Little Information About Laminar Air Flow Cabinets

By Author: Maria John
Total Articles: 12
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Used in variety of laboratories and research centers of many industries, laminar air flow systems are one of most important laboratory equipment. A laminar air flow system contains three basic elements - a blower, a high efficiency air filter, and a plenum. These variations or elements may be varied - many blowers, many filters, and very large plenums, but all have the same basics. The flow is called laminar because the turbulent air upstream is changed by the filter into a straight-line flow off the downstream face of the filter.

Now the question arises, why these laboratories and research centers use laminar air flow systems. The fundamental reason behind this, of course, is to make available source of air from which most of the particulate matter has been removed; as a matter of fact 99.99% of everything air-borne down to 0.3 microns should be screened out. Now you have an environment whose air supply is free of pollen, bacteria, fungi, and practically all air-borne dirt, to use for whatever purpose such an environment will do the most good.

Laminar Air flow systems are designed to make availability of particle-free ...
... working environment. In other words laminar air flow cabinets are a carefully enclosed bench designed to prevent contamination of semiconductor wafer or any particle sensitive device. In these systems air is taken through a filtration system and then exhausted across a work surface in a unidirectional or laminar air stream. In this system, air is drawn through HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter and blown in a very smooth, laminar flow towards the user. The cabinet of laminar air flow system is usually made of stainless steel with no gaps or joints where spores might collect.

Laminar air flow systems are come in two different classifications. These are Horizontal laminar air flow cabinets and vertical laminar air flow cabinets. There are many laminar air flow cabinet manufacturers in India that design and manufacture laminar air flow cabinets. These types of units are explained below:

Horizontal laminar air flow cabinet: The horizontal laminar air flow cabinet is used to give only product protection. This type of bench is not suitable where there is a need for any operator protection. In this type of bench air is blown horizontally at the operator.

Vertical Laminar Flow Cabinet: This type of laminar air flow cabinet is used where a large piece of equipment is enclosed in the cabinet which will obstruct air from immediately in front of it. This type of bench is further classified into two main types such as 100% down flow and 30 / 70 Air flow. In 100 % Down flow cabinet the unit draws air in through the top of the unit through a pre-filter, through a plenum and vertically down over the work-surface and past the lap of the operator. This type of bench gives 100 % product protection and is featuring the advantage of not pushing air into the face of the operator. This unit is perfect if fully laminarity of the air is prime need. The 30 / 70 Airflow unit gives both product protection and a degree of operator protection. This type of air flow cabinet is very much similar to a Biosafety Cabinet Class 2. It does not pass the requisite standards though and must not be used with pathogens.

Other products that fall to this category are clean rooms, Air shower, and Biosafety Cabinets. These equipment's also used in a variety of applications and are important systems where bacteria free environment is a prime need.