Many fabs still run 150mm and 200mm tools that predate SECS/GEM, completely isolated from smart factory systems with no upgrade path. When fabs look to modernise these tools, they typically face two choices: replace them, or pay for an expensive retrofit.
NxSphere® DEX offers a third option, connecting to legacy equipment to capture data directly from the machine interface, with no changes to the hardware or software underneath. The tool keeps running exactly as it always has but now fabs can see what it is doing.
Why Legacy Equipment Is a Growing Connectivity Problem for Fabs
Many of these tools still run well mechanically, which is exactly why replacing them is such a hard call. A 150mm or 200mm tool that predates SECS/GEM was never built to expose its data through a standardised protocol, so whatever it produces stays locked inside the machine.
Upgrading or replacing it carries real cost and operational risk, particularly when the tool has years of reliable service left in it, and a full retrofit often means downtime that a busy floor cannot absorb.
However, modern data-oriented methods of running a factory floor with yield analysis, OEE tracking, and predictive maintenance programmes all depend on data the fab cannot collect from these tools. Fabs end up managing two classes of equipment: connected tools that report themselves automatically, and legacy equipment that only reports through an operator’s notes.
How NxSphere® DEX Captures Data Without Touching the Controller
NxSphere® DEX is a SECS/GEM communication software that reads a machine’s own display output over VGA or DVI, then uses OCR data capture to extract process data directly from the equipment’s user interface. Nothing connects to the controller itself. RPA-based automation emulates mouse and keyboard inputs to interact with the machine, which gives your team remote control over the tool without touching a single line of controller software.
Because the controller stays untouched, existing warranties, support agreements, and equipment certifications remain intact, removing one of the biggest objections fabs raise before connecting older tools to anything new.
What Fabs Can Do With Legacy Equipment Once It Is Connected
Once NxSphere® DEX is capturing data, it communicates with the factory host using the SECS/GEM protocol for semiconductor environments, or a REST API where the host sits outside semiconductor manufacturing. That connection opens up a new set of capabilities:
- Status monitoring and fault detection: the host sees the tool’s real-time state instead of waiting on an operator to flag a problem.
- Recipe verification: process parameters can be checked against the expected recipe before a run starts, not after it finishes.
- MES data collection: process data feeds into the same manufacturing execution system as your connected tools, closing the gap between old and new equipment.
- Wrong recipe detection and parameter monitoring: checks that used to depend entirely on an operator’s attention now run continuously in the background, catching mistakes before they do serious damage.
Tools that used to be a gap in the fab’s monitoring coverage become another data source the host can act on.
Making the Case for Non-Intrusive Modernisation
NxSphere® DEX removes the binary choice between an expensive retrofit and continued isolation, giving fabs a practical middle path for their legacy equipment.
- Low deployment risk: with no hardware changes and no software modifications required, there is nothing on the controller to break or void a warranty over.
- A shorter path to connectivity: fabs get visibility in a fraction of the time a full retrofit would take, with no extended downtime to plan around.
- No major capital outlay: legacy tools join the Industry 4.0 roadmap without the cost of replacing equipment that is still doing its job.
For fabs weighing SECS/GEM for legacy equipment against years of isolated data, NxSphere® DEX offers a proven, scalable starting point.
If you are ready to explore how SECS/GEM can bring your legacy equipment onto the factory host, contact us for a product consultation.