Microchips used in computers are manufactured in the semiconductor industry in clean rooms, commonly known as Fabs, where on average between 300 and 400 processing steps, many of them chemical in nature, are required to make a microchip. Person guided vehicles (PGVs) are used to manually transport the batches of chips between process tools in the Fabs.

Industries Development Corporation (1996) Ltd, also known as IDC, a BATEMAN subsidiary company based in Yokneam, Israel, has now sold in excess of 200 of its PGVs, known as Ergoloaders. The clients have been several of the most prominent manufacturers of microchips in the USA, the Far East, including Japan, and Europe. The Ergoloader is a Class 1 clean- room compatible design conforming to industry loadport standards and fitted with compatible PGV self-aligning and latching docking mechanisms.

Ergoloaders run on four castor wheels, permitting the operator to push and manoeuvre the vehicle easily and precisely into position and ensuring that this time-consuming part of the whole process is performed as quickly as possible. Stacks of silicon wafers, up to 300 mm in diameter, are carried on the Ergoloader in containers known as FOUPs, the total weight of which can be almost 9 kg when containing 25 wafers.

The vibration-absorbing suspension dampens any vibration resulting from the movement of the wheels over the ventilation holes in the clean-room floors, minimising possible damage to the chips

Depending on the model, either one or two FOUP’s can be carried by an Ergoloader. The two-FOUP model has two side-by-side carriers with independent cam-actuated loading devices. The single FOUP model is of identical design, but with a smaller frame is somewhat more manoeuvrable than the two-FOUP model.

Ergoloaders are manufactured using electro-polished stainless steel, providing surfaces which can easily be cleaned, in line with the high level of purity demanded in clean rooms.

Please contact Zvi Alon on +27-11-899-3292
Email enquiries@bateman.co.za