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Clean Air, Nitrogen and Automation for Electronics Manufacturing
Electronics manufacturing equipment depends on utilities that never appear on a bill of materials: the compressed air behind a pick-and-place head, the nitrogen in a reflow oven, the extraction that pulls solder fume away from an operator.
Control Gear Group, specialists in compressed air and industrial equipment, has supplied and serviced fluid power systems from Treforest since 1973. We’re an Atlas Copco Premier Distributor and an official Festo partner, with on-site service across South Wales and the South West and supply UK-wide.
What Does an Electronics Manufacturer Need From Its Utilities Supplier?
Clean process air, a dependable nitrogen supply, protected operators and evidence that stands up in an audit. Most electronics sites need all four, and we supply and service every one of them.
Control Gear supplies, installs, services and tests the oil-free compressed air, on-site nitrogen, pneumatics, vacuum and fume extraction an electronics line runs on.
When any of them carries oil, moisture or particles into the process, the cost shows up as solder defects, lost yield and stopped lines.
Your nitrogen generator, valve terminals and grippers all run on the same compressed air, so a dryer that struggles on a humid day hits nitrogen purity and pneumatic reliability at once. One team that services the whole chain finds that link faster than three vendors who each see one machine.
50+
years of industrial equipment experience
Oil-Free Compressed Air and Clean, Dry Air
Blow-off, component cleaning, handling and cleanroom supply all put compressed air in contact with boards and parts, and oil, water or particles in that air lead to corrosion, shorts and soldering defects. The specification for those duties is oil-free air, rated Class 0 under ISO 8573-1, the international standard for compressed air purity.
Oil-Free Compressors and Dry Air
We supply the oil-free range from Atlas Copco, one of the world’s largest compressed air manufacturers: ZR and ZT rotary screw compressors, centrifugal machines for high demand and compact scroll units for smaller lines. Our page on compressed air for the electronics industry sets out the clean, dry air chain we build: pre-filtration, desiccant drying to a pressure dew point between -40°C and -70°C, after-filtration and point-of-use polishing, carried through stainless or aluminium pipework.
Proving Your Air Quality
An ISO 9001 audit or a customer quality visit will ask what class your air actually is on the day. We test process air for particles, dew point and oil against ISO 8573-1, working with accredited laboratories for the analysis, so you have a measured result on file. Where a line sits in a cleanroom classified to ISO 14644-1, the cleanroom cleanliness standard, the air released into that room needs a filtration specification that matches the room.
Cutting the Air Bill
Air that runs around the clock also costs money, and variable speed drives, leak detection and heat recovery cut that bill. Our compressed air engineers service and repair every major Atlas Copco technology and other makes, with 24/7 emergency breakdown cover in South Wales and the West.
Festo and IMI Norgren Pneumatics for Pick-and-Place and Assembly
Sticking valves, irregular cylinder stroke and seals that fail early usually trace back to the air supply rather than the component. On a fast small-part handling line, that wear turns into missed placements. Festo, the German automation manufacturer, builds the high-precision handling, grippers and electric actuators used for small-part pick-and-place. As an official Festo partner, we supply, service and repair:
- DSBC and DNC cylinders
- VUVG, MPA and VTEM valve terminals
- MS series air preparation
We have same-day access to Festo parts, and our Festo pneumatics and automation team also retrofits legacy valves to valve terminals.
We’re also an authorised distributor for IMI Norgren, the pneumatic and fluid control manufacturer, supplying Olympian Plus and Excelon air preparation, valve islands, proportional valves and safety valves to ISO 13849-1.
Vacuum does the picking on many of these machines. For handling, pick-up and packaging, we supply Atlas Copco DZS dry claw pumps, which keep oil mist away from clean areas, and GHS VSD+ oil-sealed screw pumps for central vacuum systems, with maintenance and repair. For a new line or test rig, our customised pneumatics team designs and builds everything from a simple control panel to a fully automated assembly process, with a workshop for repair and planned maintenance.
On-Site Nitrogen for Reflow and Wave Soldering
Nitrogen keeps oxygen away from molten solder. Electronics factories use it during reflow, wave and selective soldering to prevent oxidation and reduce dross, and many SMT lines still buy it as cylinders or bulk liquid.
An Atlas Copco PSA or membrane nitrogen generator makes that gas on site instead, at purities up to 99.999%. That removes:
- delivery schedules
- cylinder rental
- the handling of high-pressure bottles
Our industrial gases range covers PSA, membrane and high-pressure nitrogen options. A generator set for higher purity delivers less nitrogen from the same compressed air, so we size the unit to the purity your soldering process needs and the flow your ovens draw.
The generator is only as good as its feed air. PSA and membrane units run on your compressed air, so the compressor, dryer and filters upstream decide how reliably the nitrogen arrives. We service the generator and the air plant together, and gas generators can carry a 9-year warranty linked to our Guardian Service Plan.
Solder Fume Extraction and LEV Testing
Rosin-based solder flux fume is, in the words of the HSE’s guidance for solderers, “a top cause of occupational asthma”. The same guidance says:
- a soldering booth gives the best control
- on-tip extraction blocks up quickly
- bench-mounted boxes are of limited use without a HEPA filter
Operators exposed to the fume also need regular health surveillance.
We’re an authorised distributor and Gold Channel Partner for Nederman, the Swedish extraction and air filtration manufacturer. We supply extraction arms, mobile and compact fume extractors, stationary filters and fans for hand-soldering benches, rework stations and soldering machines, and our dust and fume extraction engineers test the systems once they’re running.
That testing is a legal duty. Regulation 9 of COSHH requires local exhaust ventilation to be thoroughly examined and tested at least once every 14 months, with records kept for at least five years. A test measures the system against its design performance, so a bench extractor with a clogged filter can fail even while the fan is still turning.
Filtration, Industrial Tools and Process Cooling
We’ve been an authorised distributor for Pall, the industrial filtration manufacturer, for over 20 years, and we’re official distributors for 3M Cuno filtration. Our industrial and process filtration team covers process water and coolant filtration as well as ambient air filtration with HEPA filters from AAF, Vokes and Camfil, with design, installation and condition monitoring.
Assembly quality depends on torque. As an authorised distributor for Atlas Copco Industrial Tools, we supply transducerised, electric, cordless and pneumatic screwdrivers with controllers and software, plus industrial dispensing systems.
Tools drift out of tolerance with use, so our industrial tools and automation division repairs, services and calibrates them. Our IOSH-certified engineers also carry out hand-arm vibration testing.
Where reflow ovens, lasers or test equipment need process cooling, we supply Atlas Copco chillers and our F-Gas certified engineers service industrial chillers of all brands.
Where Each Division Fits on an Electronics Site
Our scope covers the utilities that feed your line. ESD control, your cleanroom’s classification and the ultra-high-purity gases inside semiconductor process tools sit with your quality team and the tool makers. Tell us the air class, dew point and nitrogen purity those specifications call for, and we’ll build the plant to meet them.
Plant Air, Nitrogen and Vacuum
Plant Air, Nitrogen and Vacuum
Atlas Copco oil-free compressors, desiccant dryers and filters with ISO 8573-1 testing for plant and process air, on-site PSA and membrane nitrogen generation for soldering lines, and Atlas Copco dry claw and oil-sealed screw vacuum pumps for handling and packaging.
Pick-and-Place and Assembly
Pick-and-Place and Assembly
Festo and IMI Norgren valves, valve terminals, grippers and air preparation, with Atlas Copco Industrial Tools, calibration and dispensing for assembly quality.
Rework, Cleanrooms and Process Water
Rework, Cleanrooms and Process Water
Nederman fume extraction and LEV testing for hand soldering and rework, with Pall, 3M Cuno and HEPA ambient air filtration for cleanrooms and process water.
Written Schemes of Examination
Written Schemes of Examination
Under the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000, a pressure system must not be operated until a written scheme of examination, drawn up or certified by a competent person, is in place. Air receivers on your compressed air and nitrogen systems usually fall within it. We prepare Written Schemes of Examination.
Leak Surveys and Breathing Air Tests
Leak Surveys and Breathing Air Tests
We also carry out ultrasonic leak detection surveys and test breathing air against BS EN 12021 where operators use air-fed equipment for cleaning or coating. These checks exist because pressure systems and contaminated air hurt people. We hold ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 accreditation.
Talk to Control Gear About Your Line
South Wales also has its own compound semiconductor cluster. The cluster’s CSconnected 2026 impact report records 1,914 direct jobs, 3,140 Welsh jobs supported in total and £480m of exports in 2025.
If you’re adding a soldering line, moving off cylinder nitrogen or preparing for an audit of your air quality, send us your compressed air layout, nitrogen consumption and the ISO 8573-1 class your process needs. Our Treforest engineers will come back with a matched plan for air, nitrogen, pneumatics and extraction, specified together as one system. Call us or use the contact form to book a site survey.
Get in touch
Contact Control Gear today
Tell us about your site and we’ll come back with the right service, audit or system recommendation.
- Visit us Heol Groeswen, Treforest Industrial Estate, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff, CF37 5YF
- Call us 01443 843126
- Email us enquiries@control-gear.com
Mon–Fri · 09:00–17:00
24/7 emergency call-out available