Semitool, Inc.

Other

Dan Bexten

Jerry R Norby

Dan Potter

A shaft retainer includes a plate having a slot extending from an edge of the plate for engaging a radial groove formed in a shaft and a fastening device for fastening the plate to a structure to prevent axial movement of the shaft relative to the structure.

Method for retaining and positioning a shaft in a machine

A machine for cleaning containers such as flat media carriers has inside and outside arrays of nozzles arranged to spray a cleaning solution onto containers supported on a spinning rotor in a chamber. The cleaning solution, a mixture of water and a detergent or surfactant, is prepared by drawing out surfactant directly from a surfactant bulk storage vessel by means of a metering pump. The flow rate of the water is measured by a flow meter and in combination with the metering pump, a proper amount of surfactant is injected into the water line to produce a mixture with a desired surfactant concentration for removing contaminants. The mixture is injected into the water line at a mixing control valve to ensure that the water and surfactant are thoroughly mixed before being injected into the media carrier. Where the wafer carrier is provided with multiple rinse manifolds for spraying the carrier, a flow meter and mixing control valve are provided in the water inlet line for each manifold and a separate metering pump is provided for injecting surfactant into each water line to ensure that a proper amount of surfactant is injected into each water line to produce a surfactant/water mixture with a desired surfactant concentration.

Method and apparatus for cleaning containers

A system and method for cleaning carriers used for handling semiconductor wafers including a box cleaner having a rotor within an enclosure. Box holder assemblies on the rotor include upper and lower hooks for securing boxes to the rotor. A box door holder assembly is also provided on the rotor. The box door holder assembly preferably has a plurality of box door holding positions. Each box door holding position advantageously has a door guide and door hooks for holding a door. The box door holder assembly allows both the boxes and their doors to be cleaned with the centrifugal cleaner, avoiding the need for separate cleaning of the doors. In one configuration, the rotor is provided with an even number of box holder assemblies symmetrically spaced about the rotor and an even number of door holder assemblies symmetrically spaced about the rotor.

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Kalispell, MT, United States of America

Dan Bexten