case study
Semiconductor and LED equipment supplier uses NX to achieve goal of building smart factories
Siemens Digital Industries Software solutions enable ASM Pacific Technology Ltd. to improve production efficiency and quality by 70 percent
ASM Pacific Technology
Founded in 1975, ASM Pacific Technology Ltd. delivers advanced semiconductor and LED manufacturing equipment to global chip manufacturers, IC assembly facilities, and consumer electronics companies.
https://www.asmpacific.com/en/
Headquarters: Shenzhen, China
Products: NX
Industry Sector: Electronics, Semiconductor Devices
Challenges
- Directly apply 3D product models to production/ manufacturing activities
- Capture design intent/consent without disconnecting design from manufacturing
- Transfer product design changes from the product development center to manufacturing
Keys to success
- Use NX CAM feature-based machining capability to read and identify PMI attached to 3D product models
- NX CAM integrated simulation and verification capability, ensuring one-time machining success rate in real machining processes
Results
- Improved ASM’s production efficiency and quality by 70 percent
- Established a machining programming process
- Realized smart identification of machining features
- Standardized machining process rules and automated creation of tool paths
- Improved accuracy and reliability of NC programming
- Achieved seamless connection between computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing
Our data shows that feature-based machining and PMI have increased ASM’s production efficiency and quality by 70%, significantly reducing time and effort.
Hu Dewen, Senior CAD/CAM Manufacturing Manager, ASM
Looking for solutions to keep pace with advancements in electronics technology
ASM Pacific Technology Ltd. (ASM) — the world’s largest supplier of semiconductor and LED manufacturing and assembly equipment — serves chip manufacturers, IC factories, and consumer electronics producers worldwide.
As electronics technology rapidly advances, upstream equipment manufacturers like ASM face the challenge of delivering increasingly complex systems within shorter development cycles.
Committed to innovation, ASM invests 10% of its annual sales revenue into product development. However, the company’s geographically distributed R&D centers and manufacturing sites across Asia and Europe introduced inefficiencies and disconnects between design, development, and production — creating a pressing need for better integration and collaboration.
Overcoming Challenges with NX CAM
ASM Pacific Technology faced significant challenges in connecting its design and manufacturing processes. Although the company had advanced 3D product models, they lacked the complete product and process information needed for seamless production use. As a result, manufacturing teams couldn’t fully capture design intent, and data flow between CAD and CAM systems remained fragmented.
Transferring design updates from R&D to the factory floor was time-consuming, slowing down production cycles. ASM quickly recognized the need for a fully integrated CAD/CAM environment to streamline operations, eliminate manual inefficiencies, and enhance both automation and productivity.
“Product development and production are the core parts of ASM,” explains Chen Lizhi, Director of ASM MIS Information and Telecommunications Technology. “We invest 10 percent of our sales in product development activities. With multiple development centers and factories worldwide, we wanted to completely eliminate connection issues between design and production. That’s why we decided to implement a unified, computerized manufacturing system using NX as our standard machining software platform.”
ASM began deploying NX CAM software from Siemens Digital Industries Software in 2000, rolling out over 100 licenses globally, including sites in Shenzhen, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Through this digital integration, ASM successfully elevated its manufacturing efficiency, automation, and overall productivity to a new level.
FBM Unlocks More Efficient Processes
The adoption of NX™ software has transformed ASM Pacific Technology’s manufacturing workflow, primarily through its Feature-Based Machining (FBM) capabilities. FBM eliminates traditional data barriers between design and production by allowing NX CAM to automatically read and interpret Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI) — including tolerances, surface finish, and precision data — directly from 3D product models.
Using this information, NX CAM automatically selects machining strategies, processes, and tools, while generating accurate NC programming instructions. This automation minimizes manual intervention, significantly reduces human error, and ensures greater consistency and accuracy across production.
FBM also enables seamless data transfer between CAD and CAM, automatically identifying part features and generating standardized NC programs for machining operations.
Additionally, ASM leverages the Integrated Simulation and Verification (ISV) tools in NX CAM to detect and resolve potential machining issues before they reach the shop floor. Engineers can now validate toolpaths and simulate material removal in a virtual 3D environment, using true G-code to replicate real machine tool behavior — including fixtures and cutting tools. This ensures first-time-right machining, improving productivity and reducing costly rework.
“NX CAM’s feature-based machining enables us to truly experience the seamless connection between CAD and CAM, allowing manufacturing to respond quickly to design changes and significantly shorten response times and time-to-market,”
says Hu Dewen, Senior CAD/CAM Manufacturing Manager at ASM.
“Our data shows that FBM and PMI have improved ASM’s production efficiency and quality by 70 percent, saving substantial time and resources.”
“NX CAM’s feature-based machining allows us to truly experience a seamless connection between CAD and CAM. It enables our manufacturing teams to respond faster to design changes, significantly shortening response times to customer requirements and accelerating time-to-market.”
Hu Dewen, Senior CAD/CAM Manufacturing Manager, ASM