Outline
NTS Contamination Control during Product Creation Process (PCP)
1. Introduction
2. NTS‐Group
3. Cleanliness
4. Product Assembly Challenges
Marcel Kouters – NTS‐Group, Systems Development
5. Future challenges
6. Questions
1. Introduction
2. NTS‐Group – What we do
d
Experience
• Mechanical Engineering, TU/e Mechanics of Materials. • Graduated at Philips Applied Technologies • Previously TNO Material Scientist – 7 years
o Material performance: Metals, ceramics & polymers
o Reliability of micro‐electronics, LED, solar cells a.o.
• Years of experience at ASML Veldhoven & UCV trainer
The NTS‐Group takes full responsibility for the development,
production, assembly and maintenance of mechatronic systems,
mechanical modules and components for leading OEM’s in the (High)
Tech Industry.
Systems Development
Component Manufacturing
dffffff
Privately owned
Created in 2005 by a merger of Nebato (est. 1954) and Te Strake (est. 1947)
Head quarters in Eindhoven (NL)
Manufacturing locations in:
o The Netherlands
o Czech Republic
o Singapore
o P.R. of China • Recent merge of NTS and Norma / Mecon.
• Ca. 1500 employees and > 210 M Euro turnover
NTS‐Group head quarters, Eindhoven
dffffff
2. NTS‐Group – Snapshot
•
•
•
•
Mechatronics Assembly
dffffff
Marcel Kouters
• Mechanical Lead Engineer • NTS Systems Development, located in Eindhoven
• Expertise on Materials & Cleanliness
• Member of VCCN & Cleanliness Compentence Team
2. NTS‐Group Customer base
Life Sciences
Semicon
Analytical
Printing
Industrial
3. Cleanliness (or Contamination control)
• General: Product cleanliness depends on how you specify your contaminants. Contaminants are often unavoidable but controllable in a certain way.
• Cleanliness or Contamintion Control
a) Particles (flakes, fibres)
b) Chemical contamination (stains, fat, grease, oil)
c) Gaseous contamination (gaseous, outgassing, molecular)
• Why important for our customers?
o Functional, lifetime related
o Esthetics, appearance
• Design‐for‐Cleanliness: Find an optimum between required cleanliness, leadtime, effort and costs.
3. NTS Cleanrooms ‐ Overview
3. How to specify cleanliness
• Most customers specify cleanliness for their products or systems. • If not, we specify cleanliness, if needed, for our whole PCP on:
1. Particles
2. Stains
3. Vapor
4. Biological
5. Manufacturing
6. Finish surface treatment
7. Cleaning
8. Handling
9. Assembly
10.Test
Amount, size, shape, type, surface/volume
Visible, removable (with IPA, acetone or demi‐water), coverage
Measurable (TOC/RGA), outgassing rate, volatile components
CFU, amount, growth, surface/volume
Cutting and cooling fluids, tools, customer approved
Pickle & passivate, electroless NiP, electro or mech.polish
Ultrasonic bath, air, IPA, disinfect (chlorine, alcohol).
Double pack in PE foil, labels, reclosable bags or boxes
Assemble in cleanroom (class 5‐6‐7), use mouth cap & gloves
UV‐A, bright light, leak test, RGA/TOC, photo’s, withness wafers
3. New ‐ Automatic cleaning line (1) Cleanroom facilities
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
NTS Mechatronics ‐ Eindhoven NTS Mechatronics ‐ Brno NTS SD ‐ Wijchen NTS SD ‐ Nijmegen
NTS CombiMetaal – Bergeijk
NTS Botech ‐ Helmond NTS Precision – Eindhoven NTS Norma ‐ Hengelo 874m2
500m2
155m2
12m2 57m2
76m2
16m2
?
ISO class 5‐8
ISO class 7‐8
ISO class 6‐8
ISO class 7‐8
ISO class 7‐8
ISO class 8
ISO class 8
ISO class 5‐8
New cleanroom NTS Mechatronics, Brno 05/2015
• And more...
• Recently installed at NTS Mechatronics (Eindhoven).
• Full automatized wet cleaning line by Kemet / FinnSonic.
• In total 10 positions: o 3x different types of soap
o 3x water rinse o 2x demi rinse o 1x dry oven o 1x extra position
• Demi‐bath contamination check. • Extra station for manual cleaning.
Automatic cleaning line, NTS Mechatronics, Eindhoven
ISO7 cleanroom NTS Mechatronics, Eindhoven
3. New – Automatic Cleaning Line (2)
3. New – Bake‐out vacuum & RGA
• Recently installed at NTS Mechatronics (Eindhoven).
• Developed and supllied by D&M Vacuum Systems
o Bake‐out vacuum oven
o Dedictated RGA system
RGA interface, NTS Mechatronics
Bake‐out & RGA, NTS Mechatronics, Eindhoven
3. Product Assembly Challenges
A. Contaminated bolts
•
• Transport tools for EUV optics
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
Contaminated bolts
Contaminated thread holes
Particles on surfaces
Corrosion & stains
Rough surfaces
Weld flaws
Packaging & Labelling
•
EUV optics transport tool
Transport frame in cleanroom
•
• Problem solving based on 8D approach
Problem:
o Bolts are contaminated: black contaminants are most like metal particles.
Root cause: a) Bolts were (dis)mounted many times: friction generates particles. b) Metal flakes are production process related: insuffient cleaning and inspection.
Actions:
 Remove and clean all bolts in ultrasonic cleaning bath
 Bolts will be Kolsterized (hard carbon diffusion layer).
 Clean all thread holes with IPA and thread cutter.  Dry & clean with pressurized XCDA to remove all metal particles and flakes.
 Inspect afterwards with Q‐tip. Make & number photos.
Contaminated bolt
Contamination check
Q‐tip cleaning
Cleanroom assembly, NTS Mechatronics
B. Contaminated thread holes
•
•
•
Problem: o Thread holes are contaminated: corroded, flakes or grease are found.
Corroded thread hole
Root causes: a) Insufficient cleaning and inspection.
b) Crosscontamination by bolts
c) Remains are manufacturing process related
Action:
 Check with suppliers.
 Inspect all threaded holes with Q‐tips
 Clean all thread holes with IPA and thread cutter. Inspect again afterwards.
 Vacuum clean or pressurized XCDA to remove particles & chips.
C. Particles on surfaces (1) •
Problem:
o Particles found on surfaces: (1) visual, (2) grazing bright light or (3) UV‐A inspection.
•
Root causes: a) Insufficient cleaning and inspection. b) Long clean room exposure without shielding.
c) Electrostatic components attrack particles.
d) Action and work in cleanroom by operators.
•
Actions:  Re‐inspect and clean all area’s.
 Store clean: cover with foil or pack
 Cleaning and inspect all surfaces before final packaging.
Metal flake & grease found
Particles visible under UV‐A
Bolt head scratch and contamination
UV‐A inspection inside transport tool
Manual removal metal flakes
C. Particles on surfaces found (2): example D. Corrosion & stains
•
Problems: o Corrosion stains found on transport frame
o Bolts corrroded inside frame
•
Root causes: a) Manufactured at supplier location on steel frame
b) Galvanic corrosion (metals in contact)
c) Pickling and pasivation process not sufficient
o
o
•
Before cleaning
After cleaning
Bath or spraying process, drying stains.
Acces to all holes and surfaces: drain and venting holes.
Corrosion caused by manufacturing on steel frame
Corroded returns during assembly
Actions:
 Check with supplier.
 Polish & clean the corroded surface
 Replace bolts and clean thread
Corroded stainless steel bolt
E. Rough surfaces
•
Problem: o Parts are accessible for contamination
o Rough surfaces are not well cleanable
•
Cause
a) Insufficient design‐for‐cleanliness!
b) Maching: rough milling pattern or wrong base material selection.
c) Awareness: whole production chain needs to know it is a cleanroom product.
F. Weld flaws
Milled surface after cleaning
Rough surface after machining
•
Problem: o Weld flaw are leaks o Weld flaws capture cleaning fluid
•
Cause
a) Insufficient welding process (or design): heat penetration, wall thickness, welded (bi)materials.
b) Stains / corrosion due to outgress cleaning fluid
Cleaning fluid outgress from weld
• Action
 Check with supplier.
 Important: Less mechanical rework on welds
 Repair welds (very costly €€€)
• Action
 Check with suppliers
 Rewor, polish & clean the surface
 Worst case: redesign needed.
Reinforced panels are difficult to clean.
G. Packaging & Labelling
•
Problem: o Contamination or damage during transport or storage
•
Cause
a) Wrong packaging or labelling applied
b) Packaging damaged due to handling
c) Cross contamination
4. Lessons learned
Risk for damage during transport?
Packing and labeling of small components
• Action
 Clean ultrasonic & repack
 Contact packaging supplier
 Reconsider packaging design
Weld discoloration
Transport bracket
General:
• Never hurry, (re)consider all your actions. Follow all procedures strictly.
• Always check stainless steel or welded frames after pickling and passivating for corrosion and discolorations (stains). No direct contact with steel (tooling or ..).
• Cover tools with foil in cleanroom when not in use (order extra foil or bags).
• Invite customer at location to qualify/check tool before shipping. Also share knowledge on cleanliness experience.
• Try to avoid blind or thread holes if possible in the design. Cap holes when processing (e.g. spray pickling) or manufacturing (post treatments).
However:
• Bolts & thread will always generate friction and thus particles after many times.
• Pickling and passivating stains are always visible for large frames/tools.
Toolbox for transport
4. Design for Cleanliness
•
Design‐rules for clean(able) design are mandatory.
•
Some rules:
o Use clean & cleanable materials: e.g. stainless & aluminum.
o Low roughness: e.g. electro‐polishing (EP) or coatings (NiP)
o Smooth or rounded edges: no remains from cleaning wipes.
o No blind holes, entrapped volumes, large contact area’s.
o Cleanable assembly or design to clean mono‐part before assembly
o Minimize or avoid lubricants (e.g. grease or oil) or fluids (e.g. cutting or cooling).
o Think about how to test / measure / verify cleanliness.
•
Consider how to keep your system clean during operation or maintenance.
5. Future challenges
AddLab: shared facility for 3D metal printing
• Cleaning of 3D metal printed products
o Metal powder particles melt to surface
o Conventional methods not sufficient
o Roughness inherent to printing process
5. Eindhoven Brainport talentbox
•
Recently white‐paper published on Cleanliness: an inside perspective
•
Strong focus on design‐for‐cleanliness. •
Search for talented young technicians & engineers!
6. Questions
A.1 NTS‐Group ‐ Proposition
Stages & Handlers
Mechatronic
Systems
Optical
Systems
(Optel)
Mechanical
Modules
Handling & Transport Tooling
One Off Equipment
NL
USA
NL
USA
NL
USA
NL
USA
NL
NL
TECHNOLOGY FOCUS
Time‐to‐market
Transparant cost
Clear timing
Clear deliverables
Flexible PDM/CAD
Assembly
Development Prototyping (Wijchen)
Manufacturing
Markets:
• Semicon
• Digital Printing
• Life Sciences
• Analytical
• Industrial
Development
Appendices
NTS Mechatronics
Eindhoven
NTS Mechatronics
Brno
NTS Mechatronics
Singapore
NTS Mechatronics
Shanghai
GLOBAL HLA
FOOTPRINT
Minimize volume shipping
Precision Mechanics
Granite High Precision Parts
Sheet Metal
frames & covers
Finishing
NTS Precision
NTS Botech
NTS Prometal (CZ)
NTS Botech
NTS Prometal (NL)
NTS Prometal (CZ)
NTS Comp. Singapore
NTS Comp. Suzhou
NTS Finish
NTS Prometal(CZ)
NTS Comp. Singapore
NTS Comp. Suzhou
IN‐HOUSE MANUFACTURING
OF CRITICAL COMPONENTS
Aligned with
global footprint
To support our customers with high‐level engineering, local assembly & in house manufacturing of components of (opto)‐mechatronic systems and mechanical modules
A.2 NTS‐Group World wide
D&E & Proto Shop D&E & Proto Shop Assembly Assembly Machining
Sheetmet.
Coating
Sheetmet.
Coating
Assembly
Machining
Sheetmet.
Coating
Granite
Assembly Sheetmet.
Coating
Machining