Various categories of clean room carts

Clean room carts are a very important pieces of equipment in laboratories and environment controlled areas. They come in different designs, depending on the purpose for which they are intended. Generally, they come in three main categories- general purpose clean room carts, electronic/semiconductor carts and clean room carts with unique features. In this article, we will be examining the various carts under each category.

GENERAL-PURPOSE CLEAN ROOM CARTS

• UTILITY CARTS

These carts come equipped with convenient handles, solid shelves, and easy-to-roll casters. Most designs allow for height adjustment which makes it easy to carry about any equipment. Utility carts are often fabricated from stainless steel and vary for use as a clean room cart and laboratory cart.

• CLEANROOM SERVICE CART

These are versatile polypropylene panels adapted to fit gas cylinders, tanks, drawers and other bulky items solving awkward transfer challenges within the clean room environment. Polypropylene, the material used in the design of these clean room carts is resistant to acid and other chemicals. Furthermore, it has handles which can be adjusted outwards or upwards, creating extra room for the transfer of items.

• POLYOLEFIN UTILITY CARTS

Polyolefin utility carts are made of tough, chemical-resistant, high-density polyethylene which is easy to clean and maintain. They provide chemical resistance across a wide range of substances (including most acids and bases).

• ADJUSTABLE TOTE CARTS

Tote carts are an ideal system for storing and transporting divider boxes. They have telescoping frames which allow for the proper adjustment of slides and there are additional slides available which provides for a safe and secure capture of totes.

ELECTRONICS/SEMICONDUCTOR CARTS

• WAFER BOX CARTS

These ultra-clean carts are designed to transport water boats. They have spring-loaded locking casters which allow for a smooth ride for the sensitive areas.

• ELECTRONIC TRAY CART

This category of carts is built for carrying sensitive components. It comprises of vibration-suppression casters, grounding wire and ESD-safe trays. They are usually built with lightweight 304 stainless steel wires and provide the perfect solution for the transportation of PCBs and other sub-assemblies. In fact, the versatile design of electronic tray carts allows them to accommodate PCBs of any size without having to change or reconfigure the trays.

• WAFER FAB CARTS

This cart is customized for wafer fab tools and supplies like probes, injectors, quartz tubes, thermocouple rods, and supply bottles. They come in

• ESD ELECTRONIC CARTS

These carts are designed to store PCBs and other sensitive electronics in a clean, static-safe environment. The outer shells of these carts are fabricated of static dissipative PVC, providing additional electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection.

SPECIAL FEATURE CLEAN ROOM CARTS

• DESICCATOR CARTS

These carts provide a low-humidity, contamination-free environment to protect sensitive materials during transport. Desiccator carts move in cushioned casters to protect the materials found in them in low-humidity and contamination-free environments.

• LAMINAR FLOW CART

These are cleanroom carts designed to protect your work in progress during transport. They generally maintain an ISO4 environment which is required for strict cleanliness. This cleanroom cart is ideal for transporting materials through a manufacturing facility.

• RETICLE STORAGE CABINETS

These are horizontal and vertical HEPA-filtered reticle storage cabinets designed to protect against contaminants. They can contain hundreds of reticle or photomask cassettes within a particle-free environment. They are made of ultra-clean materials which ensure a non-contaminating storage environment.

I'm Ariyan Usman, Ceo of Drak Blue Marketing based in UK