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.
The challenge
This company sets high standards and requirements for the packaging, handling and transportation of their products. A package can only be qualified for use after transportation testing to demonstrate its ability to protect their products from mechanical hazards during handling and transportation.
A terminology has been defined for packaging and transport that is used in practice for their products: a Clean Assy (CA), a plastic sleeve consisting of two layers that ensures that products can safely enter a cleanroom, a Transport Assy (TA), a packaging component that provides mechanical protection ( for example, a flight case) and a Send Assy (SA), often a wooden packaging component that facilitates transport and protects the contents from loss of function due to mechanical and climatic hazards. The CA and TA can enter a cleanroom, an SA can only be used outside a cleanroom because of the material used (wood), which is not suitable for cleanrooms. For a module from this company, a TA and SA had to be developed to safely ship the module. The product is mechanically sensitive, which was a major concern that had to be considered when designing the packaging for shipping. In addition, clean assies were needed to package the module.
The design and use of Clean Assies (CA), Transport Assy (TA) and Send Assy (SA) had clear guidelines that they had to meet. The TA, for example, was limited in size and had to be particularly secure and protected from impact, while the SA had to be durable, among other things. The development of the CA, TA and SA was necessary to transport the module in the United States of America between the company and their supplier.
The solution
This company and Faes have a long-standing cooperation in the Netherlands. Thanks to this cooperation, Faes was asked to develop TA and SA for the company’s plant in the US. This project was a close collaboration to ensure that the packaging was fully aligned with the package of requirements of the semiconductor manufacturer. During the creation of the different packaging, there were weekly contact moments between the two companies to ensure that everything went according to plan.
After determining the packaging concept, one of Faes’ dedicated engineers designed the packaging according to all criteria. The engineering phase was followed by the Critical Design Review together with the customer which, in this particular case, included FMEA. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) tests the manufacturability of a design and identifies risks step by step in order to take measures to minimize or avoid these risks by optimizing the design. When the design reached the final stage, it went into production at Faes. The first prototypes were used to perform impact tests, as requested by the customer. The test results were analyzed and approved, allowing Faes to finalize the deliverables for this project; CA, TA and SA to package, handle and transport a 2700 x 1500 x 1300 mm module in multi-material packaging within the US.
The results
All assies are manufactured in-house at Faes and meet customer-approved materials. In addition, both the TA and SA are reusable packaging contributing to the company’s program of sustainability and recycling. Faes was able to deliver the requested packaging within the given time frame and meet all the high standards and requirements set by the semiconductor company.
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