hi,

i have one question regarding cleanroom furniture. i have been reading on the site and it seems that plated steel shelving seems ok for class 1000 or higher rooms.

recently i just bought a galvanised steel wire rack from a ordinary shop that looks amazingly similar to a shelf we already have in the cleanroom in college. would i be right in thinking that this galvanised steel rack is cleanroom compatible. im trying to save money for our cleanroom, and the one in the shop is a little cheaper than standard suppliers.

both legs and shelf are galvanised steel and the plastic part is made of polyimide.

what do people think about this? would it be ok for a class 10,000 cleanroom after wiping it down with IPA etc.?

thanks in advance
ciaran

Its important here to get the terminology right, galvanised is usually a hot dip zinc coating process and plating is done by electrodeposition in a chemical tank. Neither are recommended  for cleanroom furniture because one releases nodules of loose zinc and the second tends to delaminate in abrasion. Furthermore both may corrode due to chemical trapped in the tubes.

Polyamide is OK but tends to abrade and is also not suitable in ESD situations where good grounding is essential.

This means that the preferred material is 316 stainless steel, electropolished and passivated to neutralise any trapped chemical.  An easy way to test is by checking it with a magnet.

Regards,
Dick Gibbons (committee member of the BSI LB I 30 in the UK and convenes 14644 part 8 and 10 for Chemical contamination)

I agree in part with the moderator, with some exceptions.
ZInc plating looks nice on the outside. The inside tubes will be nasty looking. If you seal them, you may be able to live with it, but you need to think about what your doing. I would recommend passing on them, unless your on a tight budget.

Fowly you did not tell anything about the type of cleanroom and what the shelves would be used for.

Many people including the moderator only approach situations as an absolute. So the preferred material being 316 Stainless Steel may work great for 90% of the situations. However depending on what your doing, you may not need to go for this “Absolutest” solution.

If you have no product issues requiring ESD control and you have no issues with corrosion you may opt for other types of shelving.

Wire Shelving is NOT always the best shelving. Wire shelving is very hard to clean the entire surface and may be a problem. This is not to say wire shelving is all bad either.

it has a place.

What i try to encourage people to do is look at what your doing and address what is needed. If budgets are unlimited, then buy all means just get the best stuff out there.

I spend a lot of time in Cleanrooms all over the world. Where cost is king. So more cost effective solutions might be deployed.

I agree in part with the moderator, with some exceptions.
ZInc plating looks nice on the outside. The inside tubes will be nasty looking. If you seal them, you may be able to live with it, but you need to think about what your doing. I would recommend passing on them, unless your on a tight budget.

Fowly you did not tell anything about the type of cleanroom and what the shelves would be used for.

Many people including the moderator only approach situations as an absolute. So the preferred material being 316 Stainless Steel may work great for 90% of the situations. However depending on what your doing, you may not need to go for this “Absolutest” solution.

If you have no product issues requiring ESD control and you have no issues with corrosion you may opt for other types of shelving.

Wire Shelving is NOT always the best shelving. Wire shelving is very hard to clean the entire surface and may be a problem. This is not to say wire shelving is all bad either.

it has a place.

What i try to encourage people to do is look at what your doing and address what is needed. If budgets are unlimited, then buy all means just get the best stuff out there.

I spend a lot of time in Cleanrooms all over the world. Where cost is king. So more cost effective solutions might be deployed.

I agree in part with the moderator, with some exceptions.
ZInc plating looks nice on the outside. The inside tubes will be nasty looking. If you seal them, you may be able to live with it, but you need to think about what your doing. I would recommend passing on them, unless your on a tight budget.

Fowly you did not tell anything about the type of cleanroom and what the shelves would be used for.

Many people including the moderator only approach situations as an absolute. So the preferred material being 316 Stainless Steel may work great for 90% of the situations. However depending on what your doing, you may not need to go for this “Absolutest” solution.

If you have no product issues requiring ESD control and you have no issues with corrosion you may opt for other types of shelving.

Wire Shelving is NOT always the best shelving. Wire shelving is very hard to clean the entire surface and may be a problem. This is not to say wire shelving is all bad either.

it has a place.

What i try to encourage people to do is look at what your doing and address what is needed. If budgets are unlimited, then buy all means just get the best stuff out there.

I spend a lot of time in Cleanrooms all over the world. Where cost is king. So more cost effective solutions might be deployed.

I agree in part with the moderator, with some exceptions.
ZInc plating looks nice on the outside. The inside tubes will be nasty looking. If you seal them, you may be able to live with it, but you need to think about what your doing. I would recommend passing on them, unless your on a tight budget.

Fowly you did not tell anything about the type of cleanroom and what the shelves would be used for.

Many people including the moderator only approach situations as an absolute. So the preferred material being 316 Stainless Steel may work great for 90% of the situations. However depending on what your doing, you may not need to go for this “Absolutest” solution.

If you have no product issues requiring ESD control and you have no issues with corrosion you may opt for other types of shelving.

Wire Shelving is NOT always the best shelving. Wire shelving is very hard to clean the entire surface and may be a problem. This is not to say wire shelving is all bad either.

it has a place.

What i try to encourage people to do is look at what your doing and address what is needed. If budgets are unlimited, then buy all means just get the best stuff out there.

I spend a lot of time in Cleanrooms all over the world. Where cost is king. So more cost effective solutions might be deployed.

I agree in part with the moderator, with some exceptions.
ZInc plating looks nice on the outside. The inside tubes will be nasty looking. If you seal them, you may be able to live with it, but you need to think about what your doing. I would recommend passing on them, unless your on a tight budget.

Fowly you did not tell anything about the type of cleanroom and what the shelves would be used for.

Many people including the moderator only approach situations as an absolute. So the preferred material being 316 Stainless Steel may work great for 90% of the situations. However depending on what your doing, you may not need to go for this “Absolutest” solution.

If you have no product issues requiring ESD control and you have no issues with corrosion you may opt for other types of shelving.

Wire Shelving is NOT always the best shelving. Wire shelving is very hard to clean the entire surface and may be a problem. This is not to say wire shelving is all bad either.

it has a place.

What i try to encourage people to do is look at what your doing and address what is needed. If budgets are unlimited, then buy all means just get the best stuff out there.

I spend a lot of time in Cleanrooms all over the world. Where cost is king. So more cost effective solutions might be deployed.

I agree in part with the moderator, with some exceptions.
ZInc plating looks nice on the outside. The inside tubes will be nasty looking. If you seal them, you may be able to live with it, but you need to think about what your doing. I would recommend passing on them, unless your on a tight budget.

Fowly you did not tell anything about the type of cleanroom and what the shelves would be used for.

Many people including the moderator only approach situations as an absolute. So the preferred material being 316 Stainless Steel may work great for 90% of the situations. However depending on what your doing, you may not need to go for this “Absolutest” solution.

If you have no product issues requiring ESD control and you have no issues with corrosion you may opt for other types of shelving.

Wire Shelving is NOT always the best shelving. Wire shelving is very hard to clean the entire surface and may be a problem. This is not to say wire shelving is all bad either.

it has a place.

What i try to encourage people to do is look at what your doing and address what is needed. If budgets are unlimited, then buy all means just get the best stuff out there.

I spend a lot of time in Cleanrooms all over the world. Where cost is king. So more cost effective solutions might be deployed.

I agree in part with the moderator, with some exceptions.
ZInc plating looks nice on the outside. The inside tubes will be nasty looking. If you seal them, you may be able to live with it, but you need to think about what your doing. I would recommend passing on them, unless your on a tight budget.

Fowly you did not tell anything about the type of cleanroom and what the shelves would be used for.

Many people including the moderator only approach situations as an absolute. So the preferred material being 316 Stainless Steel may work great for 90% of the situations. However depending on what your doing, you may not need to go for this “Absolutest” solution.

If you have no product issues requiring ESD control and you have no issues with corrosion you may opt for other types of shelving.

Wire Shelving is NOT always the best shelving. Wire shelving is very hard to clean the entire surface and may be a problem. This is not to say wire shelving is all bad either.

it has a place.

What i try to encourage people to do is look at what your doing and address what is needed. If budgets are unlimited, then buy all means just get the best stuff out there.

I spend a lot of time in Cleanrooms all over the world. Where cost is king. So more cost effective solutions might be deployed.