NEWS


Global chip shortage ‘chain reaction’ disrupts supply of chip-making systems


A shortage in chips is effecting the availability of chip-making systems, including laser drilling machines, which require the chips.


The situation highlights the global semiconductor supply crunch has reached a point where it is rebounding to the chip making industry itself. Delivery times, reports Nikkei


Asia, for certain critical tools have grown to 12 months or more, which will slow capacity expansion plans for a wide range of suppliers, including chip manufacturers, packaging and testing service providers and substrates suppliers. ‘It’s a chain reaction,’ said Chiu Shih-fang, a tech and supply chain analyst with the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. ‘Electronics and automakers expect component makers to expand capacity to address the shortage. But when these component makers talk to their equipment and materials suppliers, they realise deliveries could be as late as next year. That means everyone is kind of stuck. The dangerous part is that even if only one or two components are lacking, the


fabricated on wafer materials), wafer dicing machines and chip testing machines, have also grown considerably. ‘Some of these equipment


whole system would be unable to move forward.’ At least four types of vital


production equipment are in short supply. For laser drilling machines


used on printed circuit boards and chip substrates, equipment maker Mitsubishi Electric has warned clients the lead time for some tools is now more than 12 months for orders placed from April onwards. The lead time for high-end chip substrates has lengthened to 52 weeks. ‘It’s not like we don’t want


to increase our capacity, [but] even if we wanted to book more machines, we couldn’t get them very quickly,’ a chip substrate executive told Nikkei


Asia. ‘People are booking 50 or even 100 of Mitsubishi’s laser processing machines at a time. We have been told by [Mitsubishi] its capacity is fully booked because demand is so strong, and if we want to order machines now, we will have to wait until next year for them.’ David Shen, chairman of Hota Industrial Manufacturing, a key automotive parts supplier, added: ‘We are trying to find alternative equipment suppliers for drilling machines, but the precision and speed are not as satisfactory as what we used to have.’


The lead times for wire bonding machines (used in chip packaging after chips are


Laser cutting businesses in Aurangabad, India, are being hit with a shortage of oxygen due to it being needed to fight the pandemic. Oxygen is a key component


Oxygen shortage hits laser cutting companies in India Pratik Patil, who owns a


used in laser cutting, however the Indian government is diverting oxygen production towards medical use. While some oxygen can be delivered to firms helping produce medical equipment such as compressors, the amount of they are permitted to use has been lowered. This has led to reduced operation times and a cut in manpower, industry owners told PTI news agency.


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laser cutting unit in Waluj, Aurangabad, said his unit is now only able to operate its oxygen- based laser-cutting facility for eight hours, whereas previously it would have been able to run round the clock. ‘I am manufacturing medical equipment,’ he said. ‘Earlier we had 75 workers with us and today we have only 32. No other gas can replace oxygen. We tried to do cutting with other gases but that led to rejection of orders from our vendors who export their parts. ‘For medical equipment


manufacturing, earlier I used to


makers are also suffering from chip shortages and some are struggling with labour issues due to lockdowns, like all the other tech players. That weighs on the process of building machines,’ said a source with direct knowledge of the situation. ‘Covid-19 lockdowns had disrupted production since last year. Just when it was about to recover, the serious chip and component shortage hit them.’ Travel restrictions also hamper equipment delivery and installation, as personnel usually help clients install and test machines. While some equipment suppliers have tried virtual reality headsets and simulation software to remotely guide clients through the process, some critical support must be provided on-site.


Has your purchase and use of laser technology been disrupted by the global chip shortage? Let us know your story at: editor.lasersystems@ europascience.com


get 14 cylinders a day. But now we can hardly get two to four cylinders in ten days with due permission from the FDA. As a step to control the probable damage henceforth, we have started to install our [own] oxygen production unit. This will be of 450m3 capacity and our need is around 150. If the government demands, we will be able to serve people too.’ Dushyant Athawale, another


unit owner from nearby Wadgaon Kolhati, fears a loss of business due to the lack of industrial oxygen: ‘I have three cutting machines of which two are not in operation. I had a


manpower of 30 earlier, now I am working with only six. We used oxygen at a pressure of 6-8 bar earlier and could cut thick sheets. Now we are using high pressure air cutting at 18- 22 bar pressure but still we can’t cut thick metal sheets. ‘The fear is, if our vendor finds an alternative for us now, it will be a permanent loss of business, which is also a loss for our region,’ he added.


Has the pandemic affected your ability to deliver industrial laser cutting services? Let us know your story at: editor.lasersystems@ europascience.com


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