Project Summary
- Customer and industry: Semiconductor equipment makers Rorze and Hirata, serving TSMC CoWoS / CoPoS advanced packaging and leading-edge foundry lines.
- Equipment: EFEM ATM wafer handling robot.
- Solution: Level 1 digital-measurement solution using the Aurora® 413ML6-U0 / 213ML5-R0 smart three-axis vibration sensor.
- Communication: RS485 proprietary API wired directly to the OEM robot controller, with no external network connection.
An ultra-thin smart sensor is installed inside the top joint of the robot. It outputs high-quality, high-frequency raw vibration and feature signals in real time, so the equipment maker can ship wafer-handling equipment that has OEM-grade health sensing from the factory.
Pain Points
The ATM robot inside the EFEM moves 12-inch wafers from the FOUP at the load port to the process chambers. When years of high-frequency operation cause bearing wear, excessive backlash or a loose belt:
- Wafer scrap: One FOUP holds 25 12-inch wafers. If a position error scratches, drops or hits a wafer, the direct scrap loss of a single incident is estimated at USD 250,000 – 1,000,000.
- Downtime and qualification: The EFEM is an ISO Class 1 environment. After a wafer breakage, cleaning up the silicon debris, re-teaching the robot and completing run-card qualification (QUAL) takes 4 – 12 hours, and downtime of a bottleneck tool costs tens of thousands of dollars per hour.
Customers traditionally rely on manual listening rounds or scheduled part replacement. ATM robots have short strokes, fast motion and complex trajectories, so listening by ear cannot catch early, small vibration changes. If an equipment maker cannot offer real-time health monitoring when the tool ships, a breakdown on the customer's line also damages trust in the brand.
Solution
- Ultra-thin and small: The Aurora® 413ML6-U0 measures only 21 × 21 × 9.5 mm and fits in the last joint of the robot without affecting its dynamic posture or trajectory accuracy.
- RS485 proprietary API: The sensor talks directly to the OEM robot controller, with no external gateway or network segment. Data stays inside the equipment control layer and never touches the fab network, which removes the strictest cybersecurity risk.
- Edge computing: Built-in edge processing filters the signal and outputs clean time-domain and high-frequency features that plug straight into the OEM's anomaly-diagnosis algorithms.
Compared with the traditional approach (external accelerometers, DAQ cards and dedicated software), this solution needs no complex cabling or DAQ server and raises no OT cybersecurity concerns. The lean sensor architecture suits standard factory fitment.
Alarm and Maintenance Workflow
- The sensor captures three-axis vibration and temperature at a high sampling rate and performs basic filtering at the edge.
- Feature signals are written through the RS485 API into registers of the robot controller.
- The controller combines them with the OEM's health algorithm. When the vibration features of a joint, bearing or belt exceed the normal baseline, an alarm is pushed to the tool console or a protection mechanism is triggered.
- Maintenance staff replace the specific part flagged by the controller (for example a loose Z-axis belt or a worn joint bearing) in a planned maintenance window.
Benefits
- Avoid costly scrap and downtime: Helps end-user fabs avoid direct scrap of USD 250,000 – 1,000,000 per incident and 4 – 12 hours of cleanroom downtime. One site is expected to protect USD 500,000 – 700,000 of operating assets per year.
- Higher OEE: Sudden stops become controlled, scheduled maintenance.
- Zero cybersecurity risk and low TCO: The RS485 link goes straight to the controller without passing through the fab OT/IT network, and the low BOM cost lets OEMs fit it as standard across the product line.
(Note: Financial figures are estimated from public industry reports and typical advanced-node production lines.)
Customer Track Record
- Customer: Rorze / Hirata (end application: TSMC CoPoS advanced packaging)
- Equipment: EFEM ATM wafer robot
- Solution level: Level 1 digital measurement
- Sensor and communication: Aurora® 413ML6-U0 / 213ML5-R0 + RS485 proprietary API
- Result: Smart sensors fitted as standard at the factory, with signals wired directly to the robot controller. Excessive drive backlash and bearing anomalies are caught early.
Solution
- Aurora Equipment Health Monitoring Platform
- Consulting Service
If you are interested in this solution, please contact your local distributor for more information and a quotation. The full case document (in Chinese) is available below.