Rexroth’s electromechanical solution, developed to help toolmakers simplify their automation requirements, uses size 15 Ball Rail with a precision Rexroth 12mm diameter ball screw in the T5 accuracy class. The company’s compact servo drive, mounted remotely on the tool, controls a 100-watt Rexroth maintenance-free servo motor that powers the lift.
Produced at Bosch Rexroth’s facility in Charlotte, NC, the lift subassembly has a stroke of 2.25 inches and a duty cycle time of one cycle per second. It carries a load of 12 pounds and is also exposed to a vacuum load of 108 pounds.
Not only does the wafer lift subassembly come tested and ready to install as a single component, it provides smooth, vibration-free motion and is rated for more than seven million cycles. To achieve optimum smoothness, Rexroth engineers calculated the proper balance of preload on the ball screw and alignment of the parts to achieve the ideal level of stiffness.
In the semiconductor and photovoltaic manufacturing industry Bosch Rexroth offers drive, motion, and control products for front- and back-end equipment, interbay automated material-handling systems, and support equipment—covering electronic drives and controls, linear motion, and pneumatics. Rexroth servo motors, drives, and controls, HMIs, and I/O systems allow precise multi-axis controls. Linear motion Ball Rail systems cover the range of speeds, precision, and load capacity and include cleanroom-certified systems. A pneumatics line, beyond miniature and standard valves and cylinders, includes non-contact transfer units, rotary indexers, wafer-handling frames, and grippers. The company also provides cleanroom-certified structural aluminum framing that allows fast configuration of everything from workstations to work cells.
“Manufacturers in nearly every industry are trying to find ways to lower costs, increase efficiency, and improve productivity,” said Joachim Scholz, semiconductor marketing team leader at Bosch Rexroth. “The semiconductor industry isn’t any different. As tool builders seek ways to find competitive advantages, they are starting to outsource their automation needs to suppliers who can design and build subassemblies more efficiently,” he said. “This allows them to focus on their own high-value products.”
Bosch Rexroth AG, part of the Bosch Group, achieved sales of approximately $7.4 billion (5.4 billion Euros) in 2007 with nearly 33,000 employees. Under the brand name of Rexroth the company offers all drive and control technologies, from mechanics, hydraulics and pneumatics to electronics and associated service. Over 500,000 customers worldwide utilize Rexroth’s unique technological know-how to implement their innovative and future-oriented systems and machine concepts. The global player, represented in over 80 countries, is an extensive supplier of components and systems for industrial and factory automation and mobile applications.
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