HM-CL1 Benchtop Particle Counter for Entry-Level Cleanroom Classification

Product Introduction

Many cleanrooms run their particle counts on a borrowed, shared or aging instrument that moves between rooms on a quarterly rotation. That schedule works until a room drifts out of class between checks and nobody knows when it started. The HM-CL1 from HM Instruments is built for the facility that has decided to give a room — or a group of rooms — its own dedicated counting station, at a price point that makes one-counter-per-zone realistic rather than aspirational.

As the entry-level benchtop model in the HM-CL series, the HM-CL1 keeps the measurement core that matters for classification decisions and strips away the modules that drive cost without changing the count. A single sampling pass at 2.83 L/min (0.1 cfm) simultaneously measures 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 10.0 µm channels. Confidence-level evaluation follows GB/T 6167-2007 and JJF-1190-2008, results are computed at 95% UCL, and the instrument assigns the cleanliness class automatically against national standard, ISO 14644, FS 209E or GMP criteria. Counts convert between m³ and ft³ so the same report serves an ISO-classified room and a customer specification written in FS 209E terms.

Built-in temperature, humidity and barometric pressure sensors record the environmental context of every sample, and WiFi upload to the supervision platform lets a quality manager review counts from multiple rooms without walking the plant. The HM-CL1 is AC-powered and intended for a fixed bench position; for facilities that need battery operation, audit trail logging or an onboard printer, the HM-CL1 benchtop counter configuration can be compared with the HM-CL2 and HM-CL3 models in the same series.

Applications

• Pharmaceutical manufacturing — routine cleanliness verification in Grade C and Grade D background rooms, plus at-rest qualification of Grade A and Grade B zones.
• Semiconductor and precision machining — particle trend logging at workstations where sub-micron counts correlate with yield loss, without dedicating a high-flow instrument.
• Food hygiene processing — clean-area evidence for HACCP files in dairy, plastic-sealed meat, seasoning and agricultural fine-processing lines.
• Filter manufacturing — upstream and downstream counting to verify filter quality and filtration efficiency during production runs.
• Optics, aerospace and bioengineering — precision machining bays and precision test chambers where rework cost per contaminated part is high.
• Research and teaching laboratories — student training and method development in clean-technology and materials science departments.

Key Features & Advantages

1. Six simultaneous size channels from 0.3 to 10.0 µm in one sampling pass, covering the full ISO 14644-1 size range without re-sampling.
2. Automatic purification level judgment against national standard, ISO 14644, FS 209E and GMP criteria eliminates manual class calculation.
3. 95% upper confidence limit (UCL) calculation applied by the instrument, matching the statistical basis expected in classification reports.
4. Light-scattering sensor engineered to suppress stray light in the optical cavity, raising signal-to-noise ratio near the 0.3 µm threshold.
5. Imported semiconductor laser diode rated beyond 30,000 hours supports long-term duty without frequent light-source service.
6. Integrated temperature, humidity and ambient barometric pressure sensors provide environmental context in the same data record.
7. Android 7.1 platform with a 7-inch colour touchscreen for direct on-machine configuration and data review.
8. Sampling period adjustable from 1 second to 30,000 seconds, covering both rapid excursion checks and extended trend logging.
9. Single, repeated (up to 99 times, user-defined) and continuous sampling modes on one instrument.
10. Particle count alarm with user-set thresholds, alerting production staff when a channel exceeds its limit.
11. WiFi upload to the supervision platform client enables multi-room dashboards and long- and short-term cleanliness trend analysis.
12. Driver-free USB flash copying where network access is restricted or unavailable during an inspection.
13. Internal memory for 1–100,000 records, searchable and exportable on the touchscreen, keeps raw data available if the network is down.
14. Self purification time of ≤10 min shortens the wait between a filter change and a valid re-qualification measurement.
15. Measurement repeatability relative deviation below 10% keeps successive readings at a monitoring point comparable over months.

Technical Specifications

FAQ

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