Across the five projects, around 156,000 removable SPS clean room floor panels were manufactured for the semiconductor manufacturing facilities. The panels were designed and installed as removable cover plates for access ports on a low-vibration waffle floor system.

Sandwich Plate System structural composite floor panels offer significant advantages in the complicated construction of clean rooms:

• in-built impact resistance
• vibration damping
• thermal insulation
• they’re removable and reusable.

In these semiconductor manufacturing facilities, the owners specified SPS ‘pop-out’ panels that one person could easily remove and offer easy access to below-floor spaces.

The removable SPS floor panels offered a lightweight alternative to conventional solutions: the projects’ largest panels weigh approximately 28 lbs [13kg] and are simple to install or remove using, for example, standard suction cups with handles. In contrast, a comparable concrete panel weighs nearly 95 lbs [43 kg].

Furthermore, the specified SPS floor panels withstand a 7-tonne point load on an 18″ x 18″ [50 cm x 50 cm] panel. As a result, they immediately become load-carrying platforms on which forklifts can drive, speeding up construction.

Constructing clean rooms is challenging. Every material must be flexible and reliable throughout the build and after completion. SPS clean room floor panels deliver for these complicated builds.

SPS Technology can manufacture clean room floor panels:

• to virtually any geometry
• in sizes ranging from 1.44 ft2 [0.13 m²] up to 9ft² [8.4 m²]
• with load-carrying capacities designed to meet your requirements.

In the design phase of a semiconductor plant, it’s hard to predict precisely where HVAC, electric, and data services are placed on the lower level of the clean room. Employing a concrete waffle floor with removable panels is standard practice and ensures flexibility in connecting services from below to their final location on the upper level.

Sealing the SPS floor panels during the construction phase creates a weathertight, waterproof barrier in conjunction with the support structure. Immediately upon installation, SPS floor panels support construction work and light plant. Once the entire volume is weathertight, concurrent construction between the upper and lower levels of the building can begin.

Then the client team can remove up to 80% of the SPS panels to facilitate services between lower and upper levels. Furthermore, the remaining panels can be left in place as part of the permanent clean room floor structure, providing the substrate for the clean room floor construction.

Moreover, the removed panels can be stored and reused when the clean room floor needs reconfiguring.

SPS Technology has nearly thirty years of experience and research-backed innovation across diverse sectors. Our structural composite panel, SPS, is a strong, lightweight alternative to concrete and stiffened steel for Buildings, Bridges, and other Special Applications.

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