Industry News, Trends and Technology, and Standards Updates

by Brent Forsgren,
EFA Practice Manager

It is the start of a new year, thank goodness! I wonder what is in store for my Global Services team this year. Last year was a tough year for the semiconductor market, but early indications and market experts are saying that 2010 should be much better than 2009.

On top of the market’s expected upward turn, Microsoft released Windows 7 in late 2009 to replace their not so popular Windows Vista. I expect that a significant portion of our customer’s equipment sales this year will be of existing technology and software. But for our customers that will be developing and selling new tools and software, will you jump to Windows 7 or will you wait for it to prove itself in the market place? Additionally, if you switch to Windows 7 will you also make the jump to a 64-bit architecture or will you stay with the aging 32-bit architecture?

We welcome your comments and feedback! I would love to hear your thoughts and plans.  Please comment below or email me at brent.forsgren@cimetrix.com.

Cimetrix's main offices in Salt Lake City will be closed starting, Thursday, December 24 through Friday, January 1. Returning to normal business hours on Monday, January 4th.

Should you require assistance during that time, please do not hesitate to contact us:

• License Requests: licenses@cimetrix.com
• Place an Order: orders@cimetrix.com
• Support Incidents: support@cimetrix.com

by Dave Faulkner,
EVP, Sales & Marketing

At SEMICON Japan 2009, Cimetrix announced a transition in its distribution strategy in Japan. Rorze Corporation has been appointed as the exclusive distributor in Japan for Cimetrix Factory Automation and Tool Control products. Rorze provides innovative robotic and wafer handling solutions to the global semiconductor industry. Cimetrix and Rorze have been working together for several years with Rorze transitioning the FA for its Sorter line to Cimetrix CIMConnect and CIM300 products, and working closely with Cimetrix to integrate its EFEM and vacuum platforms with the Cimetrix CIMControlFramework tool control software. This technology exchange led to an investment by Rorze in Cimetrix and the appointment of Rorze as the Cimetrix exclusive distributor in Japan. Rorze’s software department has engineers on staff who are familiar with the SEMI FA standards and have used Cimetrix FA and tool control products on previous projects. Watch for more news as this relationship broadens to add new channels throughout Asia.

At SEMICON Japan, Rorze and Cimetrix demonstrated a new 450mm wafer capable vacuum platform. This platform was controlled by Cimetrix CIMControlFramework and was cycling both 300mm and 450mm wafers. It created quite a stir on the main aisle at SEMICON Japan due to the actual moving demonstration and discussions by ISMI about progress on industry usage of 450mm platforms. Please contact Rorze or Cimetrix for more information.

by Stephanie Sampson,
Project & Sales Coordinator

Need a license for a Cimetrix software product? Not sure how to go about getting one?  Well, let me share with you some quick and simple steps for requesting and receiving a license as efficiently as possible.

First, you will need a Purchase Order. Once you have that we would love to see it! Email or fax, can’t decide which way to send it? Either one of these will work:

• Email to orders@cimetrix.com
• Fax to 801-256-6510

Upon receipt of the Cimetrix software and Certificate of Authenticity (COA), it’s time to request your license file. The license file contains installation codes required to correctly install the software. You can send all of your license requests, transfers, or questions to licenses@cimetrix.com.

Please list your MAC ID and indicate one of the following to activate your license:

• Purchase Order Number
• Sales Order Number
• Certificate of Authenticity Number

If a license transfer is what you are looking for instead, then please send your “Old” MAC ID along with your “New” MAC ID to complete the transfer.

If you are not sure where to find your MAC ID, then please use the following steps:

1. Go to the “Start” menu on the computer you want to license
2. Click “Run”
3. Inside the Open box type “cmd” then press OK
4. At this point a Command/DOS/Shell window should pop-up
5. Type “ipconfig –all” Then press Enter
6. You can either take a screen shot here or type in the information that corresponds to the
7. Physical Address of the primary network card.

Now that we have all of your information your license file will be emailed to you within the one business day.

See, it’s almost as easy as 1..2..3! If you are still unsure about any of these steps, please feel free to contact us at licenses@cimetrix.com or call 801-256-6500.

by Ryoko Fukushima
Application Engineer

Computers, cell phones, video games, internet, online banking, etc., we live in a brave new world of technologies. It is true that these technologies have improved our lives tremendously. But, when things stop working or you have questions outside of the information found in a manual, who ya gonna call?

Tech Support !!!
(If you whispered “Ghostbusters” in your mind secretly, give yourself a little pat on the back and pull your legwarmers from your closet.)

Cimetrix Support works very hard to give the best support to our customers. Since this spring, I began working as one of support engineers. After handling various cases, I began to feel more and more like a CSI, than a support engineer. Most often, I spend my time gathering enough information to formulate a logical explanation and solution for an issue reported by the customer.

From a customer’s perspective, this adds more time until incident resolution. So, I thought I could save our customers any unnecessary delays and headaches by providing insight on how to expedite the technical support process.

In order to have your issue effectively handled and solved in a speedy matter, please provide the critical pieces of information listed below to your support engineer:

• Version of Product(s) you are using
• An output file produced by Support Tool
• Product Log Files (i.e. log files generated by CIMPortal, CIMConnect, etc.)
• EPJ file (for CIMConnect/CIM300 User)
• A details instruction for how to reproduce your issue
• A stand-alone application reproducing the your issue

As a member of the Cimetrix Quality Customer Support team, my goal is to serve as an extension of your engineering department, partnering with you to efficiently solve all incidents. Working together, I am sure that we can get you back on track in no time.

Now remember, if there's something weird and it don't look good...
Who ya gonna call?

+1 801-256-6501

Cimetrix Quality Customer Support 

This week, SEMICON Japan 2009 will be invading the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. The largest international exhibition of semiconductor equipment and materials, vistors can expect over 1500 exhibiting companies as well as co-organized events including the SEMI Technology Symposium (STS). SEMICON Japan takes place Wednesday, December 2 - Friday, December 4.Exhibits will be open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

We hope to see you there!

At Cimetrix, we are always looking to improve the customer experience. We also are constantly looking for means for improving efficiency and – especially this year – cutting costs.

Well, all three of these objectives converge in our decision to implement a new phone system. We chose to go with a hosted VoIP system. Not only is this the most cost efficient option, it also allows for flexibility – integrating email, faxing, conferencing, and voice mail into one application. Internally, it allows us to more efficiently manage incoming calls, make employees more productive and reduce the wait time callers experience to be connected to their desired party.

From a customer’s perspective, this also means:

• Since users can take their VoIP adapters everywhere, Cimetrix team members are available while traveling at the same number that you would reach them while at the office.
• With call forwarding and call following capabilities, your single call gets routed to the desired party regardless of whether or not he/she is at the office.
• After hours, you will be provided a dial-by-name directory so that you can leave a message for a specific Cimetrix staff member. Also, for those employees that choose to route their calls outside of normal business hours, you may be able to reach the desired individual outside of the office.

Please note that the Cimetrix main offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday this week to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. However, with the new phone system in place, you will be able to dial-by-directory to leave a message for a specific employee and/or for those that have chosen to route calls to their home or cell phone, may be able to still reach specific staff members.

We hope that callers have a more pleasant experience with this new system in place and welcome any feedback. Please direct questions and comments to deann.rowan@cimetrix.com.

… and Happy Thanksgiving!

By Jodi Juretich,
Chief Financial Officer

You might be thinking, “What does healthcare costs have to do with a factory automation and equipment control software solutions company?” Well, directly, not much but indirectly, it’s one of many benefits that play a role in retaining and attracting talented employees.

Gone are the good old days where 100% employer paid benefits were the norm. The average health-care cost for a family plan now costs roughly $13,000 a year and employees are paying anywhere from 25% to 50% of that cost. Multiply that times the number of employees in your company and, well, you get the idea. And that’s only health care. There are other benefits such as life, disability, dental, vision and workman’s comp, to mention a few. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2009 Employer Benefits Survey, health insurance premiums have increased by 138% over the last decade. With increases like that, an employer has to be smart on designing health plans to keep their employees focused on their jobs and not stressing about how they are going to pay for health care.

Your typical health care plans have co-pays, out of pocket maximums and life time maximums and all of these options, depending on how they are designed, can drive the premiums way up. If your company is paying attention to these options, they can manage the cost by implementing a Health Reimbursement Account Plan (“HRA”) to supplement, for example, higher out of pocket maximums. A strategy like this is designed so the employee does not feel the financial burden if they fall in to that very small population of hitting their out of pocket maximum in a plan year. Why pay a higher premium that caters to the whole population when only a very small percentage will use that part of the benefit.This approach saves the employee money by reducing employee share of the monthly premiums. It saves the company money by reducing its overall expenses which directly impacts a company’s ability to maintain competitive pricing to its customers and ultimately drives the company’s EPS and shareholder value.

At Cimetrix, we take very seriously the retention of our key employees and understand that a competitive benefits package plays an important role in that process. Our team is our most valuable asset, providing you – the customer – with the highest quality support, services and solutions. With sound financial planning, we can create a program in which both the company and the employees win.

Next time your benefits are up for renewal, ask your employer if they have a financially smart plan design for healthcare costs.

Industry organizations, such as SEMI and ISMI, have been touting the benefits of the Interface A, also known as EDA, standards for years. This year, SEMI approved an important revision to these standards to incorporate many of the lessons learned from early implementations. In addition, SEMATECH member companies (which make up 50 percent of the worldwide chip market) wanted ISMI to focus on a smaller number of projects with short-term benefits for 2009. Interface A (EDA) is on this short list.

Want to learn more?

Cimetrix is hosting a FREE webinar outlining the features and benefits of the Interface A standards. The material will be presented by Doug Rust, Director of Quality Customer Support and co-chair of the SEMI North America GEM300 Task Force.

FREE WEBINAR: Interface A Features & Benefits
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Time: 8:00 am MST/ 7:00 am PST/ 10:00 am EST/ 3:00 pm GMT
Duration: 1 hour

• The key features & benefits of Interface A
• Data & reporting features available through Interface A
• The role of Interface A in manufacturing

By Jentry Norse
AP/ AR Coordinator

As the Accounts Receivable Coordinator, people are not typically excited to hear from me. I’m a really nice guy and all… but usually, if you receive a call from me it’s about a past due invoice. And who likes receiving those calls?

Fortunately, we have very few past due accounts…and haven’t had to use a collection agency (although I get about 2 calls a month soliciting their services). With the industry slowly coming out of this slump, I myself have been pretty amazed at how open the lines of communication have been with the accounts payable departments of many of our customers.

In my opinion, communication is KEY. I rarely have to wait more than a day for a response to my collection efforts and feel like everyone is a little more aware of the need to know when payments can be expected especially during this difficult economy.

As much as I love talking to people, I feel the need to provide you (our customers) with some tips on how NOT to get a call from me (or how to not to continue to get calls from me):

1. Note your terms on each invoice and submit payment as soon as possible.
2. Make sure that you are sending your electronic payments to our new bank account (effective May 21, 2008). A memo was sent out last year; however, bank account information can be provided if you do not have it already.
3. We review our accounts receivables weekly and send out inquiries requesting payment status updates. If you receive one of these requests, please send a simple response letting us know when the invoice in question is scheduled for payment.
4. If we do not hear from you……..we will keep inquiring until we do.
5. We understand that many of you have to check with your purchasing departments and/or Project Coordinators and need a day or two to get back with us. We also realize your time is valuable and want you to know we appreciate your efforts and look forward to your correspondence.

If you have any questions (and would like to contact ME), please contact me directly at 801-256-6617 or jentry.nourse@cimetrix.com.

THANKS to the Accounts Payable / Purchasing departments of our many customers for their AWESOME communication! Your quick and friendly responses make my collection calls much easier.