Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1091269
MARCH 2019 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 57 By connecting the dots, we simply mean that when the supply chain becomes digital with the data input in a com - mon language—and data is accessible, analyzed, modified within the same language—we can use APIs for interpretations and robots can take decisions and actions in real time at th e manufacturer. Continued inno- vation is accelerating the Industry 4.0 trans- formation of the PCB factory, but we need to solve the question about data language. Other- wise, we will end up with machines doing the job digitally and humans interpreting the mis- takes manually. As some say, "Shit in is still shit out." Some forecasts expect the smart factory market to exhibit significant growth potential at a CAGR of 9.3% between 2017 and 2022 and get up to $205.42 billion (USD) by 2022. The key driving factors for the growth of the smart factory market are the increase in adop - tion of industrial robots, the evolution of IoT, growth in demand for smart automation solu- tions, and the increase in emphasis on regu- latory compliances. However, factors such as huge capital investments and the risks associ- ated with security of cyber-physical systems are the major factors restraining the growth of this market [4] . Every year, we visit and audit several PCB factories. Lately, a growing trend spotted is for even more traditional factories to have connected equipment, such as online and real-time monitoring of processes, remote production, and maintenance alarms. Chi - na is now making a significant amount of investments in AI and smart automation for PCB manufacturing and other related ap- plications, meaning not just taking over the role of human to load and unload production panels in the production processes. Asia Pacific (APAC) is expected to be the fast- est-growing region in the AI in manufac- turing and the largest market for industrial robots. Robots and Humans Working Side By Side Smart automation identifies which machine is going to be ready, and robots move the pan- els to the identified ma- chine, unload the com- pleted panels, and load up new panels. Complet- ed panels are then moved to a holding position to be transferred to the next processes. We have seen this in a Chinese factory where panels are checked, stacked, pinned by a machine, and moved by the robot to the respective drilling machine unload and load. The machines are all interconnected where the process cycle time is calculated and planned in real-time. Another plant in Singapore had the produc- tion processes manned by the Smart ERP sys- tem not only with robots moving panels from processes in the best sequence but also the system informed the engineers when there are problems detected and require a human de- cision. Each production lot is tagged with an RFID; thus, the system locates the lot for the engineer. Both examples show an improve- ment in automation where data is constantly being used to plan and make a decision in real time by the system, which improves efficiency and allows humans to focus on more critical work. Advantages Overall, here are four advantages of smart factories from a PCB perspective: 1. Increased Productivity and Efficiency People are great (we love people), but people also make mistakes and sometimes make deci- sions based on the wrong parameters. Automa- tion with the use of an application program- ming interface (API) and AI will give us the ability to produce at a faster speed with even higher accuracy and no need to worry about human errors during repetitive work. It is a win-win situation for all involved in the pur- chasing process. It's no secret that automation Andreas Lydersen Didrick Bech