3D customization capabilities to mass market

Hayward, California – Ultra Clean Holdings Inc. officials announce a partnership for the use of commercial scale 3D printing product with Kulicke & Soffa (K&S), a global leader in the design and manufacture of semiconductor, LED, and electronic assembly equipment used in various advanced manufacturing industries.

Kulicke & Soffa is the first company in the semiconductor equipment market to adopt the mass customization capabilities of 3D printing, opening new frontiers for the advanced manufacturing industry.

Through the collaboration between the companies, Kulicke & Soffa designed and 3D printed the contamination removal kit that is built on to [its] Asterion i-MULTI wedge bonder. The kit is designed for assisting in cleaning the surface of the bonding materials in rigorous high volume manufacturing environments. Through the adaptability of 3D printing technology, this contamination kit can optimize the use of space near the bonding device, which makes it compact and easily customizable.

"We are pleased that our 3D expertise and capabilities enabled K&S with a customizable product," said Lavi Lev, senior vice president, Asia Division at UCT. "K&S is at the leading edge of manufacturing as the first known company to integrate 3D printing into the production of semiconductor assembly equipment on a commercial scale."

UCT opened its Additive Manufacturing Center in October 2015, adding 3D printing capability to its traditional manufacturing experience as a leading developer and supplier of critical systems and subsystems for the semiconductor capital equipment, flat panel, medical, energy, and research industries. In the facility UCT offers broad additive manufacturing capability, providing access to eight leading edge 3D printing technologies, including access to seven metal, nineteen plastic, and two wax and scanning technologies, which are capable of supporting the advanced requirements of the semiconductor manufacturing market.

"With this 3D printing concept, the time required for transforming and fully customizing an idea to a prototype and a product is greatly reduced. We are very impressed with the 3D printed product and appreciate the efforts put in by UCT," said Chan Pin Chong, vice president of the K&S Wedge Bonders, Capillaries and Blades business lines. "The success of this technology adoption injected more confidence for us to explore the possibilities to do the same for the other parts built into our equipment."

Source: Ultra Clean Holdings Inc.