The Importance of Cleanroom Doors in Cleanrooms: More Than Just An Entrance Or Exit

In extremely clean facilities like chip manufacturing, pharmaceutical production, food processing, cosmetics factories, etc., the doors are a main component of clean room controls to prevent contamination from spreading to adjacent premises. A scientifically designed and well-structured Clean Room Door has the property of helping to inhibit contamination sources, regulate the differentials of Air pressure and help in controlling the flow of personnel, as it is amongst the most important components of maintaining a clean room in its set operational state.

Efficiencies of automated cleanroom doors with sealing that are automated and cleaned easily are particularly allied with high-traffic areas that have high purity demands, and they also minimize chances of human cross-contamination. This article shall comprehensively discuss the types of cleanroom doors and materials and also the pros and cons of the main considerations in making a selective choice of these doors.

What types of cleanroom doors are classified based on their opening method?

Based on their structural design and usage, cleanroom doors can be broadly divided into the following categories:

Manual Doors

This is the most common, basic cleanroom door, typically made of stainless steel or color-coated steel sheets. It is suitable for auxiliary areas with low traffic and limited budgets.

• Advantages: Relatively low price and easy installation.

• Disadvantages: Personnel must touch the door handle, posing a risk of cross-contamination; the door seal is relatively weak, making it difficult to meet the requirements for use in high-level cleanrooms.

Cleanroom Sliding Doors

Sliding doors open on parallel rails and are suitable for areas with wide aisles, compact spaces, or frequent openings.

• Advantages: Small footprint, minimal airflow disturbance during opening and closing, and strong airtightness.

• Disadvantages: Requires high track flatness and requires regular cleaning and maintenance to prevent dust accumulation and jamming.

Automatic Cleanroom Doors

This kind of door has a smart sensing system and may have infrared, a foot pedal, a card swipe, or a facial scan to open it. It is commonly found in operating rooms, pharmaceutical factories, and electronic assembly, and also in areas with very high cleanroom standards, with incredible efficiency requirements.

• Advantages: Contactless opening improves cleanliness control; automatic closing reduces human intervention; suitable for interlock system integration.

• Disadvantages: High cost, requiring specialized expertise for installation and ongoing maintenance.

Automatic Clean Room Doors: Materials and Technical Requirements

Door materials required in cleanroom conditions have to be subject to thoroughly extensive requirements in terms of resistance to contamination, corrosion resistance, structural strength, and maintenance accessibility. With 17 years of experience in cleanroom engineering, we would like to present the following basic principles in the application of materials:

Door Material

• Stainless steel (304/316L): Offers excellent corrosion resistance and is widely used in GMP workshops and chemical processing areas.

• Color-coated steel or electrostatically painted steel: Suitable for areas with high cleanliness requirements but no strong corrosive media, such as electronics factories, offering a more cost-effective solution.

• HPL (Compact Laminate) or aluminum honeycomb composite panels: Lightweight, high-strength, aesthetically pleasing, and easy to clean and disinfect.

Internal Filling Materials

Honeycomb aluminum panels, polyurethane foam, and rock wool panels effectively enhance sound insulation, thermal insulation, and fire resistance, while reducing the risk of door deformation.

Sealing Design

Highly elastic sealing strips are installed around the perimeter, and an automatic lift bar is installed at the door bottom to ensure a high airtight seal when the door is closed, effectively preventing airflow contamination.

Control System

Supports integration with various control modules, such as access control systems, interlocking systems, and pressure differential control systems, to meet the operational needs of intelligent factories.

Comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of different types of Clean Room Doors

Choosing the right cleanroom door not only affects the initial investment of the project, but also affects the long-term maintenance efficiency and the stability of the cleanroom grade.

In cleanrooms, modular operating rooms, and GMP-certified factories, more and more customers are choosing Automatic Clean Room Doors as the main access door type because they not only represent the industry automation trend but also better meet the dual standards of cleanroom operation safety and efficiency.

Summary

Although simple, cleanroom doors are a very important channel between the cleanroom and the external realm, which guarantees the efficient functioning of the whole cleanroom. You can plan a chip cleanroom, a pharmaceutical GMP workshop, or even a modular operating room, and our Amber Team can give you a one-stop solution right through to design, manufacturing, and installation. Contact us to learn more about cleanroom doors and cleanroom solutions.