What makes a door hermetic?

It seals against its frame on all four edges as it closes, rather than simply meeting a stop. That is what lets the opening sit in a wall between two classified areas without breaking the pressure cascade.

Which cleanroom classification can a door achieve?

Classification is a property of the room and its air handling, not of the door alone. The door is specified to suit the classification the cleanroom designer has set; no class is quoted for a door in isolation.

Hermetic door or high speed hygiene door?

A hermetic sliding door seals on all four edges for openings between classified areas. A high speed hygiene door gives a sealed rapid opening with side and bottom seals for controlled areas with frequent traffic. The room requirement decides.

Can two doors be interlocked as an airlock?

Yes. A pair can be electrically interlocked so both are never open together. The override behaviour on a fire alarm is agreed against the building's escape strategy before commissioning.

Stainless steel or hygienic-coated construction?

The cleaning method decides. Stainless steel for areas that are hosed, foamed or chemically cleaned; hygienic-coated construction where the regime is lighter.

Cleanroom & Hermetic Door Selection Guide

The short answer

A cleanroom door is chosen with the room, not after it. The room's classification, pressure regime and cleaning agents are set by the cleanroom designer, and the door is configured to suit them — classification belongs to the room and its air handling, not to a door alone. A hermetic sliding door seals on all four edges between classified areas; a high speed hygiene door gives a sealed rapid opening; the cleaning regime decides the construction.

At a glance

Hermetic & Cleanroom Doors: How it closes the openingAutomatic sliding leaf that seals against its frame on all four edges; Typical applicationOperating theatres, gowning rooms, material airlocks, classified production areas, laboratories; Key pointFor openings between two classified areas; interlockable pairs for airlocks
High Speed Cleanroom / Hygiene Door: How it closes the openingRapid hygienic PVC curtain with side and bottom seals; Typical applicationPharmaceutical and food manufacturing, healthcare, laboratories, controlled production areas; Key pointSealing is the requirement, not speed; stainless or hygienic-coated construction
Stainless Steel Rolling Shutter: How it closes the openingSS304 or SS316 interlocking curtain; Typical applicationFood processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, healthcare; Key pointChosen for the cleaning regime; stainless guides where the area is hosed down at pressure
High Speed Roll-Up Door (stainless): How it closes the openingRapid PVC curtain with stainless steel frame and guides; Typical applicationFood areas that are washed down but not classified; Key pointMay be sufficient and more economical where no classification applies

Door type	How it closes the opening	Typical application	Key point
Hermetic & Cleanroom Doors	Automatic sliding leaf that seals against its frame on all four edges	Operating theatres, gowning rooms, material airlocks, classified production areas, laboratories	For openings between two classified areas; interlockable pairs for airlocks
High Speed Cleanroom / Hygiene Door	Rapid hygienic PVC curtain with side and bottom seals	Pharmaceutical and food manufacturing, healthcare, laboratories, controlled production areas	Sealing is the requirement, not speed; stainless or hygienic-coated construction
Stainless Steel Rolling Shutter	SS304 or SS316 interlocking curtain	Food processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, healthcare	Chosen for the cleaning regime; stainless guides where the area is hosed down at pressure
High Speed Roll-Up Door (stainless)	Rapid PVC curtain with stainless steel frame and guides	Food areas that are washed down but not classified	May be sufficient and more economical where no classification applies

Classification belongs to the room

A cleanroom class is a property of the room and its air handling, not of any single opening in it. The door is specified to suit the classification the cleanroom designer has set; no class or approval is quoted for a door in isolation. Where a project needs one, it has to be established for the assembly as installed.

That is why seal detail, surface finish, vision panel construction and interlocking all follow from the room's classification, pressure regime and cleaning agents — and why the door and the room are designed together. See also the pharmaceutical and cleanroom industry page.

Sealing first, then traffic

Between two classified areas — a hermetic door. It seals on all four edges as it closes, so the opening does not break the pressure cascade. A conventional automatic door will not hold it.
A controlled area with frequent traffic — a high speed cleanroom / hygiene door. Its side and bottom seals are what make the closed door maintain the separation; its speed is set by the pressure regime and the traffic.
Wide equipment transfer — bi-parting hermetic leaves give the clear width without an excessively long single leaf.
A room that also needs radiation shielding — a shielded hermetic leaf, coordinated with the room's shielding calculation.
Below zero as well as hygienic — the cold storage configuration is the more specific answer; hygiene and sub-zero operation are different problems.

Airlocks and interlocks

Gowning rooms and material airlocks use an interlocked pair, so both doors are never open at once. Both openings are set out together so the interlock is commissioned as one system, and the override behaviour on a fire alarm is agreed against the building's escape strategy before commissioning.

The cleaning regime decides the construction

Areas hosed, foamed or chemically cleaned — stainless steel construction. Hygienic-coated construction suits a lighter regime; the cleaning method decides, not the room label.
A stainless curtain in mild steel guides fails at the guides — specify stainless guides as well.
Controls have to survive the same regime: the high speed hygiene door uses a hygienic, suitably IP-rated control enclosure.
Hands-free activation — wave sensor, elbow switch, foot control, radar or touchless sensor — avoids adding a hand contact to a gowned procedure.

Installation considerations

The door is set out with the cleanroom design, not after it.
The wall construction and panel system have to accept the frame without breaking the sealed line around the opening.
A site survey confirms clear width and height, headroom, side room, floor level across the opening and the available supply before anything is manufactured.
Seals are the consumable that decides whether the opening still holds its separation; interlock and sensor function are tested as part of the area's periodic qualification.

Questions to confirm before ordering

01
What classification and pressure regime has the cleanroom designer set for the rooms on each side?
02
Does the opening separate two classified areas, or a controlled area from an unclassified one?
03
How much traffic passes — personnel, trolleys, equipment?
04
Is the opening part of a gowning room or material airlock that needs an interlocked pair?
05
What cleaning agents and cleaning method are used?
06
Is radiation shielding or sub-zero operation also required?
07
What should the door do on a fire alarm or power failure?
08
What wall or panel system will the frame sit in, and what are the clear width and height?

Frequently asked questions

What makes a door hermetic?: It seals against its frame on all four edges as it closes, rather than simply meeting a stop. That is what lets the opening sit in a wall between two classified areas without breaking the pressure cascade.
Which cleanroom classification can a door achieve?: Classification is a property of the room and its air handling, not of the door alone. The door is specified to suit the classification the cleanroom designer has set; no class is quoted for a door in isolation.
Hermetic door or high speed hygiene door?: A hermetic sliding door seals on all four edges for openings between classified areas. A high speed hygiene door gives a sealed rapid opening with side and bottom seals for controlled areas with frequent traffic. The room requirement decides.
Can two doors be interlocked as an airlock?: Yes. A pair can be electrically interlocked so both are never open together. The override behaviour on a fire alarm is agreed against the building's escape strategy before commissioning.
Stainless steel or hygienic-coated construction?: The cleaning method decides. Stainless steel for areas that are hosed, foamed or chemically cleaned; hygienic-coated construction where the regime is lighter.