A three DOF SCARA arm, adapted for transporting semiconductor wafers, includes an end-effector assembly at a distal joint of the arm. In one configuration, the end-effector turns a workpiece over. The arm includes a support column having an open column assembly that projects above a base. Within the assembly, a Z-axis drive energizes extension and retraction of a hollow tube carried by the support column. A shaft, rotatable about the Z-axis and having a distal end furthest from the support column's base, receives an arm assembly. An arm-assembly rotary-drive energizes the shaft's rotation. An arm base-plate, secured to the shaft's distal end, supports the arm assembly therefrom. The arm base-plate carries a wrist joint that is displaced from the Z-axis, and receives the end-effector whose rotation about a wrist-joint axis is energized by an end-effector rotary-drive.
A SCARA robot has a robot console, a first robot arm articulated on the robot console and swivelable about a first swivel axis, a second swivel arm articulated on the first swivel arm and swivelable around the second swivel axis extending substantially parallel to the first swivel axis, at least one work unit, at least one first swivel motor for swiveling an arm unit composed of the first and second robot arms relative to the robot console, at least one second swivel motor for turning the second robot arm relative to the first robot arm, and at least one work motor for actuating the work unit, with the motors being controllable by a power electronics, with electrical circuits including convertor circuits for current supply of the motors and at least one control circuit for operating the convertor circuits and thereby for controlling the motors, and with at least one rectifier circuit being received in at least one robot arm.
The invention includes multi-station workpiece processors, methods of processing semiconductor workpieces within multi-station workpiece processors, and methods of moving semiconductor workpieces within multi-station workpiece processors. In one implementation, a multi-station workpiece processor includes a processing chamber comprising multiple stations for processing individual workpieces. A pedestal is associated with individual of the stations. The pedestals are mounted for selective vertical up movement within the chamber to contact a workpiece and for selective vertical down movement within the chamber to be displaced from a workpiece. The pedestals respectively comprise an upper surface upon which an individual workpiece is received during processing within the chamber. At least one workpiece engagement arm is associated with individual of the pedestals. The workpiece engagement arms are movable between a position received at least partially over individual of the pedestals and a position displaced away from over all of the pedestals. Other aspects are contemplated.
The present invention provides an industrial robot which can reduce torque required for driving an object to be moved. By providing a third reduction device and a third driving device separately, the dimension in the third axial direction of the third reduction device can be reduced, thus the distance from a second axis to an end effecter can be decreased. As such, the torque required for a first driving device and a second driving device to rotate and drive the end effecter can be reduced. Accordingly, even when the weight of the end effecter is increased, an increase of the torque required for the first driving device and the second driving device can be suppressed. Therefore, a higher speed operation can be achieved as compared with the conventional industrial robot.
