MVTec
Offering a Best-In-Class and Reliable Machine Vision Software

MVTec

Klaus Schrenker, Business Development Manager, MVTecKlaus Schrenker, Business Development Manager
Semiconductor manufacturing involves over a thousand processing stages executed within a specialized and intricate production facility. Couple this with the various production requirements to develop specific wafer and chip varieties, and the lack of a uniform semiconductor manufacturing process becomes apparent. This is driving the industry to seek adaptable solutions to support swift value creation regardless of the disparate nature of procedures. Recently, machine vision has emerged as the go-to technology for consolidating diverse processing tasks, helping semiconductor manufacturers boost their operational efficiencies.

MVTec Software GmbH is at the forefront of providing transformative machine vision software for the semiconductor space. A leading international manufacturer of machine vision software, MVTec supports the demanding areas of image processing across semiconductor production, surface inspection, quality control, and surveillance applications. MVTec serves customers with cutting-edge machine vision software as a crucial link in the value chain.

"We help semiconductor manufacturers achieve new milestones in cost reduction and yield improvement by advancing manufacturing processes and production scenarios using machine vision software," says Klaus Schrenker, business development manager, MVTec Software GmbH.

Through MVTec's machine vision software, users can process images and conduct product inspections in milliseconds. Unlike manual inspection and testing processes plagued by delays due to limited availability of personnel and time-consuming procedures, MVTec's machine vision automation facilitates 24/7 accessibility while showcasing more reliable detection capabilities than the human eye. From a safety standpoint, the software enables users to eliminate the risk of performing tasks involving hazardous substances and to seamlessly transition their product inspection processes into clean room settings. Above all, MVTec equips semiconductor manufacturers with a tool that delivers 100 percent objective, accurate, reliable, and repeatable results.

At the heart of these capabilities is MVTec's Munich, Germany-based competence center, where it designs and develops its machine vision software suite, which includes MVTec HALCON, MVTec MERLIC, and Deep Learning Tool. HALCON is the comprehensive standard software for machine vision with a dedicated integrated development environment (HDevelop) tailored toward developing machine vision solutions. MERLIC is a user friendly all-in-one software product for quickly creating machine vision applications without programming. Additionally, the MVTec Deep Learning Tool facilitates data labeling without any programming knowledge providing seamless integration into HALCON and MERLIC. This allows clients to perform deep-learning-based object detection, classification, semantic segmentation, anomaly detection, and Deep OCR.

MVTec's machine vision software features cutting-edge capabilities like a broad collection of techniques for 3D vision and deep learning, besides its remarkable speed and GPU acceleration. HALCON provides the most extensive machine vision library due to its more than 2,100 robust operators. HALCON’s flexible architecture facilitates rapid development and therefore a fast time-to-market of any kind of machine vision application. As customers deploy HALCON in tens of thousands of advanced applications worldwide, it is continuously further developed and refined. To best serve its global customer base, MVTec has subsidiaries and partners all around the world to provide fast and customized services and support, for example in case of issues or production changes.

As an example, MVTec's machine vision software enabled a European machine manufacturer specialized in backend processing to boost their image processing and defect detection capabilities. The customer sought an inspection application to effectively assess dies for cracks and fractures before the actual bonding. Defects are to be detected at an early stage, so the corresponding dies can be sorted out in advance. With MVTec's HALCON, rule-based and deep learning methods were combined to best solve this challenge. Rule-based methods help to define the evaluation region for pre-processing. The regions of interest are then used to train the neural networks. One challenge in many semiconductor production process steps is the lack of defect images due to the scarcity of defective parts while the variety of potential defects can be large. Using MVTec's Anomaly Detection, only “good images” are required to train the deep learning model which makes it possible to robustly detect any anomalies that do not match the standard. Later and over time, the “bad images” can be used to further analyze and classify the defect types and continuously improve production processes and product quality.

Offering ground-breaking machine vision products and services that promote responsible and efficient resource management, MVTec is making a real difference in the semiconductor market. The company continues to support the machine vision software market, significantly contributing to long-term economic success by drawing on its 25 years of expertise and laser focus on flexibility and quality.

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Top 5 Semiconductor Tech Companies in Germany - 2022

Company
MVTec

Management
Klaus Schrenker, Business Development Manager

Description
MVTec Software GmbH is a leading international manufacturer of software for machine vision used in all demanding areas of imaging like the semiconductor industry, surface inspection, automatic optical inspection systems, quality control, metrology, medicine, or surveillance. In particular, software by MVTec enables new automation solutions for the Industrial Internet of Things by providing modern technologies like 3D vision, deep learning, and embedded vision. With its headquarters in Munich (Germany), locations in Boston, MA (USA), and Kunshan near Shanghai (China), as well as an established network of international distributors, MVTec is represented in more than 35 countries worldwide

MVTec News

New MVTec Academy makes entry into machine vision easier

• Digital learning offering to get to know MVTec products and technologies • Practical training directly from the software manufacturer • State-of-the-art e-learning platform for best possible learning success

Munich - MVTec Software GmbH (www.mvtec.com), a leading international software manufacturer for machine vision, is expanding its existing training portfolio with the founding of the MVTec Academy, starting on June 13, 2023. The training program, which is built on a state-of-the-art e-learning platform, will initially be geared towards new MVTec customers and interested parties. It will provide a thorough introduction to using MVTec's products and technologies. With the successive expansion of the course program, more experienced users will also benefit from the more advanced and focused learning opportunities in the future.

"With our new and modern e-learning platform, customers receive the best possible training offering, enabling them to quickly unlock the full potential of our powerful products. At the same time, we see the MVTec Academy as an extension of our existing training formats, with the goal of engaging in even closer exchange with our customers," comments Mario Bohnacker, Head of Customer Service at MVTec and responsible for the Academy and the launch of the new course offering.

The e-learning platform facilitates independent learning, allowing customers to conveniently begin their journey with MVTec's extensive machine vision technologies. The program offers practical courses designed by MVTec experts, ensuring a hands-on learning experience. The courses are flexible, digital, and accessible around the clock, enabling participants to learn at their own pace. Initially, the courses are offered in English. For further details about the MVTec Academy and to access the courses, individuals can visit the MVTec website at www.mvtec.com/academy.

MVTec offers free licenses for students

MVTec Software GmbH is currently offering students unrestricted and complimentary access to its MVTec HALCON software, specifically designed for educational and research purposes. The increasing utilization of machine vision technology in diverse industries and applications has prompted MVTec to contribute to the dissemination of this knowledge within universities and colleges.

Under the "MVTec on Campus" initiative, more than 13,000 licenses have been distributed to over 200 academic institutions in 38 countries since 2018. MVTec HALCON, a powerful machine vision software, is employed extensively for research projects, thesis work, and educational support. A notable addition is that students can now directly approach MVTec for the upcoming semester to acquire a "Student License" directly from the software manufacturer.

"MVTec has been maintaining close contacts with the research and science communities since the company was founded. One reason for this is that we started our company as a spin-off from a university research project. We support colleges and universities with the “MVTec on Campus” program by providing them with the latest machine vision software," explains Christian Eckstein, Product Manager & Business Developer at MVTec.

Through the utilization of HALCON software, individuals such as students, researchers, and professors have the advantage of consistently engaging with cutting-edge machine vision technologies. HALCON, recognized as the all-encompassing standard software for machine vision, boasts a library comprising 2,100 operators, encompassing classical techniques as well as the most recent advancements in deep learning technology. MVTec further guarantees that license holders always have access to the most up-to-date software, with the ability to update previous versions whenever necessary.