The vacuum systems of
- Balzers (i.g. BAK 640, BAK 642 BAK 760, BAK 1200)
- Leybold (i.g. Z 550, Z 590, ZH 620 Vanguard/Emerald Z 650, Z 600, Z 660, Z 700, ZV 6000, ZV 1200)
- Perkin Elmer (i.g. PERKIN ELMER 4400)
- Mikromat (i.g. HZS 02)
- MRC (i.g. 903)
and other manufacturers are running satisfactorily many years.
However, even if your machine is running well today, increasing age goes hand in hand with increasing risks with regarding to reliability of the controller and the electrical components. After 10 to 15 years, spare part supply becomes for many control components a challenge, or they are no longer available. This is also the case in regard of support. After ten years, many system manufacturers are no longer prepared to provide support, modifications and upgrades.
Electrical components, e.g. switchgear and drives, are subject to mechanical wear and must be replaced at the end of their expected useful life.
Over the years the system requirements change and more advanced functions are required. For example, quality management demands complete process logging for data analysis, or automatic mode including automatic process recipe execution is a must for consistent quality. Enabling connectivity supporting smart manufacturing is another important use case.
The innovation cycles of products are becoming even shorter, which results in the demand on flexible and fast readjustment of the processes. Of course, these problems can be solved easily by purchasing new equipment. But this option is less desirable in many cases due to the high investment.
The cost-effective alternative: Retrofitting of the equipment control system
Depending on the individual requirements of the machine owner we can offer the refurbishment of:
- Control software and visualization
- Electrical installation
- Selected machine components
Reliable industrial PCs, if required in combination with a PLC, are the basis for visualization including parameterizing, recipe management and process documentation, as well as for controlling the equipment.
Our control system is typically based on the control and visualization framework ToolCommander® and is equipped with field bus interfaces, which realizes the connection of a broad variety of plant equipment and I/O components. This enables simple customization of the control for systems of various sizes and complexities, results in a reduction of the cabling complexity and increases the operational reliability.
Electrotechnical retrofit comprises the replacement of obsolete components with modern types as well as the upgrade of the safety equipment to meet the current requirements for the safety of man and machine.
The documentation, in particular the electrical diagrams and lists of circuit components, will be revised and updated as required.
The benefits are obvious
A retrofit offers the machine owner the reliability of a new system, but at a much lower cost.
The function of the machine control software is guaranteed for many years. In addition, you now have the option to implement new technological features.
Process and batch logging meets the requirements for quality management, while updating the documentation makes future maintenance and servicing of the equipment easier. Integration into the factory IT (e.g. MES) allows state of the art production control and monitoring.
Our controls and services base on a broad range of experience especially in the field of vacuum equipment, which allows to offer retrofit concepts for a variety of machine types, for example
- Inline Sputter equipment Z600, Z660, ZV 6000, ZV 1200, HZS 02
- Sputter equipment: Z550, Z590, Z700
- Coating equipment: BAK 640, BAK 760, BAK 1200
We would be glad to advise you and work with you to develop a retrofit concept custom tailored to your equipment.
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