EXAIR’s Intellistat Ion Air Gun and Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle have both earned a Class 5 Clean room Rating making them ideal for static elimination in clean rooms for sensitive processes. There are manufacturing processes that require certain cleanliness standards for operation, such as scientific research, solar panel manufacturing or biotechnology industries. This means that any tool or material you use in this process has to meet a certain standard. EXAIR’s Intellistat was engineered to do just that.
8505 Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle
8500 Intellistat Ion Air Gun
The Intellistat Ion Air Gun is a patented handheld air gun for static elimination in sterile environments and clean rooms. This lightweight tool provides rapid static decay with a simple squeeze of a short-throw trigger reducing 5,000 volts to 500 in under second. Furthering the Intellistat’s utility, it has now been awarded the ISO 14644-1 Class 5 rating for clean rooms and controlled environments making it the perfect tool for electronics manufacturing, testing facilities and laboratories.
Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle: The Intellistat Ion Air Nozzle boasts the same abilities as the Intellistat ion air gun above, however this system comes on an easily adjustable bracket to aim and lock into place for hands off operation. It’s also been awarded the ISO 14644-1 Class 5 rating for clean rooms and controlled environments making it the perfect tool for electronics manufacturing, testing facilities and laboratories.
The Intellistat product offering is the ideal solution for static elimination in your sensitive processes. Learn more about the Intellistat’s as well as the rest of EXAIR’s large line of static elimination products at www.EXAIR.com or by contacting any of our Application Engineers.
The number of clean room certifications are vast and vary tremendously. ISO 14644 is the most used standard when looking at electronics and pharma manufacturing controlled environments. With this popularity, it has also undergone revisions within the past five years.
No matter the standard, each is divided into classes. The classes are rated from 1 to 9. The class identifies the maximum limit for particulate size and quantity per cubic meter of air. The chart below showcases the size and the quantity breakdown.
Cleanroom Classification Allowable Maximums.
ISO 9 as you can see is the loosest standard. This standard is equivalent to air quality within a city environment. These environments can fit a multitude of manufacturing and are some of the easiest to achieve and abide by. The opposite end of the spectrum, ISO 1 is the strictest and hardest to maintain. There are three main factors when designing for a clean room. These are surfaces, airflow, and employee access.
When selecting surfaces that will be within the environment it is best to choose a surface that will hold up to the level of use as well as not be damaged by the cleaners or solvents being used to ensure the surface is clean. This should carry over into part fixturing and even machine materials of construction as well. This is not always easy and should be a design element to the process and environment.
Airflow within the room is what helps maintain the concentration levels of particulates. Generally, a clean room is positively pressurized to where the pressure within the room is higher than that outside of the room. This results in a positive air exchange, generally this is provided by the HVAC system. Having a system that does not recirculate the air from inside of the room and a substantial filtration system is key. Another type of airflow that can be found within these environments is a blowoff operation for the part or process. When installing a blowoff within a clean room environment it should be confirmed that the materials of construction are compatible with the environment and cleaning processes and that the airflow will not be introducing particulate into the environment which can result in contamination.
Lastly, employee access should be limited to those employees who are trained and necessary to be within the environment. Sometimes if an employee wears the wrong type of deodorant it can effect an entire environment. Even the wrong type of clothing or soap can alter the state of an environment, let alone using a blowoff incorrectly or bringing the incorrect cleaner inside the cleanroom. Access to these areas should be limited and individuals should be well trained to meet the demands of the clean room.
If you would like to discuss your production environment or blowoff application within a clean room, please contact us.
The compressed air coming directly from your air compressor will usually require further treatment & preparation before it can be used. It’ll contain particulate matter, moisture, and hydrocarbons that the intake filter won’t remove…remember, it’s there to protect the compressor itself against damage from larger particulate. Smaller particulate and other contaminants that can affect air operated products & tools will still need to be addressed, after compression. The degree to which this additional treatment is necessary is dictated by what you’re using your compressed air for.
ISO 8573-1:2010 – Compressed air – Part 1: Contaminants and Purity Classes quantifies the quality of the air according to three properties, into different classes:
Per the descriptions above, here are the criteria by which compressed air purity is classified in these three categories. Certain applications can call for different classes for these three categories (more on that in a minute).
Maximum particle size & concentration of solid contaminants. These can come from rust on the inside of the distribution piping, particulate generated by wear of air system components, and atmospheric contamination that the compressor’s intake filter doesn’t catch.
Maximum pressure dew point. No matter where your compressor is located, the air it pulls in contains some amount of water vapor. Dew point is the temperature at which it will condense at a given pressure. As long as the compressed air temperature is above that dew point, there won’t be any water (in liquid form) in it.
Maximum oil content. This most often is due to carryover from oil lubricated compressors, but can come from atmospheric oil (or other hydrocarbon) vapor drawn into the compressor’s intake.
So…what does this mean to you, relating to your use of compressed air? Well, it largely comes down to the nature of your application. Whatever is in your compressed air supply will be in contact with whatever the air comes in contact with. If a machinist is using a Safety Air Gun to blow chips & coolant from machined parts, they’re not going to be particularly concerned with this specification from a regulatory standpoint. If those parts are going straight from the machine shop to a paint booth, they’re certainly going to want to use air that’s free of particulate, moisture, and oil. All of those things will, quite noticeably, affect the quality of the painted finish. Filter Separators and Oil Removal Filters installed at the point of use will take care of that. A case could be made for a purity specification and regular testing of their compressed air, but this really just falls under the confines of good engineering practice.
Compressed air use in applications where it can come in contact with food or beverages intended for consumption (by people AND animals, according to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act) is considered a critical factor for cleanliness. They reference guidelines from the British Compressed Air Society (BCAS) to specify purity classes for both direct and indirect contact with food and beverage products:
Direct contact requires testing and compliance to Class 2:2:1 per the above table means:
Particulate Class 2 – particle concentration, by particle size, in concentrations no greater than:
400,000 particles sized 0.1-0.5 microns, per cubic meter
6,000 particles sized 0.5-1.0 microns, per cubic meter
100 particles sizes 1.0-5.0 microns, per cubic meter
Maximum pressure dew point Class 2 – vapor pressure dew point must be less than 40°F (40°C) at the maximum pressure of the compressed air system.
Oil content Class 1 – concentration must be less that 0.001 milligrams per cubic meter
Examples of direct contact applicable to the use of EXAIR Engineered Compressed Air Products include blowing air for cooling, moisture removal, coating layer distribution, etc., of unpackaged food product.
EXAIR Stainless Steel Super Air Knives are popular in food processing applications (left to right): removing excess moisture prior to flash freezing of fish filets, preventing clumping while packaging shredded cheese, and (my personal favorite) ensuring a consistent and even glazing of fresh, delicious doughnuts.
Line Vac Air Operated Conveyors and Vortex Tubes are also used in direct contact applications in the food industry:
Indirect contact is slightly (but JUST slightly) less restrictive: those are Class 2.4.2. Particulate and oil content classes remain the same, but dew point can be as high as 37°F (3°C). This is where the air the air is coming into contact not with the consumable product itself, but, for example, the packaging or container:
EXAIR Corporation is committed to helping you get the most out of our products – and your compressed air system. If you have questions, I can talk about compressed air all day – and oftentimes I do! Let’s talk.
Russ Bowman, CCASS
Application Engineer EXAIR Corporation Visit us on the Web Follow me on Twitter Like us on Facebook
When any product / system is designed drawings are made to assist in the production of the designed product. For example if a mechanical part is being machined you may see symbols like these to verify the part is made correctly:
GD&T Symbol Examples
Same with an electrical panel, they use symbols like the ones below to note the type of equipment used in a location.
Electrical Symbol Examples
Then there’s the Piping & Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)…it depicts an overall view of a system, showing the flow (usually fluid or electricity) through that system’s components, giving the viewer an understanding of the operation, and expected results from said operation.
Some examples of symbols you might find in a compressed air system are:
Compressors:
The one on the left can be used for any air compressor. The others denote specific types of air compressor (from left:) Centrifugal, Diaphragm, Piston, Rotary, and Screw.
Air preparation & handling:
The symbols on the left denote the EXAIR products on the right: Automatic Drain Filter Separator, Oil Removal Filter, and Pressure Regulator
Instrumentation and control:
The symbols on top denote the EXAIR products below (left to right): Flowmeter, Pressure Gauge, and Solenoid Valve
Occasionally, we’re asked if there are standard ANSI or ISO symbols for any of our engineered Intelligent Compressed Air Products…and there aren’t. Perhaps one day they might make the cut, but for now, their standard convention is to choose a shape and call it out by name. It might look something like this:
From top left, and then down: Automatic Drain Filter Separator, Oil Removal Filter, Pressure Regulator, and Super Air Knife
If you have questions about any of the quiet EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air® Products, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.
