The PEER Group® Inc. in Kitchener, Ontario announced a partnership with Connect Tech Inc. in Guelph, Ontario to offer a SECS communications multiplexing solution with true hardware fail-over protection.
The PEER Group software application Plex4SECS provides reliable multi-host access to a single piece of semiconductor equipment. For SECS-I (serial) primary host connections, the addition of Connect Tech's Blue Heat/PCI® Pass-Through Mux (PTM) board guarantees a connection between the primary host and tool should the Plex4SECS system stop or even lose power. Both products are installed on standard PCs with no further hardware required, thus making this solution a unique market offering.
Plex4SECS allows secondary hosts to collect data for improving both process quality and tool uptime. Each host can independently request data and receive tool events. Robert Harris, PEER Group president notes, "For the production engineers, any effort to insert software between the primary host and a tool is considered risky. A prime example is the growing data collection requirements of R&D for APC and yield improvement. In the past, if R&D's software or hardware failed, communication between the primary host and the tool was lost. Our combined solution allows multiple hosts to retrieve data from the tool without compromising the host connection."
For HSMS tools, Plex4SECS alone provides the multiplexing function. However, for the majority of tools in today's fabs, serial communication is the norm. David Worthen, Connect Tech president adds, "The proven design and choice of components within the Blue Heat/PCI PTM board ensures that it performs transparently in both pass-through and fail-over states. No other solution on the market offers the high degree of security that a hardware pass-through offers."
"This is truly a market driven solution," Harris explains. "Our customers came to us and asked us to create this concise capability. Through the PEER Group - Connect Tech partnership, we delivered." This low cost, high reliability solution is targeted at servicing the growing data collection needs of fab automation and process control engineers.
Pricing: The combined solution price for the Plex4SECS application and Blue Heat/PCI PTM board is $1250 US, with OEM discounts available. Contact Bruce Berry at 519-749-9554 for more information.
PEER Group provides leading-edge factory automation software solutions and consulting services to advanced manufacturers and OEMs in the semiconductor, electronics, life sciences and automotive industries. Many of the world's best manufacturing companies turn to PEER Group to solve their most challenging equipment automation, data management and custom application development problems. PEER Group partners with leading software and automation companies to assure the most efficient delivery of highly functional, reliable and scalable solutions.
Since 1985, Connect Tech has provided the globe with high quality, cost-effective connectivity solutions. Committed to excellence in both product design and customer satisfaction, Connect Tech continues to build on a reputation for manufacturing high performance multi-port serial adapters for personal computers.
Greg Kaminski, Marketing Manager greg.kaminski@peergroup.com 1 519-749-9554
© 2002 The PEER Group Inc.
Blue Heat/PCI is a registered trademark of Connext Tech Inc. PEER is a registered trademark of The PEER Group Inc.