ASML Q4 2022 financial results

Post by cactusplant7374 » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 11:29 PM UTC

nwiswell wrote: post #21

gallerdude wrote: post #16

Everyone talks about the machine that makes the chips, but I’ve never heard mentioned the machine that makes the machine that makes the chips. (I guess it’s probably just a bunch of regular machines, but it feels like there’s got to be some special sauce in there somewhere)

Mostly these machines are assembled from a combination of proprietary parts manufactured using regular machine tools by contract manufacturers, and from sub-units purchased from specialist suppliers. For example: proprietary parts including optics, wafer chucks, process chambers, structural panels, etc are manufactured to spec by contractors. Pumps, valves, motion control boxes, wafer robots, loadports, servers, etc…

Post by morpheos137 » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 11:55 PM UTC

Post by mgfist » Wed, Jan 25, 2023, 11:59 PM UTC

nwiswell wrote: post #21

gallerdude wrote: post #16

Everyone talks about the machine that makes the chips, but I’ve never heard mentioned the machine that makes the machine that makes the chips. (I guess it’s probably just a bunch of regular machines, but it feels like there’s got to be some special sauce in there somewhere)

Mostly these machines are assembled from a combination of proprietary parts manufactured using regular machine tools by contract manufacturers, and from sub-units purchased from specialist suppliers. For example: proprietary parts including optics, wafer chucks, process chambers, structural panels, etc are manufactured to spec by contractors. Pumps, valves, motion control boxes, wafer robots, loadports, servers, etc…

Post by markus_zhang » Thu, Jan 26, 2023, 12:02 AM UTC

cactusplant7374 wrote: post #31

nwiswell wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mostly these machines are assembled from a combination of proprietary parts manufactured using regular machine tools by contract manufacturers, and from sub-units purchased from specialist suppliers. For example: proprietary parts including optics, wafer chucks, process chambers, structural panels, etc are manufactured to spec by contractors. Pumps, valves, motion control boxes, wafer robots, loadports, servers, etc…

> There's not really any magic. I've read that it would take China at least 10 years to get to ASML's current level. It might not be magic but there must be a lot of unknowns when starting from scratch.

Post by markus_zhang » Thu, Jan 26, 2023, 12:05 AM UTC

nwiswell wrote: post #27

hashtag-til wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh come on… you just broke the myth I had on my mind for many years, that this company was some magical craftwork shop for mechanical parts. Anyway, nice to get a bit more realistic view. Thanks! Eager to hear more about the software, which I heard some crazy stuff about how it is engineered and tested.

Sorry :) I should not really say too much, but the software tends to be kind of a trainwreck. WFE companies are definitely engineering-first organizations, but software is a second-order concern in general since it is a check-the-box requirement rather than a truly differentiating product feature, and companies like Lam and AMAT which are headquartered in the Valley have serious trouble competing for software talent.…