Ultra sonic welding; No adhesives or binders
• Non-abrasive