Mobile Robot Solution for Semiconductor Production

According to the company, the Kuka Wafer Handling Solution is the world's first one-stop solution that can automatically transport and handle semiconductor cassettes.

In semiconductor manufacturing, the chemical element silicon is processed in the form of wafers. The wafers are stored under clean room conditions in special plastic cassettes and processed in numerous process steps. Because the demand for semiconductors will continue to rise in the future, manufacturers want to further automate the manufacturing process.

The Kuka Wafer Handling Solution is suitable for clean room conditions; its hardware and software come from Kuka. It consists of the lightweight robot "LBR iiwa" capable of human-robot collaboration and the mobile platform KMR 200 CR, a standardized Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV). The third hardware component is a customized, patented gripper system.

The mobile platform is equipped with Mecanum wheels that allow omnidirectional driving in any direction. Sensors on the platform detect the environment in real time and thus avoid collisions. The LBR iiwa is mounted on the platform; thanks to its sensitivity, it can handle the sensitive wafer cassettes safely and vibration-free.

The wafer handling software solution fits easily into the semiconductor manufacturers' manufacturing execution systems. The fleet manager integrated in the software controls transport orders in order to keep automated semiconductor production running optimally. All components of the Kuka Wafer Handling Solution come from a single source and are certified. This results in particularly short commissioning times, making the Kuka Wafer Handling Solution the most flexible handling system on the market.