-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueBox Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
Boost Your Sales
Every part of your business can be evaluated as a process, including your sales funnel. Optimizing your selling process requires a coordinated effort between marketing and sales. In this issue, industry experts in marketing and sales offer their best advice on how to boost your sales efforts.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
The IoT Event of The Decade
February 23, 2018 | Michael Ford, Aegis Software Corp.Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
If you are one of the few remaining people who has not heard about the event of the decade coming up at the IPC APEX EXPO tradeshow at the end of this month, you really need to read on. IPC APEX EXPO is set to rock the manufacturing world in a way that has not been seen for many years. This is not just a tech-fest, it is the introduction of some serious business growth opportunities for manufacturers, machines vendors and solution providers based on the successful implementation of their Industry 4.0 solutions and enhancements.
The Connected Factory Exchange (CFX) IoT standard will have its first live demo at IPC APEX EXPO 2018, and not in a quiet way. More than 25 of the most significant companies in the industry have stepped up to create the world’s first conversion of a show-floor into a digital factory shop-floor. As a visitor, when you arrive at the show, you will see a QR code (a 2-D barcode, called “Quick Response”) which you can read using your phone. The latest iOS and Android devices now have QR code reading ability built into the standard camera app, or, any free QR code reading app can be used. A quick “beep” and you are now looking at the home-page of the CFX show-wide demo. You will see IoT data being exchanged in real time from all participating vendors, as well as cloud-based analytics – right there on your phone. There is no special connection needed—you can use either your regular data service or the IPC APEX EXPO show Wi-Fi. There is no software to install, no middleware to configure, no license fees to pay, no hardware interfaces to deploy. You are simply looking at high quality data coming from machines of all types, from all vendors, in a way that is consistent, detailed, accurate and timely. These machines all connect into the cloud seamlessly, a true plug and play environment. Though the ability to perform actual production on the show-floor is obviously very limited, you should visit each participating vendor’s booth, and witness the triggers at the machine itself that create and send CFX messages into the cloud, that you can then see updated on your mobile device in real time.
This is your induction to what the difference is with a true Industrial IoT standard. Rather than being constrained by legacy data formats and content that machine engineering teams created many years ago, which were all OK in their day—before the modern digital needs of customer was conceived, IoT data is now available that can support the most ambitious of Industry 4.0 projects. With a clearly defined secure protocol, standard data encoding method, and defined, detailed, modern messaging content, CFX has been created through consensus with hundreds of companies across the industry, all with the same goals and targets. The promised revolution in the industry can now be seen to be taking place. Through this demo, more than 25 vendors have already embedded the CFX SDK software toolkit into their machines. The toolkit was built by Aegis and has been fully donated to the IPC and the industry without cost or license. Now, as result of this demo, the infrastructure to rapidly implement the rest of CFX messaging is already present and proven natively on the machines, without the requirement to convert legacy information using external hardware interfaces or conversion middleware.
The companies taking part in this demo are those who are making a commitment to the leadership and evolution of Industry 4.0 and associated technologies around factory digitalization in general. You can expect to see these companies leading the market with their Industry 4.0 solutions, in areas that include automated process utilization and efficiency optimization, active quality control, digitalized new product introduction, and a step-change improvement in the way that machines are able to cope with extreme product mix situations.
Aegis Software is proud to be a key member of the IPC Connected Factory Initiative committee, which includes machine vendors of all types, solution providers and manufacturing companies. All members of this committee share the common interest of making the digital revolution happen in this industry, now. Aegis have developed demo support software and are providing the use of the Microsoft Azure cloud server and analytics for this demonstration, free to the industry as our commitment toward driving the right way in which IoT should be done.
I anticipate that in the future, we will look back on this IPC APEX EXPO show and ask each other where we were when the IoT revolution in the electronics assembly industry actually started.
Michael Ford is the European Marketing Director for Aegis Software. For more information on Aegis, click here.
Suggested Items
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Looking Back, Looking Forward With IEC
04/19/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOIEC came to the RTW booth and discussed both the legacy of IEC's past and the vision for its future. Industry veteran Bruno Ferri highlighted his quarter-century tenure in the industry and with IEC since its founding. He still exhibits boundless enthusiasm for the industry. Brando Stone, a young professional and a future face of IEC, talked about IEC's plans going forward and his experience at this year's IPC APEX EXPO.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
04/19/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineFor my must-read picks of the week, I’m highlighting Parker Capers, a young professional seeking employment, solid counsel from Dan Beaulieu on what your post-show plan should look like, more information and insight on “chiplets” and the need for secure data transfer standards from columnist Preeya Kuray, as well as Matt Stevenson’s design for reality wisdom. It’s a reminder to download one of our newest books (there are several) you don't want to miss if you are an assembler.
Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Exploring IPC's PCB Design Courses with Kris Moyer
04/18/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOGuest Editor Kelly Dack and IPC instructor Kris Moyer discuss IPC's PCB design training and education offerings. They delve into course topics such as design fundamentals, mil/aero, rigid-flex, RF design, and advanced design concepts. They also highlight material selection for high-speed design, thermal management, and dissipation techniques. The interview wraps up with details about how to access these courses online.
IPC Bestows Posthumous Hall of Fame Award to Industry Icon Michael Ford
04/18/2024 | IPCIPC honored the late Michael Ford, Aegis Software, for his extraordinary contributions to the global electronics manufacturing industry with the IPC Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Award at IPC APEX EXPO 2024. IPC’s most prestigious honor, the Hall of Fame Award is given to individuals who have provided exceptional service and advancement to IPC and the electronics industry. Ford, an industry leader and valued IPC volunteer, died suddenly in January 2024.
Two Industry Rising Stars Recognized at IPC APEX EXPO 2024
04/17/2024 | IPCTwo of the industry’s best and brightest were presented with an IPC Rising Star Award at IPC APEX EXPO 2024 in recognition of their leadership roles and support of IPC standards, education, advocacy, and solutions to industry challenges. Award recipients were Naim Kapadia and Michael Schleicher.