This technical information has been contributed by
U.S. Dynamics Corporation

Custom Electromechanical Assembly: Success Story

Challenge:

A major semiconductor company requested a custom motor coil winding assembly for use in their laser lithography machine. The motor assembly is used in conjunction with the magnet portion of the assembly to adjust the stage on which the wafer is mounted to position the wafer as desired. The assembly required a precision shaped stainless steel tube that was used for the cooling of the motor windings and an intricately machined base plate. USD, looking at how the assembly of each item impacted the next, understood that the tube, when mounted to the base plate, could not affect the flatness or perpendicularity of the base plate. At the same time, the tube needed to fit interference free with the electrical coil windings.

Solution:

USD analyzed the requirements and developed the fixtures and manufacturing approach that resulted in a flawless assembly. USD first had to wind the square wire electrical coils. The coils needed to fit into the desired area and fit up properly with the cooling tube. The machined base required tight flatness and perpendicularity specifications. The coil windings were then potted into position on the plate. The cooling tube then had to be manufactured and assembled over the electrical coils. The cooling tube needed to be consistent enough in shape as to not affect the flatness of the base plate when mounted. In order to produce a consistent enough tube, which a CNC process could not accomplish, USD designed an elaborate system of mandrels, levers and rollers to produce the form fitting cooling tube. Precise tooling was also developed to accurately place and pot the cooling tube, which needed to fit interference free with the electrical coil windings.

Result:

USD provided their custom engineering and precision construction skills to provide the customer with their complex assembly that required developing a manufacturing and assembly process that produced a quality product. The customer was able to reduce their list of suppliers for this project by enlisting USD to handle all of the tasks; from design, to procurement, to inspection and test.