Scottish startup Savantech has launched its first product to help automate wafer fabs, although the technology can be used for other high tech manufacturing applications.
Savantech, based at the Alba Centre in Livingstone, has been a consultancy since 2005 and employs just 7 people directly. Now it has turned its software integration tool into a full blown standard technology-based product called CoreTegral, for wafer fabs to use.
This has only been possible with the recent development of Microsoft's .Net tools and Silverlight technology says founder and CEO Brad Connor.
Savantech, based at the Alba Centre in Livingstone, has been a consultancy since 2005 and employs just 7 people directly. Now it has turned its software integration tool into a full blown standard technology-based product called CoreTegral, for wafer fabs to use.
This has only been possible with the recent development of Microsoft's .Net tools and Silverlight technology says founder and CEO Brad Connor.
"Two years ago we would have had to develop a proprietary environment like everyone else, and the mainstream workflow technology has only just settled down," he said.
CoreTegral brings together all the existing software tools in the fab through interfaces developed by Savantech, allowing data to be tracked in real time throughout the processes, identifying bottlenecks and reducing waste.
"Europe has a disparate group of fabs that have specialisms using old machines and different processes and we come in with the expertise to help them," said Connor. "We saw this a couple of years ago and developed the product and we have taken a different tack. We are using mainstream technology and have very much designed this as a developers environment. A standard tool flow means its easier to maintain, to staff and to move people around to use different tools."
The company is selling this as a standard product rather than as a custom consultancy implementation. "This is the first complete version that we can sell as a product for development and runtime," said Connor. "All the previous versions have been for solutions services."
It is looking to extend the tool to solar and PV manufacturing lines but also has interest from advanced medical and EMC contract manufacturing.
Nick Flaherty has been covering technology and startups since 1990 and is based in Bristol, where he co-founded the SiliconSouthWest network. During that time he has worked for most of the electronics magazines and newspapers in the UK and several in Europe and the US, covering all areas of the industry. He blogs at The Embedded blog www.embeddedblog.blogspot.com and Portable Multimedia www.portablemultimedia.blogspot.com and at www.flaherty.co.uk.
CoreTegral brings together all the existing software tools in the fab through interfaces developed by Savantech, allowing data to be tracked in real time throughout the processes, identifying bottlenecks and reducing waste.
"Europe has a disparate group of fabs that have specialisms using old machines and different processes and we come in with the expertise to help them," said Connor. "We saw this a couple of years ago and developed the product and we have taken a different tack. We are using mainstream technology and have very much designed this as a developers environment. A standard tool flow means its easier to maintain, to staff and to move people around to use different tools."
The company is selling this as a standard product rather than as a custom consultancy implementation. "This is the first complete version that we can sell as a product for development and runtime," said Connor. "All the previous versions have been for solutions services."
It is looking to extend the tool to solar and PV manufacturing lines but also has interest from advanced medical and EMC contract manufacturing.
Nick Flaherty has been covering technology and startups since 1990 and is based in Bristol, where he co-founded the SiliconSouthWest network. During that time he has worked for most of the electronics magazines and newspapers in the UK and several in Europe and the US, covering all areas of the industry. He blogs at The Embedded blog www.embeddedblog.blogspot.com and Portable Multimedia www.portablemultimedia.blogspot.com and at www.flaherty.co.uk.
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