Building a Personal Clean Room? 56
eagleyezx asks: "I have a rather large basement with nothing currently sitting in it (I moved all my crud to my garage). Since I am really into space and satellites, I have a satellite all designed. It's kinda based on one of the Amsat designs, but all it really does it beep, just like Sputnik. However, I would need a sterile clean room to build one that would function properly and not go beserk in orbit. I know everyone out there has thought about this at least once? Has anyone ever built a room like this? Any suggestions on equipment?" If you had the drive to do something like this, what would you need to do to be able to build a workshop that would even come close to "clean room" standards. Has anyone ever built an airlock on the cheap?
Huh? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Funny)
Basement? (Score:4, Insightful)
Cleanroom and Cheap ... (Score:3, Informative)
seriously though I really don't think it is possible. Though to start with you would need:
1) A large air conditioner
2) Several filters of variing ratings (start with normal airconditioner filters then move to heppa filters then ionization filters and liquid filters
3) A way of sealing the room completely maybe like the thermal sprays they put on buildings (it is air tight and non brathable IIRC)
4) a decent multistage airlock
5) Appropriate dress
Seriously the trick to a clean rom is all in keeping things out. so a good start is to us ethe previously filtered air to create an over pressure area inside teh clean room. This if there are any leaks they would be to the outside not the inside. Good luck
Positive air pressure...... (Score:1)
Tell me why you need this again (Score:4, Informative)
Anyway, just in case you are the next Werner von Braun, I wouldn't like to be remembered by history as "that guy who treated a genius rudely" I will answer your question. Remember the train conductor who was wrongly blamed for making Edison deaf when he actually saved his life? You know what I'm talking about...
Take a look at pages written by those who paint their cars at home in their garages. To get those nice smooth paint jobs there can't be any dust around.
Re:Tell me why you need this again (Score:1)
Yeah, can't have that. The next thing you know, that damned horse will be pulling the cart!
(I'm bored enough to make fun of people who can't get metaphors right...shoot me.)
Re:this might help [here's the link] (Score:1, Funny)
Half-assed answer (Score:2, Informative)
However, I have to ask, why do you need a clean-room? Everything's going to be solid-state (and epoxy or ceramic packaged) and/or large enough mechanically (e.g. solar-array deployment) that it shouldn't matter. Unless you're conducting experiments with MEMs or something...? Whatever.
Besides, if you just leave provide enough gaps in the seams to let the air out as soon as that sucker hits vacuum - whoosh! - it'll be really clean!
(Er, um, this whole article isn't a clever troll is it...?)
Build it like the russians do! (Score:4, Funny)
Go to radio shack! Buy all your parts there.
If you're a farmer, build it in the pig pen. If you're not a farmer, find a farmer.
If it can work under those conditions, it can work anywhere.
How big is this thing? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How big is this thing? (Score:1)
On the other hand, I have visions of someone trying to build a satellitte in a bottle... kinda like those ship in a bottle deals.
Dave
How about a clean glove box? (Score:2)
If you don't plan to handle anything much larger than about 30-50cm in size, I would suggest a clean glove box instead of a room.
I used glove boxes from time to time when I was studying chemisty. You can see a picture of one here [wlu.edu].
The ones I was using, where generaly the size of a table, and about 3' high. You accessed your work inside using big rubber gloves, that where attached to the box so that the atmosphere in the box is seperate from the one outside. The front and some of the sides where glass. The glove box had one or more air-locks so you could take things in and out. (More than one lock, because smaller ones cycle quicker).
Chemistry glove boxes are usualy used for experements involving chemicals that are sensitive to oxygen or water vapour, so the atmophere in the box would generaly be dry nitrogen, at positive pressure, with no specal provision to avoid dust. Glove boxes are also used ocasionaly for radioactive compounds, where the box protects the laboratory atmosphere from the experenent, rather than the other way arround.
One of the chemistry departents I studied at had some glove boxes that they had made in-house, and I don't think it would be especaly difficult for you to make one. (They said theirs cost them about 10K to make, including labour).
The main body of the home made box, was made from acrylic pannels bolted together and sealed with silicone. The gloves are avalable from chemistry suppliers for about 10 pounds/pair. The airlock was made from welded sheet steel. The atmosphere in this box was maintained by flushing through with dry nitrogen (boiled off from liquid N2).
Obvously if you plan to use your glove box for electronics, there is no need for an intert atmosphere, but you will have to take precautions to avoid dust, presumably via an air filtration system, which I don't think would be to hard to design. Also, if you are serous about preventing bactera or suchlike from getting into it, I would include a UV lighting system to kill them, that you either switch on when you are not using the box, or filter out through the windows.
I hope this helps.
Re:How about a clean glove box? (Score:2)
Oops, More and better pictures of glove boxes can be found here on google image search [google.com].
This one [dmu.ac.uk] is especialy clear.
Some information (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Some information (Score:1)
PS I would imagine that you will need to do some soldering, which will probably contaminate your clean room all too quickly.
Re:Some information (Score:2)
Anti-Static (Score:1)
Get one of these (Score:4, Funny)
Cleanroom DIY resources... (Score:5, Interesting)
Rent one, if they're just collecting dust (Score:1)
That raises an interesting question. Let's say if you abandon a room in your house. After a few years it would start to collect dust. How about if you abandon a clean room? Does it collect dust?
Dave
Really big fan (Score:4, Informative)
What parts are you going to assemble in a clean room. I'd rather suggest a clean-box (i.e. a box with a good clean air-flow and gloves epoxied to a couple of entry points to allow you to work in there. Simply put your working project (in transport protection) in there, your tools (do *not* forget anything), then let the air flow through. When the air has been completely exchanged a few times you can get your working project out of the transport protection and get working on it. When you are done, simply wrap it into something air-tight again and then remove it from your working box.
Such a solution would be easier to work with and have a higher wife-acceptance-factor. Of course, it requires that whatever your doing fits into the box.
All flaming aside... (Score:1)
I don't think so (Score:3, Insightful)
Maybe I'm just weird, but the idea of constructing a clean room in my house has NEVER occurred to me. But then, I'm probably just the odd one out.
*sheesh*
How the hell do will slashdot answer this? (Score:1)
Nobody has a proper google link for this?
I don't think this qualifies as an Ask Slashdot Question, nobody has replied with an answer using the standard internet resources, as such, I request the question be recinded...
All satire aside, it's an interesting question.
Kirby
Re:How the hell do will slashdot answer this? (Score:2)
Here's your steenkin' link [amsat.org]
Here's a hint (Score:5, Funny)
So what do you want to do, anyway? Fab some chips?
Clean _box_ (Score:1)
So... has anyone every built a decent clean box?
FBI (Score:3, Funny)
Uhhh (Score:5, Funny)
Potential Girlfriend: Wow, what's this?
Geek: A satellite
Potential Girlfriend: Gee, has it been to space?
Geek: Nope, but its built to spec. I build 'em in my spare time.
The Woman Formerly Known As The Potential Girlfried: That's, um, pretty dedicated.
Geek: Yup. Want share a Mt Dew with me?
-Sean
Use refrigerator doors (Score:2)
May not be good enough for silicon fab, but it probably would be good for people with serious allergies.
Rotary Space Waves (Score:3, Funny)
Cheap and perhaps effective (Score:2)
Not technically a clean room on the cheep but... (Score:1)
Simple Cleanroom (Score:3, Informative)
The room was constructed like any other room. The "airlock" was more like a changing room / entry way. There was a coat hook where we hung our clean suits, and a sticky floor that would get the majority of the grime off of our shoes. When the sticky floor got all dirty, we would peel off a layer. Inside the clean room and in the entry way, the walls were made of white plastic that didn't get electricaly charged and so wouldn'a allow lint to stick to it. The sections of wall were joined by aluminum strips about three inches wide.
The roof had several holes with air filters in them. One end of the room had a "wall fan" - the entire wall was a fan behind some air filters that would suck the air out of the room. So the air flow would come down through the roof filters and out the wall. The filters were better than the variety you might have in your house, but weren't super expensive. The floor was made of linoleum - a light color. Light colors help expose dirt and lint and such.
We mopped the floor every week as it would slowly accumulate dirt and gunk. The actual "clean room" was everything above our waist as the air below that couldn't be trusted as it wasn't being constantly filtered. As long as the air was flowing, we were pretty clean. We also made sure to stay out of the airflow of what we were working on. This means we couldn't lean over the parts and machines we were building.
We assembled a table that had a stainless steel surface. It was easy to keep clean with lint-free wipes and alcohol, but rarely needed it unless we spilled something.
We also made sure the parts were meticulously cleaned before being admitted into the clean room. Once in the clean room, we would clean them again.
Our clean room didn't have a machine that would count the number of impurities in the air, but I once worked in one that did. However, that clean room was much more strict and had the fans under the floor. We had to wear full body suits and face masks for that. That was the clean room for the Sudbury Neutrino project. They assembled the nickel tube detectors in that one.
Clean "box"... (Score:2)
Think about it - do you think Sputnik was built in a "clean room"? If anything, it was built in a room that was sterile, like a hospital OR, but I doubt it was "clean".
Another question to ask yourself is how clean does the box (or room) really need to be? I would imagine that all of your components are going to be off-the-shelf, mostly electronic, and potted in epoxy for launch - if the stuff works on the bench, it should work on a satellite. I can understand mechanical systems needing a cleaner than normal construction area, but a simple "beeper" sat shouldn't have too many mechanical components.
For those few mechanical components, a clean-box should be more than enough, and cheap to build. Build (or buy) a largish (3 x 3 x 3 feet would be big enough) clear acrylic box, cut a couple of holes for your arms, and attach rubber gloves attached to dryer hose "sleeves" with epoxy. Buy a couple of brand new 120V axial muffin fans for each side, and cut a hole for both, installing flat HEPA vac filters over both - the air should be pumped "through" the filters so that air travels in one direction only. On the outside of the box on the side that has the fan blowing "into" the box, install a sealed ION air cleaner filter system (rip one from one of those cheap cheezy plug in filters that are sold all over nowadays), with a standard filter behind that - so that the stage is "standard filter->ION filter->HEPA filter->axial fan->HEPA filter->box->HEPA filter->axial fan->open air".
You will also need to fashion a clean air lock of some sort, preferably located near the air out-take (so that any particles immediately are sucked out). You will also need to clean the box and all components extremely well after it is built, then cycle air through it for 24 hours.
This kind of "clean box" would surely provide all of what you desire. Its rating probably wouldn't be excellent, but it should work for what you are doing, and cheap as well. I am surprised that case-modders don't build these things for hard-drive modding (hey, by all accounts they rely on "bathroom tricks" to clean the air - and are successful most of the time - this clean-box would have to be thousands of times better).
I also wish to have a clean room... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:I also wish to have a clean room... (Score:1)
Cheap clean room (Score:2, Informative)
Our clean room was really just a large area enclosed in heavy transparent plastic of a heavy grade with an air filer and blower on top. Like a tent. The plasctic hung from a steel frame and was an inch or so off the ground. The system worked by there being a positive pressure in the clean room. No dust could get in through the openings. Its too hard to build an airtight room...much easier just to use positive pressure in the clean zone. The system we used was a kit. I'm not sure how much it cost...the univ took care of that. I helped with some of the assembly, mostly it was done by the campus plant guys, but we hung the plastic and installed the filters ourselves.
There were 4 blowers on top of the room with really fancy filters. One of them had an air conditioner attached to its intake to keep us from getting to warm in our box. It was fun.
I think you could duplicate somthing like this fairly easily. A lot of it depends on how clean you want the room...they come in different grades.
Filters and positive pressure only work to a certain grade. I don't have numbers, been too long.
I Know It's My Own Post but.... (Score:1)
To The Stupid Anonymous Coward Schmuck (Score:1)
Beeping? (Score:1)
Re:Beeping? (Score:1)
Hillary Rosen: in spaaaaaaaace.......