Bosch News: State-of-the-art semiconductor factory opened in Dresden
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Bosch news: The Bosch Group is based in Dresden today one of the most modern chip factories in the world solemnly opened. The largest single investment in Bosch's more than 130-year history is fully connected, data-driven, and self-optimizing. The highly automated machines and the integrated processes are equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI) or methods of Artificial intelligence (AI) combined.
Contents
- Angela Merkel on the new semiconductor factory
- Virtual tour through the new wafer production
- Production starts earlier than planned
- Chips for lifestyle and road traffic
The grand opening took place in the virtual presence of Federal Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel, Vice President of the EU Commission Margrethe Vestager and Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer.
Angela Merkel on the new semiconductor factory
“The new Bosch semiconductor factory strengthens our capacities in the field of microelectronics. Microelectronics is the basis for almost every promising technology for Applications of Artificial Intelligence, for quantum computing or for autonomous and networked driving - which is also Bosch's specialty, ”said Chancellor dr Angela Merkel.
“The new factory is the largest Single investment in the company's history. It cannot be emphasized enough. The size and the additional production capacities are impressive. State-of-the-art possibilities for data-controlled continuous production improvement characterize the Dresden plant as an intelligent factory. In other words: Here natural and artificial intelligence enter into a productive symbiosis with the Internet of Things. "
“It is of strategic importance for Bosch to develop and manufacture semiconductors itself as a core technology. With the help of artificial intelligence, we are taking the production of semiconductors to a new level in Dresden, ”said dr Volkmar Denner, Chairman of the Board of Management of Robert Bosch GmbH. “We are opening our first AIoT factory in Dresden.” Bosch is investing around one billion euros in the high-tech location.
Virtual tour through the new wafer production
Production starts earlier than planned
Production in Dresden even starts half a year earlier than planned in July 2021. The semiconductors produced here will then be used for Bosch power tools. For the needs of the auto industry, chip production starts three months earlier than planned in September.
“The new chip factory is good for Europe, for Germany and for Saxony. This is linked directly and indirectly to many new jobs in a huge growth industry. The billion-dollar investment strengthens Silicon Saxony and the entire European semiconductor industry, ”said Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer. Today around 250 people work in the semiconductor factory in the Saxon state capital on an area of 72.000 m². The number of employees by the final expansion phase of the site is expected to increase to 700.
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As the only one Automotive Bosch has been working intensively on microelectronics since the 1950s. The supplier has been producing semiconductors itself since 1958. In Reutlingen, special components have been manufactured since 1970 that are not available on the market. Since the introduction of the 200 mm technology in 2010, the company has invested more than 2,5 billion euros in its semiconductor production facilities in Dresden and Reutlingen. Further investments in the billions are added for the development of microelectronics.
Industry 4.0 with AI and IoT
Machines that think Maintenance from a distance of 9000 kilometers, Glasses with built-in cameras: all of this makes up the modern semiconductor factory. "Thanks to the combination of AI (artificial intelligence) and the IoT (Internet of Things), we create the basis for data-driven, continuous improvement in production," says Dr. Denner.
Specifically, this means: everyone Semiconductor factory data from Sensors, Products and systems are collected in a central data store. This data is then evaluated using AI methods. Self-optimizing algorithms learn to derive predictions from the data. Production and maintenance processes can be analyzed in real time. The AI algorithm recognizes z. B. The smallest abnormalities on the products that are visible on the wafers through specific error images, so-called signatures. The causes are analyzed immediately and process deviations are corrected immediately.
"Artificial intelligence is the key to further improving manufacturing processes and the quality of semiconductors and to achieving a high degree of process stability, ”explained the Bosch boss. This leads to the rapid start of series production of semiconductor products and saves customers time-consuming tests, as they are usually carried out e.g. B. in the Automotive industry are necessary for the release of a new production.
Auch Maintenance can be optimized with AI. Algorithms make precise predictions as to whether and when a machine or that will be installed Robot have to be serviced or readjusted. The work takes place exactly when it is necessary.
Double work thanks to digital twin
The new semiconductor plant is available twice, once in the real and once in the digital world. All parts of the factory and all relevant structural data for the entire factory were digitally recorded during the construction phase and visualized in the form of a three-dimensional model. The Digital twin consists of around half a million 3D objects. This allows process optimization or modification work to be simulated without having to intervene in ongoing production.
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High-tech is also used for maintenance work in the factory: Via AR (Augmented Reality) and data glasses machines can be serviced remotely. Specialists from a system manufacturer in Asia can do the maintenance work in Dresden without having to be on site. The Camera of data glasses transmits video images halfway around the world. The expert in Asia guides the employee in Dresden through the maintenance process in real time. This technology made a decisive contribution to being able to put the machines into operation despite the travel restrictions imposed by Corona.
Chips for lifestyle and road traffic
Semiconductors are in the form of microchips In almost every technical device and without semiconductors, there is no longer a car. In 2016, every new vehicle worldwide had an average of more than nine chips from Bosch on board, such as in airbag control units, braking systems or parking assistants. That almost doubled in 2019, when it was more than 17.
The strongest increases see the specialists in the next few years in driver assistance systems, infotainment and electrification of the drive. Bosch is responding to this increased demand with its new chip factory in Dresden. “Semiconductors are the building blocks of progress. Electronic componentsthat are equipped with the chips from Dresden enable applications such as automated and resource-saving driving as well as the best possible occupant protection, ”said Harald Kroeger, Managing Director of Robert Bosch GmbH. Surveys confirm this growth: In 1998 the value was still microelectronics in a new car 120 euros. In 2018 this value was already 500 euros, and in 2023 it is expected to exceed 600 euros (source: ZVEI). This means that semiconductors are also a growth area for Bosch.
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After comparing cities around the world, Bosch chose Dresden as the location for its new semiconductor factory. The Silicon Saxony is Europe's largest location for microelectronics and the fifth largest in the world. Every third chip produced in Europe is manufactured here.
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