MKS Showcases Controls Workbench Software at SEMICON West
MKS Instruments, a global provider of technologies that enable advanced processes and improve productivity, introduced and demonstrated Controls Workbench (CWB) software at Semicon West, 2016.
CWB provides a single interface for controlling, tuning, monitoring, and configuring, multiple MKS controllers, including the MKS Automation Platform and the MultiTherm product family. CWB leverages multivariate analytics for advanced auto tuning that improves process performance compared to existing tuning approaches. Ideal for vacuum and temperature control applications, CWB features user customizable dashboards that allow for easy process visualization and remote process control.
When used with MultiTherm products, Controls Workbench software provides support for advanced options that include model-based temperature control, cascading loops and PID gain scheduling. It communicates to MKS devices such as mass flow controllers (MFCs) and capacitance manometers using Modbus TCP/IP, enabling Ethernet communication to all compatible devices, while enabling custom visualizations with device specific views and charts for individual processes or across an entire plant or fab. Controls Workbench software offers built-in data logging, charting, and data exporting; advanced process diagnostic capabilities; incorporation of PLC and IEC 61131-3 projects and recipes; and the ability to remotely activate, pause or stop process routines.