Unique Capabilities Combined With Vertical Integration

Most customers choose us for a combination of our unique manufacturing capability and the vertical integration we can provide for their OEM parts. Solving the hard tight tolerance precision work that has to be done right is why customers come back to Innovent. Raw material is transformed into highly refined components through our CNC precision machining centers, welding, and polishing processes. Some of those components move on to our clean work cells, depending on customer requirements for assembly, test and qualification on larger tools and systems.

Customers get tremendous flexibility from our adaptive planning process tailored to meet their low to medium-volume/high-mix requirements. They appreciate a manufacturing partner who can meet their stringent requirements in low production runs and the ability to cut in changes with minimum interruption to the project.

Solving a customer’s challenging design to production issues around precision machining or final assembly cleanliness has developed the excellent reputation of our small staff of engineers. We welcome any precision machining challenges that you may have. Success stories abound from problems we have solved for customers who couldn’t find a partner to deliver their toughest technically challenged parts.

Case Studies on Precision Machining Problem Solving

Case 1: Out of Round Pulleys

• Application and Industry:
  Unique precision machined components referred to as Out-of-Round Pulleys, (OORP) used for automated substrate handing in semiconductor tools.
• The Challenge:
  The customer was having trouble consistently making a new portfolio of parts referred to as the out-of-round pulleys (OORP). These pulleys were engineered to simultaneously move arms in and out of a process chamber that were designed to be of different lengths and entering at different angles. The incumbent vendor was generally able to make a successful first article part, but had issues in maintaining a repeatable process. As a result, our customer would not know a OORP was “bad” until it was installed on the tool and running, which led to work stoppage on the production line and wasted time to access the nature of the failure.
• The Solution:
  In order to consistently make these parts we leveraged 2 unique in-house capabilities: Mazak machining center Smooth Precision Machining technology and CMM scanning probe profiles of each OORP.

  As a result, our machining centers were able to improve the surface finish and accuracy of the out-of-round profile. This, coupled with our in-process CMM scanning probe on every part, led to a reliable product. Our customer now solely relies on us for all legacy and future OORP designs. We now sit in on design reviews for these parts to offer our DFM advice during the prototyping phase.

Case 2: Vacuum End Effectors

• Application and Industry:
  Unique precision machined Vacuum End Effector used for automated substrate handing in semiconductor tools.
• The Challenge:
  The customer submitted a scope of work with requirements for backside vacuum grip for substrates with through-hole vias.
• The Solution:
  By applying FEA techniques, our engineers were able to redesign an end-effector with similar requirements to a uniquely precision machined component with a variable pitch wrist and parameter vacuum grip to support the substrate while being transferred from cassette to its processing position.

Case 3: Custom Design of a Heavy Lid Lift Solution

• Application and Industry:
  Mechanism for lifting a lid on semiconductor tool
• The Challenge:
  The customer challenged us with a cost reduction redesign of a mechanism used to lift a very heavy lid on a semiconductor tool. Safety was also of paramount importance as the lid weight is several hundred pounds and is routinely opened and closed to load and unload product as well as to perform routine maintenance. The components of the mechanism didn’t require the same level of precision machining that is typical to our process so a different approach was needed.
• The Solution:
  We partnered with a casting house to collaborate on a new design keeping in mind unit and fixture costs, ROI and safety. Once the raw castings were received, we controlled all aspects of the post machining and finish operations but most importantly, tested under simulated conditions. As a result, we were able to significantly reduce the unit pricing to our customer.

Case 4: Clean Room Assembly Solutions

• Application and Industry:
  Laser Driven Light Source Co. in need of turn-key manufacturing with a wide range of requirements from precision machined components to ISO 6 clean room assembly and test of fully built sub-systems
• The Challenge:
  The customer came to us in search of a solution for a fractured manufacturing process for one of their products. Several outside suppliers were being used. Management of the suppliers, quality and OTD were simply unacceptable. They recognized that by finding a competent supplier that could offer precision machining and cleanroom equipment manufacturing capabilities, they would be able to reduce product lead-times.
• The Solution:
  We met with the customer on several occasions and went through a very thorough interview process. Once the decision was made, we assigned an Engineering Customer Rep who would handle all aspects of the on-boarding process which is our typical method of doing business. The manufacturing ramp-up was a collaborative process starting with co-builds and the product validation process. Once the customer was confident in our ability to perform those operations, we turned our attention to the value add prospect of fabricating the key precision machined component which, in this case, resided with a supplier the customer was quite content with regarding cost and quality. This component, although relatively small in size, had hundreds of dimensions and an abundance of very tight GD&T callouts. We made it our mission to open a design & development project in order to win this aspect of the business. This winning formula for our customer was precision machined component matched pricing, improved overall lead-time, a collaborative effort in ramping up Innovent to be the turn-key supplier for that product line and most importantly, much less time spent by our customer having to manage multiple suppliers.

Case 5: Design of a Cool Plate Thermal Management Device

• Application and Industry:
  Design a Thermal Management Device to insure that a reliable fabrication process will yield cool plates that eliminate catastrophic field failures in semiconductor capital equipment.
• The Challenge:
  The customer approached us to solve a quality and process problem resulting in catastrophic failures of cool plates in the field. The plates were exploding in a vacuum process environment causing equipment as well as product damage and machine downtime. Internal gas expansion was causing the cool plates to delaminate during the critical process phase.
• The Solution:
  Precision machining was required to fabricate a tightly toleranced and flat cool plate base. Copper coils are installed in the cavity which facilitate the flow of cooling affluent. A thermally conductive compound is poured into the cavity in such a way as to eliminate any air pockets thus eliminating thermal expansion during the semiconductor process.

Case 6: Prototype Part Development

• Application and Industry:
  Semiconductor capital equipment company in need of a precision machine shop supplier to fabricate and assemble a prototype gas distribution shower head.
• The Challenge:
  The customer came to us with a challenge to manufacture a complex precision machined gas distribution shower head. A gas distribution shower head is typically utilized to uniformly deliver gas precursors to a processing zone above a substrate typically located in a vacuum chamber to deposit materials such as thin films, onto a substrate. Typical process applications include: Etch and various forms of Chemical Vapor Deposition, (CVD). This unique design required that hundreds of tubes be pressed, (sandwiched) between upper and lower precision machined plates. The challenge was to design fixturing to facilitate the pressing process, insuring that overall dimensions would comply with very tight specifications without damaging the part.
• The Solution:
  The engineering team accepted the challenge and presented a Design & Development plan to the customer to manufacture the custom precision machined assembly. Key to the project was a Pin Press Fixture design which needed to be a precision machined component in its own right to insure that the pins and plates would go together uniformly without sustaining damage to the components. Several attempts were made and DFM techniques were examined and implemented to insure quality and consistency of the fabrication and manufacturing methods.