How We’re Making Our Manufacturing Floor Virtually Perfect

• AR and VR are helping the company shift left and ramp for the $1 trillion industry
• Lam's adoption of immersive technologies is expected to beat today's KPIs by 20%

Driving the news: With the semiconductor industry projected to reach $1 trillion by 2030, Pilot Manufacturing is welcoming a new era, using extended reality (XR) technologies to transform our pilot operations at headquarters.

• This project is being overseen by Sunil Naren, staff manufacturing engineer, Pilot Manufacturing Engineering, under the direction of Evan Mcmasters, director, Global Manufacturing, and Balraj Sadanandan, director, Pilot Operations.

What it is: XR includes immersive technologies that blend the physical and virtual worlds, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Initially, this project emerged to identify ergonomic and accessibility challenges within the virtual build process. However, the team has seen success in other areas as positive byproducts of this initiative.

Why it matters: XR helps us shift left in the product development lifecycle, allowing us to move faster for our customers, reduce costs, and be better prepared for the next ramp.

By the numbers: With the introduction of AR and VR, the team aims to beat today's key performance indicators by 20% including:

• Reducing assembly technician ramp up time;
• Decreasing test technician ramp up time;
• Increasing the number of assembly and test technicians; and
• Reducing technicians retraining time.

Dig deeper:

Faster product transition and virtual build detectability. VR helps us shift left in the product development lifecycle by identifying issues early in the virtual build phase, preventing potential challenges that may arise during manufacturing.

• Through immersive design reviews, early feedback and iteration is encouraged, enhancing product quality and reducing defects before they reach the manufacturing floor.

Increased safety. VR technology helps detect early ergonomic issues and reduce the number of accidents on the floor.

• Traditionally, identifying ergonomic risks required physical tool prototypes to assess assembly processes as there wasn't an alternative to replicating actual assembly scenarios. However, virtual assembly simulations have now become feasible with VR.
  
• These simulations provide data that is fed into ergonomic software, ensuring compliance to SEMI S8 Standards and OSHA NIOSH guidelines. Previously, subjective ergonomic assessments now rely on objective risk evaluations derived from VR simulations.

Your browser does not support the video tag.VR technology evaluates risk in real-time, using color-coded indicators on the body to represent different risk levels: green for low risk, yellow for moderate risk, and red for high risk.

Reduced costs. Identifying design problems in the virtual build stage saves us from spending on material cost.

Factory ramp up. Lam's tools demand significant time, experience, and skill during assembly. AR overlays real-time instructions during a tool build, reducing a technician's learning curve and enabling faster tool assembly and streamlined upskilling.

Matt Logan, senior manager, Pilot Engineering, using AR in the Fremont Pilot Lab.

Remote factory qualifications. AR helps to expedite high volume manufacturing transitions while enhancing quality and reducing defects at both the customer and early factory engagement sites.

Technician retention and attraction. Young talent is increasingly drawn to companies pioneering innovative technologies in their operations. A report from KPMG suggests that millennials and Gen Z exhibit high levels of excitement about the metaverse, with rates of 69% and 61%, respectively. AR and VR play a crucial role in attracting and retaining the next generation of talent.

What we're hearing:

• "We stand at a pivotal moment, as there are near endless opportunities that can be realized by complementing the skill and innovation of today's manufacturing workforce with the power derived from integrating AR/VR into our operations," says Tim Cooper, managing director of Manufacturing. "Value derived from these opportunities will quickly outpace even the optimistic projections we have today."
  
• "A key part of Lam's speed to market strategy is to more engineering in the virtual space," says Evan Mcmasters. "XR technologies will allow us to do more new product development and validation in the 3D design space to accelerate them into the market."

What's next: The team is in the process of establishing a VR lab at our Tualatin campus and has plans to roll-out this technology to other manufacturing sites in Villach, Malaysia, and Korea.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this article that are not of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to but are not limited to: market and industry expectations; the potential growth and market size of the semiconductor industry; the future performance and results of our adoption of immersive technologies; our ability to meet and exceed key performance indicators; and the potential opportunities presented by augmented and virtual reality and our ability to capitalize on such opportunities. Some factors that may affect these forward-looking statements include: trade regulations, export controls, trade disputes, and other geopolitical tensions may inhibit our ability to sell our products; business, political and/or regulatory conditions in the consumer electronics industry, the semiconductor industry and the overall economy may deteriorate or change; the actions of our customers and competitors may be inconsistent with our expectations; supply chain cost increases and other inflationary pressures have impacted and may continue to impact our profitability; supply chain disruptions or manufacturing capacity constraints may limit our ability to manufacture and sell our products; and natural and human-caused disasters, disease outbreaks, war, terrorism, political or governmental unrest or instability, or other events beyond our control may impact our operations in affected areas; as well as the other risks and uncertainties that are described in the documents filed or furnished by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including specifically the Risk Factors described in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. These uncertainties and changes could materially affect the forward-looking statements and cause actual results to vary from expectations in a material way. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information or statements made in this article.

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