2023-06-13 06:34:00
Both ASML and Thermo Fisher Scientific want to grow. The demand for chip machines and electron microscopes respectively is growing worldwide. And with these two OEMs, the Netherlands plays in the top divisions worldwide when it comes to this niche technology. However, the two OEMs cannot grow if the supply chain does not grow with them.
Maurits Smits, R&D & Site Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said during the kick-off of Manufacturing Technology Conference a few months ago that he has to double the production of Transmission Electron Microscopes in Eindhoven in the next five years. But instead of an acceleration in growth, he is currently noticing a slowdown, because everyone is struggling with the availability of materials and production hours. “The only way out is cooperation,” says Smits. The same sound has been heard at ASML for several years. The global demand for EUV machines is high. ASML is doing everything it can to increase this production. That demands a lot from the supply chain.
Makeable designs
In order to realize the growth ambitions, the efficiency of the supply chains must be increased. That requires efforts from both sides; of the OEM and the suppliers, says Arno Sprengers, Senior Team Lead Precision Mechanics at ASML and initiator of the Knowledge Sharing Center. In June, the Gaming Commission and Mikrocentrum are organizing the Manufacturing Technology Conference (MTC). “This calls for knowledge sharing,” he says. “If the knowledge transfer is optimal, we can accelerate effectively together.” He gives clean machining as an example. A few years ago, ASML put the theme of cleanliness on the map with Tier 1 suppliers. The Veldhoven engineers had calculated exactly how many particles and picomoles of pollution were allowed. But that doesn’t mean you have regulated cleanliness in the chain yet. The constraints of a certain technology can be an obstacle in practice, which you can solve by adjusting the design. Arno Sprengers: “It starts with creating a functional design, but ultimately it must be feasible in all steps. If we share as much knowledge as possible throughout the supply chain, we will arrive at optimal designs that are manufacturable more quickly.” And that’s what MTC is about: sharing knowledge about making throughout the entire chain. Not only between the engineers of the OEMs and the Tier 1 suppliers, but between all parties in the entire chain. “We ask the Tier 1 suppliers to help us, but there is a whole chain behind these companies. We also try to enthuse those companies and contribute knowledge. This is how we bring people closer together.” Some of these small players are even present at the conference with their niche technology.
Permanent source of knowledge
The Knowledge Sharing Center, founded eight years ago to share knowledge between theoretically trained engineers and practically-minded makers, has copied the MTC formula from ASML itself. ASML took the initiative years ago to share more internal knowledge between engineers. Nowadays the event takes place annually in the Brabanthallen and attracts several thousand ASML employees. MTC’s formula is simple: each participant makes a poster on the basis of a fixed pattern on which he shares about 10% of his knowledge. In addition, there are a presentation and a video. Altogether, perhaps half of the knowledge is presented to the outside world. “With the poster and the presentation, they send a signal how interesting their technology is,” explains Arno Sprengers. “You get the other knowledge from business cooperation. This arises because the parties have an idea of a specific technology”, Sprengers completes the circle. With this approach you stay far away from the IP that every manufacturing company has, but you do share enough knowledge to bring engineers and makers to new ideas. After the event, the posters and presentations will remain available on the Knowledge Sharing Center website. That is the source that everyone can use in the future to update their knowledge. The conference is a trigger, the real knowledge sharing will take place in the months and years after MTC when it comes to concrete projects.
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