Therma improves efficiency of high-purity process piping for semiconductor cleanroom with custom fitting machine from Tri Tool
Based in the high-tech ground zero of Silicon Valley and with offices in Southern California, Therma is a full-service design-build specialty mechanical services provider that focuses on complex HVAC systems and high-purity process piping and controls for cleanrooms, laboratories, and high-tech manufacturing facilities. Therma provides engineering, estimation, design, building information modeling, energy modeling, design-build, specialty HVAC and pipe fabrication, modular skid and process controls, pre-fabrication and installation work for general contractors, construction managers and owners in the technology, biopharmaceutical, data center, semiconductor and other industries with complex mechanical requirements.
The challenge of semiconductor cleanrooms
While working on an onsite HVAC and pipe fabrication project for a leading semiconductor company, Therma needed to improve the efficiency and productivity of its precision machining team to deliver on time for its client. However, in the highly controlled environment of semiconductor cleanrooms, there is no room for error or contamination.
Semiconductor manufacturing depends on the precise deposition of silicon and other materials on incredibly small surfaces by very pure gases. The current standard size of an element in a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) is 14 nanometers (nm). That is fourteen one-billionths of a meter. In comparison, the average speck of dust is ten micrometers (millionths of a meter) in size. Plumbing and HVAC systems need to provide pure air, water and gas and keep any outside effects from interfering. Small errors in the process piping and tubing can ruin entire batches of products. As a result, even small weld defects require significant rework and delays before production lines can begin manufacturing.
To reduce labor and time requirements while adhering to strict purity requirements for the client’s semiconductor cleanroom, Therma needed a compact, all-in-one fitting machine that could perform pipe facing, beveling and counterboring with quick tool changes and clean, perfect, repeatable welds.
Pure precision and time-saving results
Therma contacted Tri Tool to develop a custom fitting machine capable of handling all pipe and tube processing components with considerations for the semiconductor environment. However, Therma needed the solution fast, leaving Tri Tool only weeks to turnaround the custom machine. To ensure the Therma team had the fitting machine when they needed it, Tri Tool engineers took an existing solution—the Model 536 Fitting Machine—which is capable of supporting the facing, beveling, and counterboring of all the ends of elbows and tees in one workpiece setup, and modified the workholding options to meet Therma’s specifications.
With Tri Tool’s custom fitting machine, Therma engineers and fabricators were able to complete all tube and pipe fabrication processes in a single operation, reducing the time spent changing tools and increasing productivity. At the close of the project, Therma and its semiconductor client were very satisfied with the performance of Tri Tool’s custom fitting machine. The strong, reliable, and precise welds made it well-suited for such an ultra-pure environment.
To learn more about Tri Tool’s custom engineering and precision machining solutions for semiconductor applications, please email Semiconductor@TriTool.com or call 916-288-6800