Oil-free compressors
Class 0 machines that anchor a CDA system.
Spec Class 0 supply
Industry: Electronics manufacturing
Compressed Air Systems for Electronics Manufacturing
- Since 1978
- Sullair dealer since 1984
- 14 locations
- under 2 hour response
CDA Spec Plate
- Oil
- ISO 8573-1 Class 0
- Dew point
- -40 F PDP class
- Particulate
- 0.01 micron at point of use
- Cleanroom
- ISO 14644 compatible
- Dealer
- Sullair since 1984
What air quality and dew point does clean dry air for electronics assembly actually require?
When a placement nozzle sticks or boards start failing coating adhesion, the air is the suspect nobody tested. Electronics CDA means three numbers held at the tool: ISO 8573-1 Class 0 for oil, a pressure dew point in the -40 F class for moisture-sensitive processes, and particulate filtered to 0.01 micron at the point of use. The selector below matches your process sensitivity to the class, dew point, and equipment path.
The CDA equipment train
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Class 0 Oil-Free
- Air class
- ISO 8573-1 Class 0
- Cert
- TUV type tested
- Range
- 25 to 500 HP
- Use
- CDA supply
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Ultra-Dry Desiccant
- Dew point
- -40 to -100 F PDP
- Style
- Twin tower, heatless or heated
- Monitor
- Dew point transmitter
- Use
- Moisture-sensitive process
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Point-of-Use Filtration
- Particulate
- To 0.01 micron
- Stages
- Coalescing + activated carbon
- Placement
- At the sensitive drop
- Use
- Final polish before tool
-
Cleanroom Vacuum
- Types
- Dry screw, oil-free scroll
- Use
- Pick and place, handling
- Exhaust
- Oil-free, filterable
- Control
- VSD demand matching
45 + Years in Business
14 Midwest Locations
4.7 Star Google Rating
Dew point and purity selector
Pick the most sensitive process your air touches. The output is the ISO 8573-1 class, the dew point target, and the equipment path for it. Starting point for a spec, confirmed by an engineer against your line.
Recommended CDA specification
Choose a process above to see the class, dew point, and equipment path.
Run the numbers yourself
- CFM calculator: total CDA demand at placement heads, air knives, and test drops before sizing the Class 0 machine.
- Air receiver tank calculator: size storage so cycle-rate spikes at the line do not pull dew point or pressure off spec.
- Compressed air leak calculator: quantify leaks that waste expensive dried, filtered CDA across long piping runs.
What compressed air really costs
- 10% of US industrial electricity goes to compressed air Source: US DOE Compressed Air Sourcebook
- 20 to 30% of compressed air is typically lost to leaks Source: US DOE Compressed Air Sourcebook
- 75% of ten year compressor cost is energy, not purchase price Source: CAGI life cycle cost data
- under 2 hr average emergency response across our territory Source: Brabazon dispatch
Where electronics plants use CDA and vacuum
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SMT pick and place
Nozzle vacuum and CDA feeding placement heads at cycle rate.
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PCB assembly
Actuation, board handling, and depaneling air on the line.
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Cleanroom air
Oil-free supply compatible with ISO 14644 classified spaces.
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Air knives and static control
Ionized blow-off and drying without oil aerosol.
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Wave and reflow support
Process air and nitrogen for soldering atmospheres.
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Test and inspection
Instrument-grade air for testers, probers, and AOI.
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Dicing and lasers
Dry assist air and debris extraction on cutting tools.
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Precision vacuum handling
Wafer, die, and film handling on clean vacuum.
What keeps CDA in spec at the tool
Four disciplines separate air that meets a datasheet from air that meets the process. None of this is gated behind a form.
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ISO 8573-1 Class 0 at the process
Oil aerosol that reaches a board or a bonding surface causes delamination, solder defects, and coating failures that show up in test, not at the compressor. Class 0 certified oil-free supply removes the risk at the source instead of betting the yield on filter maintenance.
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Dew point matched to the process
Moisture-sensitive processes fail quietly: condensation in a line that crosses a cool zone, absorbed moisture on components, corrosion in a tester. Desiccant drying to a -40 F pressure dew point class, with a transmitter that alarms on drift, is the standard CDA answer.
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ISO 14644 cleanroom context
Air and vacuum that serve an ISO 14644 classified room must not become the contamination source: oil-free supply, filtered exhaust on vacuum pumps, and penetrations planned with the cleanroom protocol. We coordinate the mechanical scope with your cleanroom designer.
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Particulate control in stages
One filter at the compressor room does not protect a placement nozzle 400 feet away, because piping sheds particles downstream. Staged filtration, bulk removal centrally and 0.01 micron polish at the point of use, is how CDA specs are actually met at the tool.
Featured setup for electronics manufacturing
For an SMT and assembly operation, the train we install most pairs a TUV-certified Class 0 oil-free Sullair compressor with a heatless twin tower desiccant dryer holding -40 F PDP, a dew point transmitter wired to the line alarm, and staged filtration ending in 0.01 micron point-of-use elements at the sensitive drops. Machine options are on the oil-free compressor page.
When semiconductor-grade air is the wrong spec: not every bench in the
plant needs it. A CDA train sized for the whole building burns energy drying and
filtering air that runs screwdrivers. Zoning, Class 0 at -40 F to the process drops,
standard plant air everywhere else, routinely cuts the CDA capital and operating cost
substantially, and it is the first thing we look at before quoting a bigger
oil-free machine.
Typical project: tracing a reflow yield problem to the air
Finding the oil aerosol behind a reflow yield problem
A common scenario in electronics assembly is a rising post-reflow defect rate that gets chased through paste, profile, and humidity for a quarter before air quality makes the list. A typical Brabazon investigation tests the line drops and finds oil aerosol passing a collapsed coalescing element downstream of an aging oil-injected compressor, with dew point drifting on humid days. The fix is the standard CDA train: a Class 0 oil-free machine, a twin tower desiccant dryer with a transmitter alarmed at -35 F, and staged filtration. Once that is in place the defect signature clears, and plants typically add quarterly air quality testing to the audit calendar to keep it from returning.
Electronics plant support across the upper Midwest
Factory-trained technicians dispatch from 14 branches with an under 2 hour average emergency response. Find your nearest branch:
Questions engineers actually ask us
What is CDA and how is it different from regular compressed air?
CDA, clean dry air, is compressed air treated to an electronics-grade specification: oil-free to ISO 8573-1 Class 0, dried to a low pressure dew point, typically the -40 F class, and filtered for fine particulate. Regular plant air from an oil-injected compressor with a refrigerated dryer misses that spec on all three counts.
What dew point does electronics assembly air need?
Most CDA specifications call for a pressure dew point of -40 F, with semiconductor and optics processes going lower, to -100 F in some fabs. A refrigerated dryer stops at about 38 F, which is why CDA systems use twin tower desiccant dryers with a dew point transmitter to prove the number continuously.
Do I need an oil-free compressor for electronics, or are filters enough?
For processes where oil contact scraps product, an ISO 8573-1 Class 0 oil-free compressor is the defensible answer: filters on an oil-injected machine work until an element fails or is skipped, and the failure is invisible until yield drops. Filtration then becomes the polish stage, not the only barrier.
Can one air system feed both the cleanroom and the rest of the plant?
Yes, and it usually should not be one quality level: zone the system so the CDA train, oil-free machine, desiccant dryer, and fine filtration, feeds the sensitive processes, while utility air carries shop tasks. Running the whole building at semiconductor grade wastes energy and capital every year.
What vacuum works inside a cleanroom without contaminating it?
Dry screw and oil-free scroll pumps, with filtered exhaust or exhaust piped out of the classified space, are the standard choices. Oil-sealed pumps can serve a cleanroom only when placed outside it with the exhaust managed, which is how we usually lay out central systems.
Who installs and services CDA systems in the Midwest?
Brabazon engineers, installs, and services CDA systems, Class 0 compressors, desiccant dryers, filtration, and vacuum, from 14 locations across Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri with an under 2 hour average emergency response. We have handled industrial air since 1978.
Where to go next
Get your CDA train specified
Send us your process list and the tool datasheets. You get back an air quality map: which drops need Class 0 at -40 F, which run on utility air, and the equipment train priced for it.