A Boost to Your Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE)

Optimizing overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is a key goal for electronics manufacturers. At igus?, we support this mission with our advanced cable guide solutions for cleanrooms, particularly with our?e-skin flat?cable guidance systems.

Understanding OEE

Overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) is a vital metric that reflects the value added by a system, measured as a percentage from 0 to 100%. It provides a clear view of productivity by factoring in three components: availability, performance, and quality. To calculate OEE, planned downtimes such as production breaks and maintenance are subtracted from the total calendar time (24/7). The remaining time is the base for 100% operating time. From this base, losses due to performance, availability, and quality are subtracted to determine the final OEE.

The Role of Cleanroom Conditions in Electronics Manufacturing

In the semiconductor industry, the structures are becoming smaller, and the number of processing steps is increasing. For some applications, maintaining ultra-clean conditions is critical, allowing only 1-10 particles with diameters between 0.1 and 0.2 μm per cubic meter of air.

Tiny Particles Cause Quality Losses

Quality is a crucial pillar of OEE. It is calculated by subtracting the number of reworked and discarded parts from the total produced parts and dividing the result by the total number of produced parts. In electronics manufacturing, tiny particles can cause significant quality losses by contaminating sensitive products like semiconductors. These particles often come from the abrasion of machine parts, such as cables. Transitioning to modern cable guides like?e-skin flat?can significantly reduce these quality losses, enhancing OEE with minimal financial and organizational investment.

Modular Solutions for ISO Class 1 Applications

Higher Quality with Virtually No Abrasion

Our?e-skin flat?systems protect cables in cleanrooms from external contamination using abrasion-optimized high-performance polymers. During operation, the ambient air within a cubic meter contains no more than ten particles larger than 0.1 micrometers, meeting the stringent requirements of?ISO Class 14644-1, as confirmed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology and Automation (IPA). For context, air in a typical environment near a smoker can contain up to 100 million particles larger than 0.5 micrometres, which are completely absent in ISO Class 14644-1 cleanrooms.

Maximum Availability with Easy Maintenance

The modular design of e-skin flat systems significantly enhances machine availability, another OEE pillar, by reducing downtime. Traditional ribbon cables, with their inseparably fused cores, require complete replacement if a single core fails. In contrast, the e-skin flat's modular profiles can be opened, and individual cables replaced quickly, minimizing downtime, and boosting OEE.

Modular Design for Space and Energy Efficiency

The?e-skin flat?not only saves installation space but also reduces energy consumption. Our alternative to classic cables,?CFCLEAN, incorporates stranding elements fused with a PTFE film for electrical protection. This design eliminates the need for an outer jacket, reducing weight by 21% and diameter by 18%, leading to lower drive energy requirements and space savings in cleanrooms, where space costs rise exponentially with volume.

For further details on how our e-skin flat systems can enhance your cleanroom operations and boost your OEE, visit our?cleanroom industry page?and?configure your very own e-skin flat.?