A vacuum chuck system may include a vacuum chuck and a vacuum stopper collection and dispensing system. The vacuum chuck may include a ceramic plate with a retaining surface. The retaining surface may include a plurality of depressions and a plurality of openings, each of the openings being disposed on a bottom surface of one of the depressions and fluidly coupled to a vacuum pump. Vacuum stoppers may be used to seal one or more of the openings so as to restrict the vacuum area of the vacuum chuck. The vacuum stopper collection and dispensing system may be used to collect vacuum stoppers from and dispense vacuum stoppers onto the retaining surface. In addition or in the alternative, an electromagnet or a robotic arm may be used to move a vacuum stopper from a blocking position to a non-blocking position on the retaining surface.

The present invention relates to a suction device, including a body. A cavity is disposed in the body. The cavity has a closed end face and an open end face. The open end face forms an end face to suck a workpiece. A tangential nozzle is disposed on a sidewall surface of the cavity. An external fluid enters the cavity through the tangential nozzle along a tangential direction of the cavity. A suction hole is disposed on the closed end face. The suction hole is connected to a suction unit. The suction unit sucks the fluid in the cavity through the suction hole. The suction device can suck a workpiece by using both a rotational flow negative pressure and a negative suction pressure of a fluid in the cavity, and therefore can suppress impact of a workpiece surface on a suction force and generate a larger suction force.

A cutting support for a cutting machine suitable for supporting a strip to be cut. The cutting support includes: a frame with L-shaped cross-section, having a horizontal element and a vertical element, retaining elements suitable for retaining the strip toward the vertical element of the frame, and a stop panel having an inner surface facing the vertical element of the frame and an outer surface facing a lateral side of the strip. The retaining elements include at least one suction cup displaced on the outer surface of the stop panel and a pneumatic connection connected to the at least one suction cup and suitable for being connected to a suction device.

An apparatus comprising a heating unit and a support device is disclosed which apparatus is designed to place a controlled amount of heat into a very localized area of a substrate of interest. The substrate of interest here is intended to be a portion of a large structure [such as the portion of a ship]. The heating unit comprises a heat source and the necessary structure to closely control the heat applied to the substrate of interest. The support device supports the heating unit directly over the substrate of interest and permits the system to be secured to one surface of the substrate of interest in a removable and non-destructive manner. The support device has legs which have securing means on the bottom thereof to secure the system to one surface of the substrate of interest in a releasable and non-destructible way.

Working unit (1) for realizing holes (H) in a slab material (L) and for machining the inner side of the holes (H) thus formed, comprising a work table (2), at least one tool (4, 6) mounted on a motorized spindle, fixed means (8) for supporting the slab (L) and at least one support device (10) comprising a hollow element (11) intended to engage with a slab portion (P). The support device (10) comprises a top portion (12) movable at least between a raised position in which the slab portion (P) is coplanar with the slab (L) and a lowered position in which the slab portion (P) is lowered with respect to the slab (L) and therefore the hole (H) is free of the slab portion (P). The support device (10) comprises means (14) for locking the movable top portion (12) at least in the lowered position.

A stage for cutting a substrate includes: a body member; a plurality of first discharging members, each including a first suction portion in the body member and a first partition wall portion connected to the first suction portion and protruding from a top surface of the body member, each of the first discharging members defining a first space connected to an outside; a plurality of second discharging members, each including a second suction portion in the body member and a second partition wall portion connected to the second suction portion and protruding from the top surface of the body member, each of the second discharging members defining a second space connected to the outside; a plurality of connecting pipes each connected to the first partition wall portion and the second partition wall portion; and a plurality of supply pipes connected to the connecting pipes.

A wafer bonding apparatus including: a first chuck in a processing chamber, the first chuck being configured to hold a first wafer, the first chuck including: a chuck body, and a tunable stiffness layer including a plurality of actuators, the plurality of actuators including a tunable stiffness material, the tunable stiffness layer being disposed below the chuck body; a controller configured to send control signals to one or more of the plurality of actuators; and a vacuum line on the chuck body configured to apply a vacuum pressure from a vacuum pump to the first wafer; and a second chuck in the processing chamber, the second chuck being configured to hold a second wafer to be bonded with the first wafer; and where a stiffness of the plurality of actuators is configured to change based on the control signals from the controller.

In one embodiment, a spoilboard gasket tile system for increased work-hold vacuum pressure is provided. In particular, a universal work-hold gasketing solution is defined for vacuum table machining processes that can be used in a variety of sizes and applications, where the surface of a porous spoilboard (e.g., MDF/LDF or a porous plastic) is covered by a non-porous gasketing sheet (e.g., an adhesive foam layer) that is configured with a plurality of spaced apertures (holes) sized and located to create a corresponding plurality of focused vacuum passageways to suction clamp any workpiece placed thereon. In one particular embodiment, the spoilboard with gasketing are prepared as an interchangeable tile unit, allowing for dynamic configuration and reconfiguration of an array of spoilboard gasket tiles to cover a vacuum table, as well as for replacement of specific tiles as needed based on localized wear of the tiles.

The invention relates to a substrate holder device at least including at least one control valve and at least one substrate holder with a substrate holder surface and a substrate holder rear side. Furthermore, the invention relates to bonding device and a method for bonding.

A machine and a wafer processing apparatus are provided; the machine includes a body and an adjustment part. The body is configured to bear a wafer; the adjustment part is disposed in the body, and the adjustment part uses a vacuum suction to adjust a levelness of an in-process wafer.