Semiconductor devices have pervaded industries and human needs today. From System on Chip (SoC) and Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) to Printed Circuit Board (PCB), the exhaustive range of device types calls for more functionality even with smaller form factors. Volume production of zero-defect devices is required to handle the increasing demand. Enhanced speed of test is paramount while testing a semiconductor device. 

To meet this demand, MELSS brings you Handling and Testing solutions from Cohu® – the technology leader in test, automation, inspection and metrology products and services for the semiconductor industry.

Cohu’s product portfolio includes a wide range of pick and place, thermal and gravity test handlers for MEMS, sensor and turret test and scan applications, a broad spectrum of interface solutions for automotive and power, 5G wireless, artificial intelligence, and data processing applications. Also including probes and contactors, it enables optimised yield and productivity, and accelerates customers’ manufacturing time-to-market.

Gravity Test Handlers

Capable of handling extremely small to very large packages, over a very wide temperature range, they are ideal for high throughput octal site and quad site testing.

Cohu is the market leader in gravity test handlers with an installed base of 6,000 gravity systems today.

Turret Test and Scan

Turret Handlers are high-speed, high-accuracy devices that handle, inspect and test semiconductor components.

Turret platforms from Cohu for semiconductor testing, inspection and packaging provide:

• Highest Throughput for Fragile Devices
• Highest Processes Integration Capabilities 
• Flexible Test and Scan Solution for FFC Devices
• Market Leading Inspection Yield with high Throughput

Pick-and-Place Test Handlers

Cohu pick-and-place test handlers automate the movement of semiconductor devices, control temperature during testing, and offer vision inspection capabilities to ensure quality and optimise yield in volume production, with models like the Delta MATRiX, Delta Eclipse, and MT9510 XP/x16.

Features such as automated movement of semiconductor devices such as ICs – from input to test sockets and then to output – ensure efficient and reliable handling.

These handlers provide high-speed testing. While the Delta Eclipse is capable of testing up to 16 ICs in parallel and achieving throughputs of up to 12,000 UPH, the MATRiX handler’s highly flexible test site configuration makes it suitable for a wide range of test applications.

Many Cohu handlers, such as the MT9510 XP/x16, offer tri-temperature control, allowing for testing in cold, hot, or ambient conditions.

The MATRiX handler incorporates Cohu’s T-Core active thermal control (ATC) technology, which dynamically removes heat from devices during testing, minimising test time and yield loss.
The MT9510 XP/x16 test handler provides full temperature control during testing in extreme environmental conditions from -55°C to +175°C.

Cohu offers a broad range of IC pick-and-place test handling solutions with thermal, vision and factory 4.0 automation options for the automotive, mobile, and computing markets.

Cohu’s NV-Core inspection system also provides advanced inspection capabilities such as 3D topographic inspection, sidewall micro-crack detection, and infrared inspection for sub-surface defect detection.
Devices are inspected for dimensional or cosmetic defects, lead irregularities, pad bridging, or contamination. The vision system can verify the expected presence/absence of components on input/output units, inside sockets, and on pickups to prevent jams.
It also scans all devices in input, identifying each DUT by 2D code reading and storing the data in the handler database for MES integration.

MEMS and Sensor Test

MEMS are micro-scale systems that integrate mechanical components (like sensors, actuators, and micro-structures) with electronic circuits on a single chip.

These are capable of integrating not only complex functions in very small devices, but also capable of integration with other semiconductor components, leading to smaller, more efficient, and more powerful systems. To be capable of performing a wide range of functions such as sensing (e.g., acceleration, pressure, temperature), actuation (e.g., controlling fluids, moving parts), and microfluidics, their handling and testing is crucial.

Cohu MEMS solutions combine the advantages of well-established and production-proven tri-temp test handling equipment with innovative concepts to meet the special requirements of the MEMS market.

Interface Solutions

To complement the aforementioned solutions, Cohu also offers the requisite interface solutions for many industries:

• Automotive and power
• Artificial intelligence
• Virtual and augmented reality
• 5G infrastructure
• Cloud computing
• Wearables and Internet of Things
• Sensors and actuators
• Radio Frequency devices

Cohu is the only company with expertise in the entire test cell and inspection needs of the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

The exhaustive range of solutions from Cohu is brought to you by MELSS as part of its solutions for the semiconductor manufacturing industry.

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The vision for the Fourth Industrial Revolution – or Industry 4.0 – was presented at the Hannover Messe fair in Germany in 2011.

The term Industry 5.0 was borne out of the Japanese invention – Society 5.0 at the CeBIT 2017 trade fair in Hannover, Germany.

While Industry 4.0 was embraced by industry with a lot of fanfare, continued practice revealed its shortcomings too, leading to the adoption of an industrial revolution with a more humane approach – Industry 5.0.

Common factors of both Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0

Industry 5.0 builds on the basic tenets of Industry 4.0 with its inherent benefits at the business level.

• While big companies implement robotic solutions and fully automated industrial machines across large manufacturing and logistics facilities, smaller medium-sized businesses utilise robotics in the form of collaborative robots (Cobots) which are smaller, more affordable, and easier-to-use industrial devices.
• Robotics, smart machines and automation solutions have not only replaced human workers to perform repetitive, mundane and dangerous tasks, they do so more efficiently with more consistent product quality and production line flows, allowing companies to manufacture high-quality products at lower costs.
• Interconnected industrial automation systems, IoT devices and robots consistently generate large volumes of data about the work processes, manufacturing and production line flows, providing vital business insights for further optimisation of industrial environments and manufacturing processes. The data is also used to create more flexible robots and smart manufacturing solutions to enable manufacture of a wider range of consumer products. This flexibility is to cater to customers demanding preconfigured options with minimum manufacturing costs.
• Automation and robotic solutions can be implemented anywhere in the world, making it easier to relocate many manufacturing jobs to countries with low-cost labour.

Limitations of Industry 4.0

1. Well-being of workers and social dimension

Industry 4.0 led to improved efficiency, precision and productivity, leaving the social dimension of the new industrial revolution completely out of scope.

2. Economic resilience and regenerative features

The designs of robotic and AI-controlled production lines lacked the vision for restorative feedback across all the operational processes and layers.

3. Environmental aspect and promotion of green energy adoption

Although Industry 4.0 was also centered around energy efficiency and total optimisation of operational processes, it viewed energy consumption and resources utilisation from the business performance perspective alone.

4. One-sided perception of the role of robotics and automation solutions

Machines, technologies and devices designed to complement human capabilities played a secondary and supportive role in production lines with Robotics playing the major role in Industry 4.0; led to Industry 5.0.

Although automation and robotics have created a new benchmark for higher quality, efficiency and productivity which is difficult to emulate by the human workforce, they have led companies to focus more on revenue generation, often ignoring environmental impact. In many ways, this led to the concept of Industry 5.0 starting to gain momentum.

Industry 5.0 can be seen as a revised version of Industry 4.0 after addressing its shortcomings; many features are common to both.

How does Industry 5.0 differ from Industry 4.0?

In the Industry 5.0 vision, robots, smart machines, IoT, AI and Big Data are still the key to business success, but emphasis on increasingly intelligent and efficient devices is balanced with more focus on sustainability, resilience and enhancement of human talent.

Industry 5.0 adds the human touch to Industry 4.0 by focusing more on machines and new technologies for better empowerment of human workers.

Here are some of the most common human-machine-interaction technologies used in Industry 5.0:

• Collaborative robots working alongside human workers
• Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) for industrial testing, personnel training and inclusiveness
• Advanced working instruments and safety equipment, enhancing human capabilities with robotic tools and data connectivity
• Automatic recognition of human speech and gestures
• Augmenting cognitive abilities of human workers with AI and other innovative tech
• Tracking devices to monitor health and mental state of human workers
• Recyclable and recycled (generated from waste) materials
• Raw, living, self-repairing and lightweight materials
• Materials with intrinsic traceability
• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Energy-autonomous biosensors
• Energy-efficient data transmission and analysis

Industry 5.0 vision

Industry 5.0 is envisioned as:

• Integrating human workers and machines in industrial environments
• Instead of robotic solutions and smart machines replacing humans they now support and augment human work
• Repositioning human workers from repetitive tasks to more creative jobs that require problem-solving, experience and intuition
• Moving away from excessive automation
• Moving towards a more balanced approach with optimal use of robotics
• Focusing more on customer experience
• Building responsive and distributed supply chains
• Designing and manufacturing not only customised but also interactive products
• Addressing the security risks and vulnerabilities of interconnected industrial automation systems

Frost & Sullivan had envisioned bringing back empowered humans to the shop floor, at the SPS fair in 2019.

Elon Musk had shared the drawbacks of too much reliance on automation and summarised in his tweet thus: “Yes, excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake. To be precise, my mistake. Humans are underrated.”

MELSS provides a wide range of products and services for the implementation of Industry 5.0 such as the Sixdime range of IoT products, and in Industrial automation and robotics.

Please give us a call and our professionals will reach out to you to study your requirements and will provide solutions not only to help you with Industry 5.0 needs, but any other industrial needs too.

What is EUDR?

The new EU regulation (European Union Deforestation Regulation – EUDR), which came into force in June 2023, aims to curtail the use of products whose manufacturing process involves deforestation, forest degradation, and the illegal displacement of local populations in one way or the other. Manufacturers, importers, and traders who place affected raw materials such as wood, meat/leather, rubber, soy, coffee, cocoa, and palm oil and products made from these on the EU market for the first time must provide documented proof that the goods complied with applicable local legislation and were not produced in areas that were deforested or degraded after December 31, 2020.

Tyre Industry and EUDR

A wide range of raw materials from different vendors are used to manufacture Tyres. Processed rubber products like air-tight rubber for the inner tubes, textile sheet-ply for reinforcement, and flexible and resistant rubber for the sidewalls are utilized in constructing the various types of tyres on the market. Raw materials like Carbon black, oil, steel winding, and sulphur are also used and each of these raw materials must ensure compliance with EUDR.

Challenges

However, the implementation of EUDR compliance by tyre companies has its own set of challenges due to the complex and global nature of the natural rubber supply chain. These challenges include:

Lack of proper documentation
The extensive natural rubber supply chain involves multiple intermediaries, from smallholder farms to processors and exporters. The supply chain may include regions where record-keeping and transparency are lacking, which makes tracking difficult. Lack of required documentation makes it difficult to trace a product back to specific plantations. Verification of EUDR compliant rubber becomes that much more challenging. Labeling of the product must include EUDR compliance information from plantation to finished tyres.

Legal and Regulatory Variations
Tyre companies are required to comply with an additional layer of regulatory necessity in the form of EUDR. Tyre companies that source rubber from more than one country, each with differing legal frameworks for land use and deforestation, have their roles cut out to ensure adherence. These too must be documented in the label.

Supplier Engagement and Training
Tyre companies must source only from suppliers who understand EUDR requirements and are capable of meeting them.

Data Management

Manufacture of each tyre involves different types of raw materials from diverse regions, generating vast amounts of requisite data to prove compliance which may become overwhelming. The different types of equipment in the main tyre manufacturing unit also generate data which must be monitored to ensure uninterrupted production. Data systems must not only be robust enough to handle the voluminous data, they must also ensure accuracy and current status of data which is easily accessible for audits.

Cost Implications
Significant investment in training and resources is required to help suppliers with the best practices in traceability and sustainability. Driving compliance may need upgradation of the existing IT systems, verifying supplier credentials and carrying out new sourcing practices – all of which involves cost. The additional financial requirements can throw suppliers out of gear which may cause disruptions in the supply chain.

IIoT Solutions and compliance with EUDR

IIoT is a crucial integral component of the long supply chain involved in producing rubber tyres and helps to gather, track and trace data and information about each of the individual tyres produced in the factory, enabling EUDR compliance by making it possible for monitoring in real time.

Datalogging

Tyre manufacturing proceeding through various stages generates huge amounts of data at each stage and processing of this data needs advanced IoT tools in datalogging and edge computing in addition to cloud computing tools, such as the Sixdime datalogger and the Sixdime Edgebox.

Data logging in IIoT has become an essential part of the manufacturing process, providing valuable insights into the performance of machines and equipment, leading to optimised operations and increased productivity. Data logging, which enables collection and analysis of real-time data, is performed through edge computing devices and through OPC connectivity.

At MELSS, we provide a combination of hardware, edge computing devices such as the Sixdime Edgebox, and software which help in data logging. MELSS solutions go beyond just data logging to deliver more value to improve manufacturing processes, reduce downtime, and optimise production.

Tracking and Traceability

The coding on each raw material and commodity is scanned and fed into the system for tracking and traceability. With IIoT, real-time monitoring and traceability of tyre manufacturing raw materials is now possible across the supply chain from plantations to production facilities. The high visibility of the supply chain ensures the sourcing of raw materials from EUDR-compliant regions only.

Tracing involves proper labelling using techniques such as barcodes, with maximum information including part manufacturer’s details, lot number, in-date, bin number allotted, date of receipt of part, duration in inventory and batch number of units produced. It involves identifying the origin of a product’s components through records and creating both forward and backward visibility throughout the supply chain.

Traceability keeps track of products and processes across manufacturing units spread globally. Different countries are governed by diverse rules and regulations and traceability is very complicated.

With IIoT, using sensors, PLCs and other IoT devices, any deviation from EUDR compliance across all manufacturing units worldwide is assured by the technological advancements in the communications, storage and analysis of data from the source.

Offshoot benefits of IIoT implementation

IIoT implementation for EUDR compliance not only leads to a transparent and sustainable supply chain, thereby enhancing the brand reputation by appealing to environmentally conscious consumers and investors, it also provides a host of other benefits such as:

• Enhanced operational efficiency
• Optimised production processes
• Improved resource management
• Predictive maintenance
• Reduced costs

With a thorough understanding of the overall tyre manufacturing process involving many stages such as inner layering with steel cord, rubberising, calendering, extrusion, beading, tyre building, sidewalling, outer layering to form the green tyre, and treading, the robust tyre manufacturing solution from MELSS monitors each stage thoroughly to ensure EUDR compliance. The IIoT solutions from MELSS help to capture and analyse the vast amount of real-time data generated by the plethora of equipment sensors, IoT and PLC devices. These solutions include the most robust traceability and advanced datalogging solutions too, offering one-stop solutions.<\i>