Cases

Luoyang Newbee Precision Bearings: Enabling Next-Gen Semiconductor Robotics with Ultra-Thin Section Bearings

Case Study: VHP Robot Bearing Solution for 12" Wafer Handling

Challenge

A leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer faced critical failures in VHP/VHP+ robot pivot bearings due to:

 Particle contamination from conventional bearings (exceeding Class 1 cleanroom standards)

  Limited lifespan (<8 months) under high-speed cyclic loads (300+ cycles/minute)

 Space constraints requiring <5mm cross-section bearings with ±1μm runout

 Newbee's Solution: Thin-Section Ceramic Hybrid Bearings

 Model: NBT-45Si3N4 (Matching INA/THK compatibility)

 Material: Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) balls + stainless steel races

 Key Specifications:

Section height: 4.5mm  

Dynamic load: 3.2kN  

Runout: ≤±1μm 

Vacuum rating: <10⁻⁶ Pa 

Particle emission: 0.01mg/m³ (vs. 0.5mg/m³ industry avg)  

Innovations:

Laser-etched lubrication pockets for 20,000-hour maintenance-free operation

Magnetic fluid seals preventing outgassing in vacuum environments

Implementation

Testing Phase (3 months):

Conducted 10M cycle accelerated wear tests at Newbee’s SEMI-certified lab

Demonstrated 0% particle contamination in ISO Class 1 cleanroom trials

Field Performance:

Metric Previous Bearing Newbee NBT-45Si3N4 Improvement

MTBF 1,500 hrs 18,000 hrs 12x

Wafer defect rate 0.03% 0.001% 97% ↓

Energy consumption 4.1W/cycle 2.8W/cycle 32% ↓

 Client Testimonial

 'Newbee's thin-section bearings solved our cleanroom contamination crisis while fitting existing robot arm designs. Their co-engineering approach was exceptional.'

— VP of Engineering, Top 3 Semiconductor OEM

Technical Highlights

Direct replacement for INA DRU series (30% cost savings)

Customizable inner/outer diameters (15-120mm range)

On-demand coating options:

Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) for corrosive environments

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) for ultra-high vacuum

(Image: NBT-45Si3N4 bearing installed in VHP+ robot wrist joint)