LAF is a type of airflow where the entire body of air within a space has a uniform velocity and direction. LAF cabinets create a particulate-free working area by emitting air through a filtration system and exhausting it across the work surface. A laminar air flow workstation is a closed cabinet fitted with HEPA filtered air flow system. Here, laminar means unidirectional constant flow of air with almost no or minimal turbulence. The air flow velocity remains between 0.3 m/s to 0.5 m/s. The purpose of using such workstations in laboratory is to create particle and bacteria free working environment to carry out specialized work. As these units discharge air towards user, they provide no personal protection but product protection from room contaminants.

Vertical vs Horizontal Laminar Flow

It is the most used type of laminar air flow. In vertical flow cabinet, room air is entered in working area through HEPA filter fitted on top of the cabinet. Thus, air flows downward (vertically) towards work surface and leaves the cabinet sweeping out particles and bacteria. In horizontal air flow cabinet, room air is entered in working area through HEPA filter fitted on the back side of the cabinet. Filtered air flows horizontally towards the user creating sterile working environment.

LAF cabinets are made up of several parts, including: 

Cabinet: Made of stainless steel, the cabinet provides insulation to the inner environment and protects it from the outside environment.

Working station: A flat working station made of stainless steel is present inside the cabinet.

Filter pad: A filter pad is present on the top of the cabinet to trap dust particles and some microbes.

Fan: A fan is present below the filter pad that sucks in the air and moves it around in the cabinet.

 LAF cabinets provide a clean and sterile atmosphere for work, and protect the user from dangerous contaminants. They are also eco-friendly, easy to maintain, and portable. In laboratories, a laminar air flow cabinet is used to create a sterile atmosphere for activities like plant tissue culture. This is because the presence of pollutants in the environment may readily impact these processes. The Laminar Air Flow Cabinet Market size was valued at USD 2.50 Billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 3.70 Billion by 2030

Method of Installation & Qualification-

These article covered Unpacking, Installation and Debugging, User Instructions, Trouble Shooting and Solution of LAF.

Stage-1 Unpacking, Installation and Debugging

Please firstly check if the packing box is in good condition. If the packing box is damaged, please take photos.

Unpacking: Choose proper tools and unpacking method as shown in the below picture.

For wooden box: Method1Necessary tools for unpacking: Electric drill with hexagon dead M8(Picture1)

Method 2 Use M8 Wrench to unpack(Picture2)

Installation Conditions and Operating Environment

Laminar Flow Cabinet shall be placed in the protective area of an air stream, and the working area of the Laminar Flow Cabinet cannot be near to the door or window, and should be away from the air outlet to prevent the air flow from the ventilation system, air conditioning, door, window and personnel. At least 300 mm gap must be kept in the side and back side of the Laminar Air Flow for clean operating and for inspection.

Working environment:

• Only applicable for indoor operation;
• Ambient temperature:15°C?35°C
• Relative Humidity:?75%;
• Atmospheric pressure range:70KPa?106KPa;
• Electrical parameters: Adequate power supply to the laminar flow cabinet (See2.1.4 Technical Parameters);

Power supply need to be grounded; (Judging method: test the live wire and the neutral wire of the socket with multi meter. The voltage between live and ground should equal to the voltage of local electrical grid, and the voltage between neutral and ground should equal to 0. Otherwise the power supply is not grounded correctly);

Installation-

Remove all the packing materials; Check the surface of main body to make sure there is no scratch, deformation or foreign bodies; Confirm the complement of accessories according to the list. Before removing the packing material, move the entire equipment to the place where it is going to be installed. The basest and will be packed at back of main body, please take it out before installation. Do not invert, disassemble or tilt the cabinet during transportation.

1. Assemble the basest and with main body as shown in the picture. Please connect the base stand with the main body referring to Picture 4

2. Connecting main body and base stand.

Please connect main body and base stand refer to Picture5.

Checking after installation

First, make sure the voltage and frequency to be same as nameplate showing, and then check the follows items with power on?

All the manufacturer were provided their service manual in which Debugging methods mentioned.

User Instructions:

it covers Functions & Product Concept. Laminar Flow Cabinet–is used only for sample protection.

Laminar Flow Cabinet is a work bench or similar enclosure, which creates a particle- free working environment by taking air through a filtration system and exhausting it across a work surface in a laminar or unidirectional air stream.

It is widely divided into vertical and horizontal laminar airflow type. This series is for horizontal type.

Operating Principle/ Air flow Pattern

Laminar flow cabinet is to protect the experimental material, to create a local high cleanliness air environment, the main role is to ensure the accuracy of the operating area of the experiment, but for the environment and operators can’t afford protection.

Technical Parameters

1. ---

   Vibration amplitude: The net vibration amplitude, at arrange of frequency from 10Hz to 10KHz,would not exceed 5 ?m .
2. Illumination: The average illumination is more than 350lux
3. Electrical properties: The cabinet would not break down in 5s when the voltage increases by1390V(AC) with in 5s. Grounding resistance ?0.1?

Product Structure

Structural Composition of LAF

1. Power socket
2. Ground terminal
3. Control panel
4. Power switch
5. UV lamp
6. LED light
7. Water, gas tap
8. Side window

10.Worktable

11.Base Stand

12.Support foot 13.Foot master caster

1. 1. 3916982013287. Introduction
1. Driving system of front window: Driving system consists of tubular motor, front window, hauling mechanism and limits witch.
2. Air filtration system: Air Filtration System is the most important system. It consists of blower and HEPA filter.The function of Air Filtration System is transferring filtered air to work area, ensure air flow velocity, and keep Class 100 cleanness of work area.
3. UV lamp: The entire work zone could be sterilized effectively by the UV lamp located at the top of work zone. Emission of 253.7 nanometers could ensure the most efficient decontamination.
4. LED light: The laminar flow cabinet is equipped with LED light, which ensures the standard requirement of average illumination is met.
5. Control Panel:

       
           
       
Picture-10

1. Fluorescent Lamp
2. UV lamp
3. Power
4. Socket
5. Front window Up Status
6. Front window Down Status
7. Air volume decreases
8. Air volume increases
   1. Gear Display

You can know working wind speed by gear display.

1. 2. Soft touch buttons.

The main operation of the device can be carried out by touching button

1. 1. 1. :The power button
      2. :To control blower working status. Blower has memory function, next boot blower gear shows the last shut down, to avoid each boot need to adjust the fan, (It will not work when front window is fully closed.)
      3. :To control fluorescent lamp
      4. 
         :To control UV lamp (UV lamp, blower, fluorescent lamp and front window inter lock, it won’t work when fluorescent lamp, blower, front window open
      5.  :To control socket power status
      6. :Press Down button ,front window will fall down. Each time you press, the buzzer will sound once; hold this key, the front window will continue to decline; release the button, the front window will stop declining.
      7. :Press UP button, front window will raise. Each time you press, the buzzer will sound once; hold this key, the front window will continue to rise; release the button, the front window will stop rising.
      8.  :To control blower speed down. When blower is working, if number is More than1, Each time you press, wind speed can down a gear, and the buzzer rings once.
      9. :To control blower speed increase. When blower is working, if number is less than 9, Each time you press, wind speed can increase a gear, and the buzzer rings once

(10) LCD display: When powered on, from top to bottom is FAN, It indicate the strength of blower wind speed, Shown below is the current state of the Winds; The right of the display is time; UV TIME, UV lamp working time; WORK TIME: HEPA filter working time.

(11)Clock Adjustment: In standby mode, press light button continuously to enter clock setting mode after a buzzer alarm. Firstly, minute position is flashing, press UP and DOWN to adjust to present time. Then press the blower button switching to hour position and adjust to present time. After that, long press the light button again, data will be saved after a buzzer alarm.

6. Water proof Socket: Water proof socket is arranged in the operating area, to within the operating area of the power supply equipment and in the lighting lamp installing the front side plate (Picture 11) and need to use a socket, open the power supply equipment, press the display of the socket button (Picture 10), the water proof socket open cover, access to electricity source plug.

1. Please make sure the total load of sockets should be?500W?
2. Water proof socket only when the front cover down to the water proof, the front cover is opened, the socket cannot be considered water proof socket.

7. Control of Front Window Front window is motorized
8. Structure: Cabinet body is built up of 1.2mm cold-rolled steel with anti-powder coating. Strong and steady. Work table is fully made up of 304 stainless steel which looks beautiful and with corrosion resistance   performance .Basest and is made up of cold-rolled steel with anti-powder coating. Soft touch type control panel, easy to handle and beautiful appearance.
   1. of Operation:

• Make sure input voltage is correct and stable. The rated load of main power socket should be higher than cabinet consumption. Plug must be well grounded.
• Moving principles of different samples inside cabinet: When two or more samples need to be moved, be sure that low-polluting samples move to high-polluting samples. Movement of items should also follow the principles moving slowly and stably.
• The weight of items placed in the cabinet should not be more than 23Kg/25×25cm²?
• Avoid vibration: avoid using vibration equipment (eg centrifuges, vortex oscillator, etc.) inside the cabinet. Vibration would cause lower cleanliness of operating area and affect operator protection.

No flame: No flame is allowed inside the cabinet. Using of fire will lead to airflow disorder, and filter damage. If sterilization is required during the experiment, infrared sterilizer is highly recommended.

HEPA filter life: With the usage time increasing, dust and bacteria accumulate inside HEPA filter. Filter Resistance is getting bigger, when it reaches the maximum point, the speed requirement can’t be met. Then need contact service department of vendor to get a new one. The used filter should be processed as medical waste.

The steel plate is under fan, which is sealed strictly in the factory. The operator is not allowed to remove or loose screws of those parts. If necessary, please contact service personal.

The maximum storage period is one year .If the period is more than one year, performance test should be done

Operation Process:

1. Connect to a suitable power supply
2. Press the relevant key functions (related keys, function and operation of the 2.2.2 in the description); check the function key and the operation results are consistent, and according to the above clean table technical parameters of the test whether the normal start and wind speed is up to the standard requirements, lighting and ultraviolet lamp is normal work.
3. The cabinet should be sterilized by UV lamp for at least 30 minutes with the window fully closed before any experiment.
   1. For safety of eyes and skin, people should leave the room during the UV sterilization.
   2. UV lamp should be checked regularly. It should be replaced when either the total working time reaches 600 hours or the intensity is lower than the requirement.
4. Please move up the front window at the suitable height above the work table and turn on the fan. Make sure the experiment should be started after fan working for at least 30 minutes..

For operating safety, please place the experiment materials inside the cabinet before experiment start.

After finishing the experiment, please fully close the front window and make sure to sterilize the cabinet by UV lamp for 30 minutes before turning off the cabinet.

1. 1376647. Maintenance

Preparations before maintenance: removal of item in the equipment. Preparation of goods: cotton or towel, concentrated soap, hot water, water ,medical alcohol or other disinfectants, etc.

Clean the Cabinet Surface Clean the surface of working zone

Wipe the entire surface with a soft cotton cloth which has been soaked with concentrated liquid soap. Afterwards, wipe off the foam with another cotton cloth or towel which has been soaked with clean hot/warm water. At the end, wipe the entire surface with a dry cotton cloth or towel rapidly. For the contaminated or dirty work surface and sump, use 70% rubbing alcohol or other disinfectant to wipe. Disinfectants used for wiping should not damage the 304 stainless steel. Clean the external surface and front window. Use a piece of soft cotton cloth or towel to wipe the surface with non-abrasive household cleanser.

Overall maintenance period

There commended interval period for comprehensive maintenance is either one year or 1000 working hours.

1. 1. 1000. methods
1. Weekly or daily maintenance
   1. Disinfect and clean the operating area;
   2. Clean the external surface and front window around the operating area(Reference2.4.1 instruction);
   3. Check the various functions of the cabinet(Reference2.4.2instruction);
   4. Record down the maintenance result
2. Monthly maintenance
   1. Clean the external surface and front window (Reference 2.4.2 instruction).
   2. Use towel with 70% rubbing alcohol or 1:100 dilution of household bleach to wipe the working table, the inner face of front window and the inner wall surface of the working area (exclude the top wind grid). Use another towel with sterile water to wipe those area to erase the remain of chlorine.
   3. Check the various functions of the cabinet;
   4. Record down the maintenance result;

3)Annual maintenance

1. Check the two lifting belt of the front window tubular motor, make sure both of them are well connected to the motor with same tightness.
2. Check the UV lamp and LED light.
3. Apply for overall performance test of the cabinet annually to ensure that the safety meets requirements. User is responsible for testing costs.
4. Record down the maintenance result.

When doing maintenance, please pay attention to cut off the power, so as to avoid electric shock!

1. 1. 5792926729. conditions

Laminar flow cabinet should be stored in a warehouse with relative humidity not more than 75% and temperature lower than 40°C. The warehouse should have good ventilation performance without acid, alkali or other corrosive gases. Storage period shall not exceed one year. Laminar flow cabinet stored for more than one year needs to be unpacked and checked before selling and using. Only the tested and qualified laminar flow cabinet could be sold.

Replacement Parts List: it should be provided b69y vendor.

Wiring Diagram (Picture12);

       
           
       
Picture-12

1. 30379818. Failures and Solutions

Please confirm that the power is well connected, the cord is in good condition (without any damage)

and the power lock is unlocked before trouble shooting the following problems.

Notes

1. The above trouble shooting methods should be done by qualified electricians under safe conditions(cut off power supply).Other components should not be removed. Risk caused by failing to follow those instructions would be responsible by user.
2. Please contact Bio lab technical department or agent if a failure could not be traced or solved. Do NOT repair the equipment without a qualified electrician.
3. The trouble shooting and repair of this equipment only could be undertaken by trained and recognized technicians;
4. Please contact Bio lab technical department or agent to order required component or part. The model number and the serial number of purchased cabinet need to be indicated.

Replace the fuse

For replacing the fuse, turn off the power and disconnect the plug. Use a Phillips screw driver and rotate it anti clock wise to un screw the fuse holder.  Replace the fuse inside the fuse holder and then, use a Phillips screw driver and rotate it clockwise to screw back the fuse holder.

When the fluorescent light needs to be changed, turn off the power. Then remove the LED stand, unplug the right side, After replacing a new LED stand, inserted into the inclined slot.

Replace the UV lamp

Note:10 A power fuse label

1. 1. 79316774. 
                           
                       
                    
                label Picture-16

vendor provided Warranty is12months from EX-factory date (excluding consumable accessories: UV lamp, fluorescent lamp and fuse). vendor would not be liable for any repair of damage caused by improper operation .If the warranty has been expired, Bio lab would still responsible for repair with relative charges. Lifetime of laminar flow cabinet is 8years from production date on the label.

Sop Horizontal Laminar Air Flow Unit

Make/Model:…………..

SOP Number:………….

Prepared date:………..

Review date:…………..

Purpose:

Laminar air flow unit is used to provide aseptic conditions when working with microorganisms and during sterility testing.

Procedure:

• Switch ON the mains.
• Ensure that the manometer is showing Zero reading before starting.
• Turn the switch of the Air Flow to ON position. Ensure that the differential pressure is within the limit of 8 to 15 mm of water. Turn the switch of the UV light to ON position.
• After 30 minutes, switch OFF the UV light and switch ON the visible light.
• Perform aseptic transfer.

Cleaning Of Pre-Filters:

• Ensure that the LAF is switch off.
• Pre-filter is situated on the back side of the LAF, unscrew and then remove the pre- filter from LAF.
• Transfer the pre-filter to washing area and blow the compressed air from reverse side to blow out all the dust particles.
• Wash the pre-filter with DM water and then with liquid detergent solution. Finally wash again with DM water to remove the detergent solution.
• Remove the trapped water from the pre-filter by jerking and finally rinse with 70% IPA solution.
• Allow drying the pre-filter at room temperature.
• Assemble the pre-filter at their original place and tighten the screw properly.
• Switch ON the LAF unit and check the differential pressure is in between 8 to 15 mm of water gauge.
• Pre-filter of the LAF unit shall be cleaned once in three months.

Precautions:

• Take care to prevent any damage to the integrity of filter during cleaning. In case of observation of any damage to filters, immediately inform to the technician.
• Instrument should be cleaned when the electrical connection of the equipment is in OFF position.
• Clean the laminar air flow chamber after every operation.
• Do not work when UV light is ON a sit may cause eye damage.
• Maintain the level of the plat form by adjusting the equipment from the base with the help of glass beads in such a manner that the platform level should remain horizontally flat.