Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1010078
86 SMT007 MAGAZINE I AUGUST 2018 Las Marias: Last year, we talked about the lights- out electronics assembly facility. This year, we are seeing an increasing push towards Industry 4.0 and smart factories. Where is the industry now on this front? Vujosevic: We have some big players that are investing in these technologies, such as Koh Young and ASM Assembly Systems, to name a few. We continue working on smart solutions. Our focus right now is in three directions: (1) intelligent production scheduling and real time performance monitoring; (2) self-correcting automated assembly lines with an intelligent process control, that will be able to self-correct process parameters before defects or down times actually occur; and (3) automated material delivery based on our intelligent scheduling and using latest in material storage, robots and automated guided vehicles. Our Vietnam projects will have all of these three solutions. You can say that we are pretty much following the blueprint I described in my "Lights Out Electronics Assembly" paper. But, globally, it is still the same situation as last year. The pick-and-place systems are not there yet. They still need to have operators, and everything else can be pretty much automated. Until they solve that component placement problem, we will not have a completely automated line. But things can be done—not only to eliminate the operators, but to take them out of the decision-making loop if they must be present. Las Marias: What other issues do you think needed ironing out for this smart-factory vision? Vujosevic: Everything will start and finish with the software. The two components, in my opinion, are the pick-and-place equipment and the software. Pick-and-place equipment, if we Figure 1: Optel's Materials Storage Management system provides a more granular control over materials inventory prior to the production process.