ETEL | Top Motion Control Systems Company in APAC 2020
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ETEL



A Turnkey Solution Provider for High Precision Motion Technologies

Hervé Stämpfli, Product Manager, ETELHervé Stämpfli, Product Manager
In a historic event, on 9th March 2015, a fully solar-powered airplane, Solar Impulse 2, started its journey to circumnavigate the entire globe. With more than 500 hours of airtime, the aircraft marks a remarkable achievement for the aviation industry and the idea to bring attention toward clean energy as a technical driving force. Weighing about 2.3 tons, the Solar Impulse 2 was designed to have an optimum performance-per-weight ratio, so every component, down to the smallest of screws, was made to be as light as possible. Propelling the plane in the sky was the electrical motors from a Switzerland-based company ETEL that creates state-of-the-art solutions in the high precision and dynamic motion technologies. “Delivering such efficient motors with enormous reliability requirement, which was capable of sustaining very harsh climate conditions (-40°to +60°C) was one of the biggest challenges for us,” says Hervé Stämpfli, Product Manager, Motion Systems at ETEL. He further adds, “When you think about it, besides the motor development, it is amazing to see that more than 80 percent of the semiconductor chips embedded in the electronic devices of the Solar Impulse 2 were also tested in their manufacturing line on machines equipped with ETEL products!”

Established in 1974, ETEL provides a range of linear motors, torque motors, position controllers, motion controllers, and motion systems that helps to meet the process improvement requirements of machine builders. The company has carved a niche in the direct drive technology landscape and delivers solutions ranging from high-end motion systems with nanometer precision to machine tool applications requiring high torque density together with high speed. “We are the only motion system supplier in the world that provides a comprehensive turnkey solution, which includes a motion system with the controls, isolation system, frame, and everything that connects the motion system to the floor,” states Stämpfli. Meanwhile, when other solution providers fail to provide an accurate system together with high throughput, ETEL’s solutions offer immaculate position accuracy with no compromise on throughput that reduces the cost of ownership of machines to a great extent.

Started as a motor company, ETEL today leads the future of high precision and high dynamic motion technologies in industries such as electronics and semiconductors that have stringent product requirements for motion systems.


We are the only motion system supplier in the world that provides a comprehensive turnkey solution, which includes a motion system with the controls, isolation systems, frames, and everything that connects the motion system to the floor

For instance, in the semiconductor industry, the company offers solutions in the nanometer level for the validation of lithographic processes, wafer process control, including overlay, thin-film, and critical dimensions metrology, as well as inspection and defect review equipment, and others on the front end side. Also, on the backend side, ETEL offers complete solutions for flip-chip and wire bonders as well as testing handlers for the company performing final tests on the packages, which are then integrated into the production line. “Moving testing handlers from conventional cam-based to direct drive technology allowed to increase the machine throughput by a factor of 4+ over 15 years, from 15 kUPH to 70 kUPH,” informs Stämpfli. Besides, the company develops various critical components for other industries as well that includes standalone products and highly integrated platforms.

When ETEL came up with the direct-drive motors, there was a lack of controllers, which hampered the performance of these motors significantly. This prompted the company to develop its controllers to operate the motors at its maximum efficiency. The architecture of ETEL’s motion control solution is decentralized, sharing the control intelligence among the multiple AccurET controllers while having a unique UltimET motion controller synchronizing all controllers within a nanosecond jitter. This allows machine builders to manage direct drive motors with the highest performance in a minimal footprint. The UltimET solution is the motion controller that provides multiple ways to manage multi-axis movement according to the requirements. On the other hand, the AccurET solutions are position controllers that cover a wide range of voltage and current levels in a compact form factor and help to enhance the throughput of and movement quality on the machines. The position controllers contain integrated protection and diagnostics for detecting temperature, voltage, current, loss of feedback, and so on to help build reliable machines.

Additionally, ETEL developed its proprietary real-time, one-gigabit communication bus, TransnET that manages the real-time commands between the UltimET and AccurET controllers that can lead up to 63 motors at the same time. Also, built-in features such as thermal mapping applied to a thermally modeled motion system ensure highly stable positioning accuracy over time. Advanced triggers, fast position capture, trajectory optimization are some of the many other key features serving the high-end application requirements that ETEL deals with.

ETEL always challenges the conventional norms in the product design to come up with innovative products that speak volumes of the company’s value proposition and make it stand apart from other players in the market. One such instance is the recently launched TELICA platform, a dual gantry motion system featuring metrology at the process plane level, thus offering an outstanding 1 μmglobal positioning accuracy. “Semiconductor backend is more and more calling for front-end requirements in terms of accuracy enhancement, cleanroom compatibility, and vibration isolation. Hybrid bonding manufacturing processes for example now require some hundreds of nanometers positioning accuracy at high throughput. ETEL made it possible!” remarks Stämpfli. “The TELICA platform is a game-changer, offering a 10 minutes warm-up time to be back at a fully stable positioning accuracy level and full speed to be compared to a usual 60 minutes required on conventional systems,” Extols Stämpfli.

In 1999, ETEL was acquired by HEIDENHAIN, a leading manufacturer of precision measurement and control equipment with a global presence. This acquisition aimed to make ETEL, the motion system company of the HEIDENHAIN group, which opened new sales channels for ETEL through HEIDENHAIN’s subsidiaries. Furthermore, the company also has implemented the ETEL Technical Competence Center (ETCC) in all the major countries to support clients overcome any challenges and roadblocks.

The company has won several awards and accolades for its impeccable solutions, which among others include, the Technical Oscar Award –Motion systems in 2004 for the digitization of movies, the gold medal at Industrie tradeshow 2014 in Paris, and the Leap Award in 2019 for the Telica motion platform. Going forward, ETEL plans to further expand its product range and customer support by bringing new products and features, allowing a clear performance upgradability path in the field. Some of the notable developments are new innovative vibration isolation solutions, ISO2 clean compatible backend solutions, force control accuracy enhancement, high-end air bearing stage, multidimensional mapping to improve machine accuracy and yield, and further decrease cost of ownership.

- Ava Gracia
    March 24, 2020

Deep Dive

Advancing Precision In High Dynamic Motion Systems

Manufacturers operating at the forefront of semiconductor and advanced automation face a persistent tension between throughput and precision. Interconnect geometries continue to shrink below the micrometer scale, substrates increase in size and mass, and production lines are expected to sustain nanometer- level positioning stability over extended scanning cycles. Any degradation in motion performance directly affects yield, overlay accuracy and tool availability. For executives responsible for motion technology investments, the discussion is no longer about isolated components. It centers on who can assume responsibility for performance at the point where the process occurs. In this environment, a credible motion partner must control every layer that influences dynamic behavior. Motors, bearings, feedback systems, vibration isolation, structural frames and control electronics interact continuously. A stage optimized in isolation may underperform once integrated into a machine with external vibration sources, thermal drift or suboptimal feedback placement. Sustainable throughput and accuracy depend on an architecture that aligns mechanics, metrology and control bandwidth from the outset. Precision at the tool center point has become a defining benchmark. Mechanical stiffness alone cannot guarantee sub-100 nanometer positioning during long scan sequences. Direct metrology, positioned as close as possible to the process location, offers a more reliable path to dynamic accuracy. When multi-degree-of-freedom encoders measure motion in multiple axes simultaneously, they compensate for parasitic errors that accumulate in conventional stack- ups. This approach also preserves performance as payloads increase, such as the transition from 300 mm wafers to large panel formats. Control technology now plays an equally decisive role. Direct drive architectures eliminate transmission elements, but they demand higher control bandwidth, lower latency and superior signal integrity. Executives should expect controllers capable of fast encoder processing, deterministic communication and advanced filtering to suppress noise without sacrificing responsiveness. Functional safety certification at the highest levels is also essential in high- value fabrication environments where downtime carries significant financial impact. Throughput cannot be improved at the expense of jitter. Advanced packaging applications illustrate this balance clearly. One-micron interconnect dimensions imply positioning stability an order of magnitude tighter. Achieving that level historically required limiting power output, constraining acceleration or reducing productivity. The next generation of systems must deliver nanometer- level jitter while sustaining the force and speed required for heavy substrates and rapid cycling. Thermal stability and vibration management complete the picture. Larger chucks, warped substrates and integrated unwarping mechanisms increase system mass and thermal load. Active isolation, air or magnetic bearing technologies and integrated structural design are no longer optional enhancements. They are foundational to maintaining accuracy over hours of continuous operation. Within this context, ETEL represents a compelling benchmark. It has evolved from a motor specialist into a provider of fully integrated motion systems under its Full Forward Integration approach, assuming responsibility from frame and vibration isolation through direct drive stages and proprietary control. Its latest AccurET+ platform, officially launched in 2025, increases control bandwidth, reduces latency and supports Endat3 protocol compatibility, while TransnET provides deterministic 50 μs communication. The HDR option enables nanometer- level jitter even on high-power amplifiers. For lithography and advanced packaging, its forthcoming METIS HP full air bearing platform targets 100 nm class accuracy with sustained dynamic stability. Backed by Electronics Technical Competence Centers across key semiconductor regions, ETEL offers both technological depth and local support, making it a prudent choice for executives prioritizing precision, throughput and accountability in motion performance. ...Read more
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ETEL

Company
ETEL

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Hervé Stämpfli, Product Manager

Description
ETEL provides a range of linear motors, torque motors, position controllers, motion controllers, and motion systems that helps to meet the process improvement requirements of machine builders. The company has carved a niche in the direct drive technology landscape and delivers solutions ranging from high-end motion systems with nanometer precision, to machine tool applications, requiring high torque density together with high speed. Meanwhile, when other solution providers fail to provide an accurate system together with high throughput, ETEL’s solutions offer immaculate position accuracy with no compromise on throughput that reduces the cost of ownership of machines to a great extent