Comparison of Clean Booths and Cleanrooms
1. What is a Clean Booth (Clean Work Booth)?
A clean work booth, also known as a dust-free clean booth/purification clean booth/Class 100 clean booth/Class 1000 clean booth/Class 10,000 clean booth, is a small space enclosed by anti-static transparent plastic sheeting within a turbulent flow cleanroom environment. It utilizes independent HEPA or ULPA filters and air conditioning units to create a relatively high-level clean space, ranging from Class 100 to 10,000. The internal space height is approximately 2.0 meters, and the coverage area is less than 50 square meters. Four support pillars can be equipped with casters for flexible operation.
2. Clean Booth Materials:
The frame of a clean booth generally comes in three types: stainless steel square tubing, iron square tubing, and aluminum profiles.
The roof material of a clean booth generally comes in three types: stainless steel plate, cold-rolled steel plate with powder coating, anti-static mesh curtain, and (anti-static) acrylic sheet.
For cleanroom air supply, FFU laminar flow hoods (FFU laminar flow air supply units) are generally selected.
The enclosure materials for cleanroom booths typically include: anti-static curtains and (anti-static) acrylic panels.
3. Selection of Cleanroom Booth Purity Level:
Many clients choose Class 1000 or Class 10,000 cleanroom booths, while a smaller number choose Class 100 or Class 10,000. In short, the choice of cleanroom level depends on the client's required level of cleanliness. However, because cleanrooms are relatively enclosed, choosing a lower cleanroom level often leads to some side effects: insufficient cooling, making employees feel stuffy and hot inside the cleanroom. Therefore, this point needs to be considered during communication with clients.
4. Cost Comparison of Clean Booths and Cleanrooms:
Generally speaking, most clients build clean booths within cleanrooms. However, some clients do not wish to build a separate cleanroom. Without considering air conditioning systems, air showers, pass-through windows, and other purification equipment, the cost of a clean booth is approximately 40% to 60% of the cost of a cleanroom. This depends on the client's choice of materials and the size of the clean booth. The larger the area requiring cleanliness, the smaller the cost difference between a clean booth and a cleanroom will be.
5. Advantages of Clean Booths:
A. Fast construction and easy installation
B. Lower cost and convenient maintenance
C. Easy to control; each FFU (Fan Filter Unit) comes with its own fan.
6. Disadvantages of Clean Booths:
A. Due to the extensive use of FFU fan filter units, clean booths may generate significant noise.
B. The numerous FFU fans result in frequent maintenance.
C. Due to the limited airflow, clean booths often feel stuffy.
D. If the clean booth is not built within a cleanroom, the lack of medium-efficiency filters means the lifespan of high-efficiency filters will be shorter compared to cleanrooms, leading to higher long-term operating costs.