Meet Nye - Robert Grizzetti
Robert has been with the Nye family for over 10 years. Robert earned his Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Rhode Island. He began his time with Nye in Technical Support. Within two years Robert assumed the role of International Regional Engineering Manager (IREM) for Japan. His responsibilities included account management and offering lubrication solutions to our Japanese customers. Currently a Senior Product Support Engineer, Robert coordinates the exchange of technical and commercial product information between headquarters and our sales team to ensure products meet customer specifications. As a member of Nye’s Semiconductor team, Robert has extensive technical knowledge in lubricants for semiconductor and in-vacuum applications.
You’ve been working closely with the semiconductor industry for almost ten years. How have you seen industry requirements change over time?
I have seen increasing attention paid to reducing outgassing and particle generation. This may be due to the semiconductor industry’s motivation to squeeze more nano-logic and processing power into silicon substrates. This has led to the development of Nye’s new ultra-low outgassing and low particle generating products for the industry. There have also been realignments in our customer supply chain, especially in Asia, affecting end-use products that include sophisticated robot bearings, linear guides, ball screws and critical O-ring assemblies. Throughout these changes, Nye has worked closely with our customers to continue to move forward to support the industry.
How have new regulations surrounding PFOA and PFAS content changed the way lubricants are formulated for semiconductor and in-vacuum applications?
The new PFOA and PFAS regulations have impacted the availability of some raw materials, particularly those containing fluorocarbons. This includes certain PFPE oils, PTFE thickeners, and PTFE-fortified additives. This has necessitated the search for new raw materials that fall within PFOA and PFAS content guidelines. These limitations must be considered when formulating new lubricants without sacrificing the high quality and performance our customers expect.
The key to developing new lubricants is keeping our customer’s needs in the forefront. This was the case when we developed NyeClean® 5057. Its purpose was to replace a competitor’s fluorocarbon lubricant that is no longer manufactured for reasons including new PFOA/PFAS regulations. Their grease was used in multiple MRO applications in the Semicon industry. This gave us the opportunity to offer a new, PFOA/PFAS-compliant lubricant to, and in collaboration with, industry-leading Semicon OEMs .
What affect has COVID-19 had on semiconductor manufacturing and semiconductor suppliers?
Notwithstanding the effects of the pandemic, the procurement and design engineers I have spoken to say their manufacturing and design activities have increased over the last several months. Large manufacturing design centers and their suppliers are busy dealing with anticipated repercussions of new and pending fluorocarbon regulations. The demand for information and delivery of our products has not abated. We expect this trend to continue for the foreseeable future.
What is your favorite thing about working for Nye?
I enjoy the challenge of helping to move projects and opportunities through to their completion. Several of these opportunities require significant testing and customer validation. This becomes challenging when there are no off-the-shelf lubricants that meet the requirements of a demanding application. I enjoy the satisfaction that comes when our Nye Team successfully provides a customer with a solution.
