9 July 2013

ClassOne unveiling PLC controller upgrade for Semitool 302-based platforms

In booth #441 at the SEMICON West 2013 event in San Francisco (9-11 July), ClassOne Equipment (which supplies refurbished wafer fabrication equipment) is demonstrating its all-new PLC controller upgrade for its remanufactured Semitool product line, shown installed in a Semitool Spray Solvent Tool. 

The new Polaris control system has been developed as a field-upgradeable replacement for the aging Semitool 302 control system. Polaris features electronics with fully configurable software for real-time control, data-logging, and communications, driven by an intuitive graphical user interface, designed and developed by former Semitool veterans at the newly established subsidiary ClassOne Technology. 

The new Polaris PLC upgrade offers the following benefits:

• significantly extended life for existing 302-based systems (SST, SAT and Equinox), reducing fab capital expenditure (CapEx);

• a new Quad-Core CPU with Windows, replacing the obsolete 486-based processor and proprietary software;

• flexible reconfiguration of the system (such as adding tanks and changing pumps);

• dual hard drives and RAID configuration for hot-swapping and backup for increased uptime;

• Ethernet network connectivity (allowing remote data logging, real-time chemical consumption monitoring, predictive maintenance functions, e-mail notifications and reporting);

• reversible cassette rotation for enhanced process capability; and  integration of off-the-shelf electronics with fully configurable software.

“Semitool’s Spray Solvent and Spray Acid tools have been the work-horses of the industry for decades, with hundreds of units installed around the world.  Because of this, refurbished tools continue to be highly sought after,” says ClassOne Equipment’s president Byron Exarcos. “The Polaris control system brings all the advantages of a modern control system to a time-tested platform while maintaining and enhancing the key elements of performance and cost-effectiveness. Not only does this upgrade offer additional and useful features to the user, it eliminates the concerns over the age of a core component in tools based upon the aging Semitool 302 controllers,” he adds. “This competitively priced, critical update will breathe new life into an industry-standard platform and extend its useful life for years.”

The Polaris will be offered as a stand-alone field upgrade and as an optional upgrade for tools remanufactured by ClassOne Equipment.

See related items:

ClassOne Equipment expands Wet Processing Division with new subsidiary

Tags: ClassOne Semitool

Visit: www.ClassOneEquipment.com