The clean rooms at Dagesh Group have been used to develop nearly 400 different modules for the international Applied Materials. Avi Wolf, clean rooms production manager says: “Some of Applied Materials’ projects have 50-60 identical modules and others have 20 singular ones of each kind. The work is very versatile and fascinating and requires a deep understanding of production processes and clean room work protocols.”
The men behind the masks
The clean rooms at Dagesh are classified as Class 100/1000, in order to keep the sterility of the modules. That’s why, on their way to the company’s clean rooms, the team members go through a transition room, where they wear a hat and special shoes. From there they go on to a room where they cover the shoes with another protective layer and put on a suit, smock and gloves.
There are 40 team members working in the company’s clean rooms. 15 of Wolf’s team members (including 2 team leaders) are working specifically in the Applied Materials’ clean room department. According to Wolf, “The team members are focused on improving production processes in order to improve the products for the company’s clients.”
Work safety is above all in clean rooms. The rooms and equipment are going through external checks by a safety supervisor and the people working there are only the ones specially trained and safety certified. The rooms are equipped with safety stations such as an eye-washing facility for emergencies.
Clean room production processes
Wolf tells us about the production process in the clean rooms while emphasizing: “First, the pre-assemblies of the module are performed in the clean room, and it’s packed in nylon and moves to the production floor. Then, each module has a set of processes it goes through such as optics/mechanics/vacuum/laser. The modules are eventually moved to have the end-client user designated processes inspected.”
When a module requires a delicate optics process, the clean room employees of the Dagesh Group calibrate it, to make sure it’s repetitive, without any deviation. However, a module that goes through a vacuum process is built with a lot of seals from scratch; a pump is then being attached, and it’s tested with helium to make sure it’s functioning and has zero leaks.
Modules that require laser processes are produced in a clean laser room; the product is calibrated until the maximum capacity of ‘supplier’ the client has defined. Alongside these complex processes, there are also modules that go through a mechanic assembly process without any special processes or checks.
The processes in the clean rooms are mostly manual and there’s not automation, due to the complexity of the modules and the way they’re assembled. Wolf gives an example for a relatively easily assembled module: “The module we were asked to assemble each part with a ring and a spring-like hinge. However, after we’d assembled it, we’d discovered that the client’s original plan didn’t take into account the fact that the spring was scratching the bottom part. My team and I found an applicable solution: go from a spring to gluing. This way the glue will remain in place, and we’ve created a neat and clean nook. We’ve updated the client and got their approval so that the item was changed and found proper; problem solved.”
Wolf gives another example, for an optical module that’s produced in the clean room and goes through calibration, “There’s a mirror and camera in an optical module, which need to be calibrated on the 0 axis, but there were deviations in the modules back at the client’s place. In order to avoid these deviations, we’ve checked things on our end at Dagesh and answered the need. The difference between the axes created the gap and the malfunction. We’ve moved the axes to the same point with light reflections so there was capacity; the point was closer than it was, and we’ve prevented some ‘issues’ with the product.”
Long-term collaboration
“When I arrived at this company, 16 years ago, we had one 100 m2 clean room that was used for Applied Materials’ assemblies. Today we have 700 m2 of clean rooms for their use, and we keep growing; right now, we’re building another 300 m2 of clean rooms,” Wolf tells. “As part of the collaboration between the companies, the planning stage is mostly done by the Applied Materials’ engineers’ team. But there are certain products that go through our Etrog planning team. For instance, 3 months ago we ran a joint project called ‘Round Chamber’ in which we’ve assembled a cell and wiring box, including an electric panel and made an entire machine in the clean room. Thanks to the teams’ productive collaboration, the project was a success and is planned to go on.”
Interested in complex production processes? Have experience working in clean rooms? You belong with us at Dagesh. You can come to work every day smiling when working in a place that feels like family 😊. Go to our open positions page now and apply to become part of Avi Wolf’s team.
