High Tech Customer
This company is a leader in innovation in the semiconductor industry and is based in Veldhoven, the Netherlands. They provide hardware, software and services for mass production by lithography and is the only supplier of EUV machines in the world.
This company has high standards and requirements for the packaging, handling and transportation of their products. One of these standards is that the company has defined different types of packaging for transportation, in this particular case it needed a Clean Assy (CA) and a Send Assy (SA);
- A Clean Assy (CA) is a plastic cover consisting of two layers that allows products to be transported safely in a clean room.
- A Send Assy (SA) is often a wooden packaging component that facilitates transport and protects the contents from loss of function due to mechanical and climatic hazards.
Our client required CA and SA to package and transport two large components to their facility in the US, which are a vital part of the client’s machine. Due to a tight schedule, containerized packaging was required. The guidelines for this temporary SA were that it had to be a simple, robust, wooden solution that could be reused 2-3 times for transport between the Netherlands and the US, which influenced the choice of hardware. In addition, the SA had to be suitable for air cargo and fit on a 20ft ULD pallet for transport between the US location and the supplier. The SA had to provide access for forklifts and the ability to attach the product to the SA at the bottom. The CA for this product had to leave room for buffer clearance, and had to be quite large since the dimensions of the part are 5200 x 800 x 2000 mm and it weighs 1600 kg. A real packaging challenge!
The solution
This customer and Faes have a long history of cooperation. Due to the success of this partnership, Faes was asked to design and produce packaging for this specific part for the US. After a kick-off meeting between the US facility and Faes to discuss the packaging proposal, a Design Memo was prepared by one of Faes’ dedicated in-house engineers. This design included the semiconductor manufacturer’s package of requirements:
- The lower part had to be protected from bending;
- Static deflection had to be minimized;
- Slack and buffer deflection where necessary;
- Removable side panels including handles for unpacking;
- Stop blocks to make sure the product was in the SA correctly;
- Mounting brackets with non-lockable bolts for reuse;
- Forklift access.
After customer approval of the Design Memo, the SA for both components went into production at Faes.
The results
Together with the requested CA, the SA was delivered to the customer, according to all high standards and requirements set by them and within the given time frame. The shipment of the two parts of 5200 x 800 x 2000 mm weighing 1600 kg from Reusel to the United States of America was successful and the SA is now temporarily used for transportation between the Netherlands and the company’s location in the US. Later, an improved version of the SA will be designed for sustainable use.
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