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Ralf Wagenfuehr on Developing Rehm Thermal Systems' RDS Semico Oven
May 1, 2019 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Wagenfuehr: The energy consumption, as well as the stability in the process, has much less downtime and fewer failure rates on the system.
Matties: What about the overall cycle time? Is the RDS Semico producing at a higher throughput?
Wagenfuehr: As you are choosing models, we are flexible. We have models three to five with a 2,400-mm process chamber up to a 3,850-mm process chamber. We can fit it to the requirements of the customer since we have several solutions, not only one machine. It depends on the customer’s cycle times, but we can reach speeds of 1,200–1,300 mm per minute, which is quite a high cycle time.
Matties: I see you have online monitoring for this as well. Can you tell us about that?
Wagenfuehr: We have several online monitoring processes. First, we have the internal chamber temperature and the flow of the dedicated zones that adjust as well as vibrations. That is the main feature that makes for a safe process. Of course, the temperature depends on the standard in combination with SECS/GEM or other MES interfaces.
Second, we also have the Rehm Open Interface (ROI). If you don’t use SECS/GEM, we have the ROI to give all of the data you want so that you can adapt to this. Any data point created in the RDS Semico can bring it to your MES system. That also makes the software very flexible for the future. All of the data points that are built in—chain speed, vibration, temperature, flow speed, nitrogen value—and you can use every value as you want in your MES, tailor-made.
Then, the adoption of your system in the factory is very easy. That is the flexibility we created, and we have it in other systems. As we’re coming from automotive, there have been Industry 4.0 MES systems from ‘90–’95. Industry 4.0 comes from a German perspective a very long time ago, which is why we are also a driving country for that, automotive, and traceability. This is nothing different. Now, the new software integrations make it more flexible for how the customer can extract or get the information.
Matties: That’s a great overview. What’s the expectation in terms of market share for the RDS Semico? What’s the process to evaluate and make a decision to purchase this machine?
Wagenfuehr: We understand that there is a big market in Taiwan and Korea. We established our own offices in the last three years to match these requirements whenever Taiwan is the biggest semiconductor manufacturing location for the packaging process. We want to be there and grab that market share. That is our target. If we get 20% within the next 2–3 years, that would be nice.
The semiconductor industry often takes a little bit of time, but you need to be verified by the end user. We already have good customers. We put our equipment inside, and once it’s recognized by the end customer and verified, the next step to get the next customer is easy. Going by big customers in Taiwan, they also have large facilities in Korea, so we are working in parallel with our team in Taiwan, Korea, and China right now. Again, once you recognize the market, it’s easy to take the next step. Our target for this year is to get end customer verifications from the recognized chip manufacturers.
Matties: How long have you been here in China, Ralf?
Wagenfuehr: 15 years.
Matties: And there have been lots of changes in China in 15 years.
Wagenfuehr: Yes, it’s an interesting time, and the industry is changing. In China, we’re seeing automotive and semiconductors in the last three years as a rising market; it will become very big, and we are ready with proven solutions. We’ve taken the right steps to prepare for this trend. We’re not the fastest, but we are a German company, and everything we’re doing is technology proven, which is important to us. We have certificates from recognized universities and technical verification centers, such as Fraunhofer. Our systems are internationally proven to be used in this industry, which takes time, but we are ready for the future.
Matties: Good. Well, I appreciate your time today. Thank you very much.
Wagenfuehr: Thank you.
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