Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/950499
46 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2018 integrated components that require lower pitches and higher accuracy. That means that this machine must be fit to operate in a cleaner environment. It must be particle-free and that's also the concept you see here using the clamping frame. It's a new ver- sion of our clamping frame that doesn't have any moving components above the substrate surface. Any motion is below the substrate sur- face. Particles that are generated will drop to the bottom of the machine and get filtered out. Outside of our machine, we are transporting the new clamping frame in what is known in the semiconductor industry as a FOUP (front opening universal pod). It's a hermetically sealed transport container that will take up to 15 frames. The container is a clean particle- free environment, which increases the yield in the factory. We can store the substrates, we can transport them through the fab, even through different areas of the fab that might not be so clean, and then go to the next process. Goldman: Where do particles come from? Lange: Particles are generated basically by any moving part that you might have, but not the boards themselves. Of course, if you are devel- oping, etching, and stripping photoresist, we take care of flakes and particles by filtering the chemicals in the machine. Goldman: So the concern is wear and tear. Lange: Wear and tear in the machine and in the automation. You'll see quite a bit of traditional automation here at the exhibition. Most of the systems are based on industrial ro- botic systems, having a variety of bearings and motors, which all generate particles. Tradition- al robotic systems grab a substrate from the top and there are many moving parts above the surface of the panel. With our universal loaders we have addressed and solved this issue. Goldman: That is something we've never wor- ried about before. Lange: Until now it was not all that important and it's the value of the substrates and the size of the structures that's driving up the specifica- tion. We know from the semiconductor manu- facturing that yield is a determining factor for the success of every factory and in that respect for every company. And that's really what we are doing here. The vertical line is only one part of the success story. We believe that the factory of the future will be a fully automat- ed fab. The market is talking about Industry 4.0, which is not just robotics and automation, it's about the communication between the ma- chines, it means creating a smart factory. In our Schmid fab virtual reality animation, you are transported into such a smart factory. You can see how we're using automation for the loading/unloading of machines, intralogis- Figure 2: Using innovative clamping frames the InfinityLine V+ enables a contactless and safe vertical transport of PCBs and substrates.