or "Behind Closed Doors!"

The following examples are taken from wet benches manufactured by some of our competitor's and illustrate the pitfalls for the unsuspecting customer. It may be thought that a detailed specification will protect against these pitfalls, but how many customers believe it is necessary or can afford the time to produce a detailed specification for what they believe should be a proprietary standard product?
However, experience shows that blind trust is often misplaced. In an effort to earn higher profit margins, manufacturing quality may be sacrificed. Unskilled labour with poor supervision is used to manufacture and sometimes the quality of materials that are used is out of specification. Semiconductor & Medical Equipment Wetbenches Filtration Circulation Etching Baths Laminar Flow Hoods and Benches Fume Cupboards Auto Disinfectors Sterilising Units Clean Air Hoods Fume Safety Extraction Fume Scrubbing Wetbenches PYXIS Cybernomic Processing Tools Solvent Resist Stripping Wet Benches Corrosion Protection Cabinets Wafer Flat Finders Wafer Aligners Robotic and Computer Controlled Chemical Corrosive Resistant Modular Environmental

If you have experienced problems resulting from poor design or inferior manufacturing quality in connection with wet processing equipment then why not use this page to share them with other users. Send a brief description of the problem and, if possible a photograph that illustrates the problem area, so that it can be posted on this page.

Total confidentiality will be maintained and the identity of the provider and the offending manufacturer will be withheld in all instances.

Note: - All providers of information that is selected for publication in the "Hall of Shame" will receive a free Plade T-shirt.

Alternatively, do you require a solution to an existing problem? PLADE will be pleased to offer advice and assistance to anyone with an ongoing problem.

For further information send details to Mr Gregor M. Egan, Managing Director at Plade Ltd. Semiconductor Cleanroom Air Hoods Fume Wet Bench Fume Cupboards Acid Wetbenches Chemical Filtration Wetbenche Environmental Systems De Ionized Water Spray Units Surgical Detergent Resistant Endoscope Disinfectant and Sterilizing Station

As many of you will already know to "Flame" someone is to send an angry, hostile, or abusive electronic message to or about - flam·er noun

Read On.

Subject 1 : Control Gear, Electrical and Pneumatic. The two photographs reproduced on this page show the "before" and "after" of the interior of an instrument panel on the same wet bench. The instrument panel in this competitors wet bench houses the electrical and pneumatic components to carry out the normal wet bench functions but it lacks the PLADE Six Sigma Gateway PC based control system. More obviously, it lacks the professional skills and expertise that make a PLADE wet bench safe, reliable and a joy to work on.
This wet bench manufacturer not only failed to trim the airlines to the correct length, plan the optimum path for them and restrain them in position but also failed to do the same for the wiring. Instead the airlines and wiring are allowed to zigzag in an uncontrolled manner all over the place where they can restrict heat dissipation from power relays and other heat generating components. Safety is severely compromised by this standard of workmanship. Hot spots can occur due to poor air circulation in the congested environment. Plastic sheathing on electrical wiring and plastic airlines can easily lie in contact with overheating surfaces resulting in process failure, electrical shorts and ultimately a fire. It will also be noted that there are very few labels or tags identifying anything in the panel. Fault finding in this panel is a nightmare, even for the Company that built it.	More Detail Photograph Available
Fortunately, the owner (a multi-national US semiconductor manufacturer) spotted the potential hazard and called in PLADE to bring this bench up to an acceptable professional standard.
Incredibly, the second photograph is the same bench after being re-worked by PLADE. The PLADE standard panel layout is well thought out and designed so that the customer's own maintenance electricians can understand and trace faults easily and quickly. All components are identified with printed labels, as are all wiring terminals and the air lines which can be seen entering the panel at the lower left hand corner. Above all it is Safe. The clear space is easily ventilated and all plastic sheathed electrical wires and plastic hoses are securely fixed well away from heat sources to avoid any risk of fire.	More Detailed Photograph Available

Problem!

How to specify a bench control system which is safe, reliable, easy to access, fault find and maintain.

Simple Answer!

Specify the PLADE Six Sigma Gateway

Fully integrated control system with optically isolated interface unit and an instrument panel designed and built to the highest professional standards.

Not so simple Answer!

1. Specify an increased size of instrument panel.

2. Specify all wiring to be carried out only by professional full time electricians.

3. Commit to regular supplier inspections during manufacture.

4. Commit to a comprehensive stock of replacement discrete instruments.

5. Specify RS232 interfaces on all instruments with customised software and a PC.

6. Specify see-through doors for the instrument panel and attempt to shame the manufacturer into producing a professional standard.

The third photograph of a wet bench manufactured by a US company illustrates that, although see-through doors for the instrument panel might improve the standard, it still does not come up to the standard of the PLADE bench.

Subject 2 : Wet Chemistry Plumbing Lines
The two photographs on this page illustrate the hidden pitfalls awaiting the unsuspecting plumber in the sump area of a wet bench (the space below the work surface). This US manufacturer has breached the integrity of the sump area with lift-off doors that are difficult to seal against the overflowing and quick dump rinses that are continually discharging into this space. Closer inspection shows that the PFA lines for the de-ionised water supplies are connected using glass filled polypropylene or acetal fittings. This can only be a cost saving exercise because they are obviously inferior to PFA fittings that are designed to preserve the quality of the water. These fittings will fail because they have poor chemical resistance and are particularly vulnerable to HF acid, which is regularly in use in semiconductor manufacturing processes.	More Detailed Photograph Available
The deviation to use these fittings will result in the glassfibre reinforcement in the fitting being dissolved by the HF acid in the rinse water. The weakened fitting will then leak contributing contamination to the de-ionised water and allowing the de-ionised water to leak out of the plumbing lines. More Detailed Photograph Available

Problem!

How to specify a bench plumbing system that is safe, reliable, contamination free, corrosion resistant, easy to access, fault-find and maintain.

Simple Answer!

There is no simple answer!

It is necessary to site inspect the supplier's manufacturing premises and examine the quality of workmanship and materials regularly in use. Request a copy of the supplier's Quality Plan and examine its contents. Ensure that the Quality Plan is being adhered to. For example, inspect the design department, examine typical Product Specifications, ask to see typical Bills of Materials and ensure that Installation, Operation & Maintenance Manuals are sufficiently detailed and include General Arrangement drawings, Wiring Diagrams and Plumbing Layouts.

Finally nominate a supplier with an established reputation for quality products that give reliable service and a history of prompt customer support.

Save time and specify the PLADE Pyxis wet process tools with the Six Sigma Gateway fully integrated control system with optically isolated interface unit and an instrument panel designed and built to the highest professional standards.

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