Hinges are always crucial parts of a door – which is especially true for clean room doors where durability, flexibility and reliability are all essential factors. Any malfunction of clean room doors can lead to severe consequences, hindering workflows. Therefore, even the smallest part of the doors must be very durable. In case the door fails to seal the controlled environment, unwanted particles may enter.
Controlled clean environments where doors have a key role:
- pharmaceutical manufacturing plants,
- biotechnology labs,
- medical device manufacturing plans,
- operating rooms.
KleanLabs clean room doors are completely flush with the wall for easy cleaning and maintenance. Thick, reinforced door panels assure high resistance to bending or any other damage. Our doors are made of aluminium which increases durability, and our expertise includes doors fit for ATEX cold rooms.
In this blog post, we are going to examine a small part of clean room doors that play a key role in durability: hinges, since special applications require specialty hinges to prevent excess contamination.
What you absolutely need to know about clean room door hinges
The number of hinge-joints needed usually depends on the door type and application. Hinges consist of two parts since they connect two things together - the wall and the door leaf. Hinges and hinge joints are responsible for both moving the door in both directions and supporting its weight.
Best-quality hinges are usually made of aluminium or sometimes stainless steel. The main benefit of both materials is that they don’t produce any dust.
Clean room door hinges help to keep the room safe from contamination (Image source: Dr. Hahn)
Malfunction of hinges
You may wonder what can go wrong with clean room door hinges and how malfunctions can be solved. Hinges are moving components of clean room doors, so they are - along with locks - usually the first one to fail as opposed to completely stationary door leaves.
Even hinges with the smoothest movement produce minor friction between metal parts. This friction may cause the pivot hinge to wear out, weakening the fastening. Also, the hinge can get torn out of the wall by strong external force. If hinges must be replaced, clean room doors probably need to be readjusted. It's best to leave hinge replacement up to a professional, since anchorage points must be fastened properly after the removal of the door leaf, which requires some pre-existing know-how.
KleanLabs chooses specialty hinges
When looking for hinges to build into KleanLabs clean room doors, our primary goal was to put in hinges that are made to last. We have opted for a german manufacturer called Dr. Hahn who received a German Design Award in 2016, implying that these hinges excel in functionality, design quality, level of innovation, aesthetics and technical quality equally.
Dr. Hahn hinges are easy to install, following the installation guide made available in an app. The company develops their products continuously, including hinges and fastener components that are compatible with a variety of applications, making clean room door design much less complicated.
KleanLabs clean room doors are equipped with Dr. Hahn hinges (Image source: Dr. Hahn)
What is more, Dr. Hahn hinges are certified to hold high loads so they can hold KleanLabs doors without any problem– our doors weigh approximately 40-80 kilograms depending on the size. Their plastic casting is easy to clean and prevents dust build-up.
We had our KleanLabs clean room doors inspected by Non-Profit Limited Liability Company for Quality Control and Innovation in Building who tested our doors for 50.000 cycles according to the EN 1191:2001 and EN 12400:2003 standards. KleanLabs doors passed the test successfully, meaning that even after 50.000 cycles the doors can be opened and closed smoothly.
Opting for Dr. Hahn hinges in KleanLabs clean room doors
KleanLabs clean rooms are equipped with Dr. Hahn SERIE 60 AT hinges due to their durability and adjustability. These hinges can be used in a variety of ways, depending on the fastening method, for inward and outward opening doors, swivel systems or corner elements and they are completely protected from corrosion.
Dr. Hahn hinges can be used with all types of door leaves, should those be steel or aluminum. Moreover, the manufacturers also offer custom solutions for accordion and security doors. Their bearings are exceptionally low-maintenance and can be used on both the right and left side.
At KleanLabs we strive for reliability. With these doors and hinges you can be sure that your clean room stays safe and clean for a long time.
