Optim Wafer Services

From the outset, at Optim Wafer Services, the polishing machines were loaded and unloaded manually by the four operators needed to run all the machines 24 hours a day, five days a week. A thankless task that posed a twofold problem: “We had difficulty recruiting and keeping our staff. What's more, the total weight of 2 tonnes handled by each operator at each shift could lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)”, explains Jean-Christophe Millet, the plant's director.

In 2018, as part of a call for projects from the Pôle de compétitivité SCS, the SME was awarded funding for the robotisation of its polishing activity, in collaboration with Cetim and Alprobotic, a designer of high-precision robotised units. “The production of a demonstrator for two polishing machines and a robot enabled us to validate the technological choices, the actions to be implemented and the budgets to be allocated to robotise the entire polishing workshop”, continues Jean-Christophe Millet.

A project facilitator

Since 2023, four poly-articulated robots have been feeding the 16 polishing machines, which have been digitised. In this workshop, not only has the risk of MSDs been reduced, but productivity has increased, enabling the SME to meet the growing demand from the european microelectronics market and boost its sales. “By managing the relations between the different partner companies, finding the best solutions within the deadlines set and above all controlling unforeseen events, Cetim was a facilitator in the running of this project", concludes Jean-Christophe Millet.

Optim Wafer Services has decided to continue its work, still with Cetim, on the traceability of silicon wafers between the polishing workshop and the final workshop, in order to increase efficiencies and productivity.