Anyone working in a cleanroom must not allow any contamination in the end product. Plant operators must meet the quality requirements of their customers and comply with the stricter cleanliness requirements imposed by legislators. In order to meet these requirements, they also demand certified cleanroom suitability from the components used in their systems. This is an absolute must for applications in medical technology, the pharmaceutical and optical industries as well as electronics and semiconductor technology. However, industries such as renewable energies or aerospace technology also require this proof of cleanliness suitability. Tox Presseotechnik therefore adapts its Electricdrive Core servo drives.

Examined and certified

The drive specialist only had to make minimal structural changes to the servo press for this. In the next step, Tox commissioned the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation (IPA) in Stuttgart to carry out the inspection. The result: the Electricdrive Core drive complies with air cleanliness class 5 in accordance with ISO 14644-1. "With this cleanroom certification, we have reached a milestone that opens new doors for us to applications that require the highest cleanliness conditions," says Marco Nimz, Product Manager at Tox Pressotechnik. What does this mean for users? The servo drives in the Electricdrive Core product family can be used for production environments in cleanrooms.

Precisely controllable forces

Users can utilize the electromechanical servo press in a variety of ways - pressing, joining, testing, compacting, assembling, clipping and much more is possible. The system is a combination of controller, software and drive. Thanks to integrated process monitoring and sensor technology, the user has the pressing process and the quality of their product under control at all times, according to the company. Even years later, they can still see the force with which a component was pressed. Speaking of force - with the ElectricDrive system, this can be controlled constantly and precisely. Another advantage: the customer no longer has to program the drive himself before commissioning, but only has to set the parameters. Tox can predefine the programs for the plug-and-play-capable system at the factory.

"Our initial aim was to show users that they can actually use the servo presses from the Tox Electricdrive Core series under cleanroom conditions," adds Marco Nimz. As a first step, the IPA tested and certified a specific drive. As the mechanical adaptations are only minimal compared to the standard drives, Tox is planning to have further models certified for the cleanroom.

The Fraunhofer Institute maintains a database in which all tested products - including the ElectricpowerDrive with the report number TO 2211-1362 - can be viewed.