Customized EFEM Configuration Updates
Worked on 6 customized EFEM configuration updates based on client requirements, including layout adaptation, component updates, and assembly-level integration.
ENGINEERING CASE STUDY
EFEM CAD R&D
CAD adaptation, assembly integration, engineering drawings, BOM, PDM, and ECO support for customized EFEM wafer-handling equipment.
Customized EFEM CAD R&D Workflow
Non-confidential schematic for portfolio storytelling
Overview
Semiconductor automation · CAD · mechanical integration
Before starting graduate school in the U.S., I worked full-time as a Mechanical R&D Engineer in the Mechanical Technology R&D Department at Gallant Precision Machining. My work focused on customized EFEM wafer-handling equipment for semiconductor automation.
I worked across CAD modeling, assembly integration, engineering drawings, BOM updates, SolidWorks PDM operations, and ECO release workflows. The role involved both modifying existing designs and creating company-made components, while also integrating outsourced parts into larger machine assemblies.
Beyond CAD, I participated in meetings with clients and vendors, discussed customization requirements, and observed parts of the physical EFEM assembly process. This gave me a clearer view of how mechanical design decisions move from CAD files to manufacturing, assembly, and final delivery.
What I Worked On
Selected responsibilities
Part Modeling & Assembly Integration
Created CAD models for company-made components and integrated outsourced parts into machine assemblies using SolidWorks assembly constraints and version control.
5-Port to 3-Port / 2-Port Conversion
Worked on EFEM layout conversion tasks, including 5-port to 3-port and 5-port to 2-port configurations, with attention to fit, constraints, and customer specifications.
Drawings, BOM, PDM & ECO
Created and revised engineering drawings, updated BOM information, managed part numbers and drawing numbers, and supported ECO release workflows through SolidWorks PDM.
Interference & Clearance Checking
Used SolidWorks tools to check interference and clearance issues around EFEM assemblies, robot-area components, covers, frames, mounts, sensors, cable routing parts, and other mechanical interfaces.
Client / Vendor Coordination
Participated in meetings with clients and vendors to understand customization needs, coordinate component usage, review design updates, and discuss how individual parts connected to the full machine.
From CAD update to release
How design changes moved through drawings, BOM, PDM, and ECO workflows.
CAD Update
Modify existing parts or create company-made components in SolidWorks.
Assembly Check
Integrate outsourced parts and check mates, clearance, and interference.
Drawing / BOM
Revise engineering drawings, part numbers, materials, quantities, and drawing numbers.
PDM / ECO
Check files through PDM, open ECOs, organize release data, and support review.
Build Support
Released updates moved into manufacturing, assembly, and shipment support.
Tools & Workflow
CAD, documentation, and release process
SolidWorks
Used SolidWorks for part modeling, assemblies, mates, configurations, drawings, interference detection, and mechanical layout adaptation.
SolidWorks PDM
Worked with check-in / check-out, version control, drawing management, and released design data inside a structured engineering workflow.
BOM Management
Updated part numbers, material information, quantities, drawing numbers, and related BOM entries to support consistency across design changes.
ECO Process
Opened ECOs, revised drawings, organized BOM-related information, and supported review workflows before release.
Selected Impact
Confirmed outcomes
The work supported 6 customized EFEM configuration updates and included both 5-port to 3-port and 5-port to 2-port conversion tasks.
I also helped clean up and standardize legacy engineering drawing formats and part-numbering inconsistencies left from earlier CAD files. This made the design data easier to manage across drawings, BOM updates, PDM records, and ECO workflows.
Several of the updated configurations and drawings moved into manufacturing, assembly, and shipment, which made the work feel directly connected to real product execution.
I Learned
What this role trained me to think about
CAD is not just modeling. This role taught me that CAD work in a real engineering environment also means managing constraints, assembly logic, drawings, BOMs, revisions, and communication across teams.
Customization changes everything. Since the EFEM machines were adapted for different customer requirements, I learned to think through how one design change could affect layout, part compatibility, assembly, and documentation.
Mechanical integration is about details. Clearance, cable routing, sensor placement, covers, frames, mounts, maintenance access, and assembly feasibility all had to be considered. Missing those details could make a design difficult or impossible to build.
I Enjoyed
The part that fit the way I like to work
I enjoyed the problem-solving side of this role. Many tasks were not about designing from a blank page, but about making different parts, constraints, and customer requirements fit together inside an existing machine system.
I also liked seeing the connection between CAD and the physical machine. Observing assembly made the work feel more real, because I could see how drawings, part numbers, interference checks, and small design decisions affected the actual build process.