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36 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2019 Feature by Happy Holden I-CONNECT007 As smart factories become a part of the pres- ent rather than a thing of the future, we will all need to become familiar with related con- cepts and components. This article is dedicat- ed to various automation protocols, includ- ing some new ones just coming on the mar- ket. The messages and recipe data needed for production scheduling to machine connections has evolved over the years. I will cover hard- ware, including programmable logic control- lers (PLCs) and machine interfaces, as well as software and network protocols, such as MAPS™, SECS/GEM, OML, CFX, IPC-2541, and custom software. Hardware Industry 4.0 Initiatives Industry 4.0 originates from a project in the high-tech strategy of the German government that provides for the computerization of man- ufacturing. The first industrial revolution mo- bilized the mechanization of production using water and steam power. The second industri- al revolution introduced mass production with the help of electrical power, followed by the digital revolution and the use of electronics and IT to further automate production. Also, the term "Industrie 4.0" was first used at the Hannover Fair. In October 2012, the working group on Industry 4.0 chaired by Siegfried Dais and Henning Kagermann presented a set of In- dustry 4.0 implementation recommendations to the German federal government. On April 8, 2013, the final report of the working group on Industry 4.0 was presented. PLCs Today, there are multiple lights-out factory and Industry 4.0 initiatives. Much of this prog- ress is the result of the automotive industry's application of PLCs and robots to manufactur- ing. Figure 1 shows what the Germans fore- saw for Industry 4.0 [1] . I was first introduced to PLCs by Allen-Bradley, as Hewlett-Packard (HP) had sold them its new CNC machines Hardware and Software in Smart Factories