Wonderware, a business unit of Invensys Systems, has announced that Sematech plans to implement the ArchestrA application platform as part of its e-manufacturing program. Sematech is implementing the ArchestrA application platform through its International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) subsidiary, a global consortium of leading semiconductor manufacturers.
Based in Austin, Texas, ISMI has spearheaded industry adoption of Interface A and will use the ArchestrA application platform in its prototyping lab to help process and metrology equipment suppliers test tool-side implementations of the new suite of SEMI EDA (equipment data acquisition) standards related to Interface A.
The ArchestrA technology provides ISMI member companies and the industry with an open development architecture that has both the agility and scalability needed to effectively implement Interface A for advanced process control (APC) and equipment engineering systems (EES) environments. The new Interface A standard is an essential component in the semiconductor industry's growing use of equipment and process data to maintain the productivity improvement rates forecast by Moore's Law.
The inclusion of the ArchestrA application platform will enable ISMI to provide the latest application platform to test beta versions of integration technology and applications that use the Interface A standards.
"Now that the Interface A suite of SEMI standards has passed the balloting process, ISMI's e-manufacturing objectives will emphasise the industry's implementation and production use of this important technology," said Brad van Eck, ISMI's factory productivity program manager. "Our emphasis is now turning to focus on evaluating Interface A implementations. We are pleased to see a commercially available implementation for 'the other end of the Interface A wire' for testing the OEMs' implementations of the standard."
The implementation of Interface A for the ArchestrA application platform was done in collaboration with software products supplied by Cimetrix Inc. Alan Weber and Associates will supply the systems integration services for the ISMI installation. Alan Weber and Associates is a long-time participant in the commercial semiconductor APC market and maintains an active role in the SEMI standards development process.
"The Interface A implementation completes the semiconductor connectivity picture for the ArchestrA application platform," said Alan Weber, president of Alan Weber and Associates, a consulting company specialising in semiconductor APC, EES and related manufacturing systems technologies. "This capability coupled with Wonderware's leading software products - realtime database, visualisation, data analysis applications and integrated development tools - make the ArchestrA application platform an ideal choice for EES and APC application development."
"ArchestrA is the ideal application platform to support the semiconductor industry's goal of expanding APC in its manufacturing process," says Mike le Plastrier, director of Futuristix, a member of the EOH group of companies and sole SA distributor for the Wonderware range of industrial automation and MES solutions. "The ArchestrA technology provides the agility, scalability and reliability to integrate existing APC applications across most industries. It provides the standard communication link to process tools, an integrated realtime database, integrated development tools and built-in monitoring and analysis applications. Whether in the semiconductor industry or elsewhere, ArchestrA is helping define standards, cut engineering costs and allow for the simple and ad-hoc addition of intelligence and functionality well after the initial phase of any project - something most welcome by engineers, CEOs and CFOs alike."
For more information contact Mike le Plastrier, Futuristix, 011 723 9900, mike@futuristix.co.za, www.futuristix.co.za
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