in-house assemble of submodules

We know that customers want to launch faultless products cost-effectively and on time. And we also know that if you have a great track record as a supplier, sooner or later customers will challenge you to take things to the next level. Which is precisely what a leading semiconductor original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customer did when they asked us to assemble a large number of submodules, produced by various suppliers, in-house. Outsourcing the construction of advanced subsystems to a single supplier benefits the OEM in a number of ways, including giving them more time to concentrate on product development, marketing and sales.

one-stop-shop
From design and engineering to production, qualification, installation and end-of-life, Aalberts advanced mechatronics covers the complete lifecycle of ultra-high purity liquid and gas supply systems. To secure cleanliness, a clean way of working is promoted across the entire supply chain, providing customers with true peace of mind.

everything under one roof
"Aalberts advanced mechatronics has become a full-blown partner of large OEMs precisely because of our in-house expertise," says Marco van Diessen, sales and marketing director at Aalberts advanced mechatronics. "For this project, the customer chose us as their single sourcing partner for the complete External Interface Module because they wanted to reduce operational load, supply chain complexity and assembly lead time, and to ensure consistent quality. Previously, the modules were delivered fully tested and qualified, so that the customer could integrate them into the system in a plug & play fashion. While that set a high bar in terms of quality and reliability, as illustrated by the customer’s requirement of a ‘dead on arrival’ rate of under 1 percent, we were more than up for task."

dedicated test tool
Meeting the delivery conditions required a dedicated qualification system, which involved developing an automated test tool that included pressure and (helium) leak tests, particle measurement, total organic content (TOC) analysis and residual gas analysis (RGA). "When connected to a module, the test tool automatically performs around 1,000 tests, establishing full system qualification," says Marco. "After the first module delivered to the customer had undergone a successful site acceptance test, it was decided that a factory acceptance test carried out by us would suffice for subsequent modules, helping to further reduce the customer’s lead time. This is truly our next step towards becoming a leading system integrator company specialising in design and engineering, production, qualification and construction of liquid and gas supply systems, focusing on ultra-high purity applications. And it proves we can operate at the next level of full system integration and qualification."