Nanometrics, a leading provider of advanced, high-performance process control metrology systems used primarily in the fabrication of semiconductors, acquired UniFire.
UniFire is a fully automated tool that delivers critical dimension (CD), overlay, and film thickness in one measurement. Nanometrics had two main goals after the acquisition: the branding for this new product line and reducing its manufacturing costs.
The Challenge
They wanted to improve the design and reduce the cost for the manufacturing and assembly of the sheet metal parts that formed the testing machines frame.
They sought to align the branding with the other tools in their product line, ensuring a cohesive visual identity. The goal was to clearly see who makes their testing equipment when you walk into a semiconductor manufacturer customer facility.
All this had to be achieved while designing for semi-conductor fabs and clean room environment and making sure its Semi S8 Compliance (a semiconductor standard for compliance). That means we had to consider things like air flow, particle emission, and serviceability.
Our Approach: Mechanical Engineering
They provided a system layout sketch showing what components were needed and where they currently fit within the enclosure. Using a CAD model with the required components, we were able to adjust and optimize the system design.
We did the mechanical design for the main enclosures, focusing on the frame and the skins. The current frame and skins were over engineered and too expensive to produce.
We did value engineering of the sheet metal parts to reduce the cost to manufacture and time to assemble. A key factor was the smart use of tabbing features that resulted in fewer welds and the related hand finishing and grinding.
We ran CFD (computational flow studies) to make sure the fan components and ducting design were sufficient to meet cooling requirements.
We performed a modal analysis of the system to make sure it didn’t resonate with the lappers (like grinders that polish the wafers) as they work at 100 Hz, and they should not be close in frequency to avoid resonance within the system.
Industrial Design
Concept Generation
We began with concept generation by drawing on their branding guidelines and the exterior frame design for the Unifire System. Developing several approaches, we leaned into the symmetry of the machine’s lines.
Refining Concepts
After reviewing with the client and getting feedback from Mechanical Engineering, we were able to narrow our choices and do further refinement on the winning concepts. At this stage, we leaned into the brand colors, using them to highlight the lines of the machine’s form.
Down select
We were then able to down select to a concept that matched the client’s expectations and fit into the rest of their product lineup. We worked closely with our Mechanical Engineers to make sure it accommodated all their design needs and without increasing production or assembly costs. Having ME in-house with ID smoothed out that process and made it faster and more efficient.
Conclusion
We delivered a finalized mechanical design and drawing package ready for sourcing to their sheet metal suppliers.
We completed the brand design which was implemented successfully across the product line, and were able to reduce the cost of sheet metal manufacturing and assembly by approximately 30%.
Nanometrics was so happy with the impact of the smart sheet metal design that they went on to integrate it with many of their other tool redesigns.
The UniFire system has since been adopted by four of the top seven semiconductor manufacturers worldwide and the overall market for 3D IC related equipment is projected to grow significantly in total revenue over the next five years with a CAGR of more than 60%. (Source: Business Wire:/Nanometrics-Unifire)
