Technical journalists like to jump on hot, new, sexy topics like nanotechnology, MEMS, and molecular computing. But there are other essential technologies that are not quite as glamorous and do not receive the press they deserve. Gloveboxes are an excellent example.

The importance of gloveboxes has steadily grown from their early introduction in nucleonics, where they were required for handling radioactive substances, and later in research labs. Since then, the glovebox has expanded into mainstream manufacturing. Gloveboxes really have two basic functions: to protect the worker from substances inside the box and to keep the substances inside the box from ambient contamination.

Gloveboxes consist basically of the enclosure, ports, gloves, and connector systems. Rich Renehan, president of Renco, a supplier of gloves, sleeves, and connector systems, likens glovebox systems to software (gloves) and hardware (the remaining components). “There’s a lot more to gloveboxes than one might think,” explains Renehan. He enumerates: materials (for both hardware and software); a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials for the gloves and sleeves; pressure ports and pressure control; and ESD, ESH (environmental, safety, and health), and ergonomic considerations. Pressure control, for example, is critical. Pressure needs to be accurately supplied and monitored as either negative to prevent contamination to the operator or positive to prevent contamination of the product being handled.

The gloves and sleeves themselves could be neoprene, latex, nitrile, butyl, Hypalon®, or other materials depending on the application, with possibly two different materials—one for gloves and the other for sleeves. Pharmaceutical sectors tends to use nitrile, neoprene, and Hypalon, says Renehan. And there are a variety of other polymers engineered for different chemicals as well as for sense of touch and protection. Gloves generally come in either 15 mil or 30 mil (0.015 in or 0.030 inches thick), and a variety of sizes. “Size is an important consideration as most of the time, workers are going into the glovebox already wearing additional gloves. They may be in full bunny suits and wearing two pairs of gloves,” adds Renehan..

The dipping process for glove manufacturing is time consuming and involved. “You are looking at dipping a 32 inch length porcelain form into a liquid solution and getting that to adhere and cure onto that form. It has to be dipped multiple times and QC is strict,” says Renehan.

Glovebox manufacturers tend to use the Chinese menu approach. This way, they can mix and match components—gloves to sleeves, sleeves to ports, ports to enclosures—to meet customers’ needs. Therefore component compatibility is a definite plus.

Michael Buckwalter of Terra Universal, a manufacturer of gloveboxes plus numerous other cleanroom equipment, emphasizes, “A glovebox isn't a one-size-fits-all enclosure; rather, it should meet specific environmental requirements that differ from application to application. We use a modular, plug-and-play approach that lets a user choose the enclosure and application-specific controls over temperature, humidity, pressure, static, particles and so forth. In some applications, an inexpensive acrylic box is appropriate; in others, we need to provide an insulated stainless steel chamber with a very low leak rate.”

As minienvironments (as opposed to large ballroom cleanrooms) become an attractive economic option, and as biotechnology and pharmaceutical markets grow, the glovebox business looks promising. The tricky part, comments Renehan, is having products on the shelf, ready when needed.