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Pure air at Plansee - ISO 6 for semiconductor elements

The Plansee Group, based in Reutte, Austria, specialises in the powder metallurgical processing of the high-tech metals molybdenum and tungsten. Continuous investments in the development of new products and process improvements secure the location and the employment of the approximately 2400 employees. Now, an almost 400 square metre clean room of ISO clean room class 6 has been put into operation, which meets the high safety standards of the semiconductor industry.

Clean metal processing
With more than 14,000 employees at 50 production sites worldwide, the private company Plansee Group generated sales of 1.5 billion euros in the 2018/2019 fiscal year, making it one of the world market leaders in the powder metallurgical processing of tungsten and molybdenum. In Austria, where the company has its origins in 1921 as Metallwerk Plansee, is the headquarters and the largest production site. If you initially think of production with chips, dust and dirt in a metalworking company, exactly the opposite is the case at Plansee. The company focuses on refractory metals such as tungsten and molybdenum, which have special properties such as high resistance and good conductivity. The metals are first processed into high-purity powder and then pressed, sintered and machined. The semi-finished products and components are required in the electronics industry, in semiconductor production and in medical technology. Absolute cleanliness in production is therefore the top priority. For the current production of components for semiconductor manufacturing, the process even takes place within an ISO class 6 clean room. In the modern clean room CleanCell4.0 installed in 2019, parts and components made of molybdenum and other materials are assembled, the function of which is impaired by even the smallest contamination. Contamination of the sensitive components by particles must be absolutely excluded. More than half of the 400 square meter production area therefore meets the strict cleanliness requirements of ISO clean room class 6.

Clean room technology with energy-efficient air circulation
Clean air is introduced into the clean room with the aid of ceiling-integrated laminar flow units equipped with ULPA15 high-performance filters. The particle-free air flows displace airborne particles downwards and are then discharged from the clean room into the circulating air duct. This process of air exchange is carried out up to 60 times an hour. Circulation and return air flow takes place within the clean room walls. The already cooled and filtered air is circulated, which contributes to the very efficient operation of the clean room. In addition, the air flow within the walls ensures optimal use of space. Plansee opted for a clean room system from Schilling Engineering. Mario Kuisle, project engineer at Plansee, explains the advantages of the system: “The air recirculation of the CleanCell4.0 clean room system convinced us right from the start. We can save high energy costs here in the long term. It was also important that the air flow within the walls ensures optimal use of space. The clean room was adapted exactly to our circumstances.” The special conditions of the on-site location required a clean room that was tailored to the customer's needs in several respects. The project engineer remembers some of the challenges that the planning clean room company faced: "The on-site ceiling of the Plansee hall is structurally unsuitable for suspension, among other things due to the expected snow loads. The clean room ceiling was then constructed with a self-supporting framework made of aluminum profiles. The ceiling can be walked on and has been identified with stable walkways. A huge advantage of the construction is that the clean room was constructed without supports and pillars."

Modular construction
Another challenge was the desired height of the clean room, which was designed to be four meters higher than normal clean rooms. The height required by the installation of measuring machines could be achieved with demountable wall elements. The ceiling, which is equipped with 67 clean air units, is also modular and can be flexibly redesigned. The modular system of the CleanCell4.0® clean room enables flexible planning of future utilization, as Mario Kuisle explains: “The modular structure of the clean room system helped us enormously in our investment decision. We wanted to be able to quickly and flexibly convert the clean room to other production processes. At the moment we are producing for semiconductor production and have integrated the production machines appropriately into the clean room walls. Thanks to the modular wall and ceiling elements, we will be able to convert to changed layout concepts in the future.”

Intelligent control
Dimmable LED light strips are homogeneously integrated into the aluminum strips of the ceiling. With 1000 lux, they achieve uniform lighting with few shadows and contribute to energy savings. Doors and material sluices are also illuminated with LEDs and use different colors to show whether a door can be opened or whether it has to remain closed for pressure equalization and active rinsing. The connected control and monitoring system CR-Control® offers intelligent control, via which the individual filter units, production-relevant room data such as temperature and humidity and the air-conditioning technology are controlled and monitored. The air conditioning is characterized by extremely energy-efficient air conditioning. In addition to the already mentioned high proportion of recirculated air, the use of an air pre-treatment device and an air-cooled water chiller achieve large savings. Mario Kuisle is very satisfied with the first few months that the clean room has been in use: “The clean room is running perfectly. The technology is very complex, but perfectly coordinated and well thought out. The energy optimization of the clean room was very important to us. With the use of a heat pump, we can save high additional costs in the long term. We also have the option of programming a night setback. The quiet filters and the good lighting are also very positive, which makes daily work in the clean room easier.

This article was published: Reinraum online 01/2020

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