Angstrom Technology was appointed to work alongside Plexus Corp, fulfilling their brief to design and build a new cleanroom facility for manufacturing components for their customer within the semiconductor industry.

The Client

Plexus is a global organisation that is contracted by its customers to design, manufacture and service their products. Employing over 25,000 people worldwide, Plexus operates in the industrial, healthcare, life sciences, aerospace and defence sectors and works with highly complex customers with many regulations to comply with.

At its Livingstone site in Scotland, Plexus is working to develop two cleanroom facilities; one permanent facility and one smaller, temporary facility to enable production to commence ahead of the completion of their larger, permanent facility.

The project

Plexus originally produced a User Requirement Specification (URS) for the project as part of the tender process and chose Angstrom Technology as their solution provider, due to the range of services we offer. Utilising our expertise in cleanroom design & build, cleanroom validation, cleanroom consumables and cleanroom training, Plexus were attracted to the prospect of a single provider to manage the entire process. As such, the Angstrom team worked collaboratively to refine their URS and bring their requirements to life.

Each feature of the cleanroom was carefully designed and critical to its success. It was decided that a temporary cleanroom would be utilised as a stopgap until their larger, permanent facility was completed.

The Cleanroom

Angstrom Technology was appointed to design and build a 30m x 15m cleanroom facility, whilst at the same time producing a smaller, temporary, hybrid cleanroom.

Designed in Lancaster and built on-site in Scotland, the temporary cleanroom is a 5m x 10m hybrid structure (meaning a combination of both hardwall and softwall panels) and features HEPA filtration, achieving ISO class 7. The brief also included a softwall curtain divide to create an area separate from the main room that is used as both a change area and a pre-cleanroom inspection area. This enables the team to clean and prepare components that haven't been manufactured in a cleanroom before they enter the main cleanroom area to prevent cross-contamination.


The Consumables

Along with the cleanroom design and build project, it was clear that a carefully selected range of cleanroom furniture would be required to make it operational. The purpose of the cleanroom is to manufacture components designed for use within the semiconductor industry. Due to the sensitive nature of their processes, furniture with antistatic properties was key, and our team were able to advise on what would be best for their processes on this basis.

Angstrom Technology's consumables and equipment division, Cleanroomshop, offers a varied portfolio of products from a wide range of global brands.

As part of an initial visit the client made to the Angstrom Technology Lancaster office, they were able to see our showroom, which is coincidentally a hybrid cleanroom and features elements of the design specification of the preliminary cleanroom. Cleanroomshop Key Account Manager (Furniture), Lois, was on hand to discuss the furniture options and develop a list of appropriate furniture for their cleanroom requirements.

Further to this, Lois conducted an on-site visit where the cleanroom was being constructed, to collaborate with the Plexus team and evaluate appropriate furniture options. The client opted for a range of electropolished steel furniture, consisting of benches, chairs and garment cupboards including shoe storage, shelving and more. Due to the unique nature of their processes, the client also chose a selection of antistatic tables and benches that were custom-made to their bespoke requirements.

The Training

Once the physical cleanroom and consumables had been agreed upon, a selection of the client’s team attended training at Angstrom Technology’s Lancaster office. The team completed our CPD-certified ISO Cleanroom Training Course, which helps attendees control the introduction, generation, and retention of particles in cleanrooms in line with ISO standards.

Upon completion of the training course, participants were awarded a certificate of attendance for their records. The feedback received from all participants was positive and as such, Plexus suggested they may extend cleanroom training to more of their operatives upon completion of the permanent cleanroom.

Plexus

"We originally appointed Angstrom Technology to this project because of the support and engagement we received from the word go. We felt the team went above and beyond in terms of design work, modifications and ISO classification, and the fact they could produce a hybrid cleanroom made them stand out to us.

"We opted to utilise the full suite of services with Angstrom, including the cleanroom design and build, the furniture fit-out and then team training, meaning we were able to use Angstrom Technology as a one-stop shop, making the whole process much easier to manage on our end.

"Having already met members of the Cleanroomshop team on a visit to Angstrom Technology’s Lancaster office, it made sense for the team to then assist in curating the furniture; Lois and the team were quick, responsive, and knowledgeable with the ordering process, and tailoring solutions to meet our needs.

"The training was the final piece of the puzzle for this project, and we felt that this was a positive experience overall. We'll be undertaking more training for the wider team in future, and we thank Laura for her efficiency and organisation in delivering the training."

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