Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1022231
50 SMT007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2018 marize the relevant event data to be sent final- ly up to the enterprise applications. Technical Requirements and Barriers Beyond simply connecting and exchanging data, the integration of disparate automated pro- cesses and the computerization of human deci- sion making requires normalized data on which to oper ate. Normalized data must be expressed in a single language with a consistent meaning regardless of the source of the information. In the electronics assembly industry, there is currently no standard defining the complex data content required to model manufacturing pro - cesses. While various vendors support proprie- tary interfaces to their own technology, techni- cal expertise is required to map the data content fr om one technology to another. Existing lega- cy standards focus on connecting and moving data, but there is no responsibility for the com- plex data content to the degree necessary for trusted decision-making. As a result, existing integrations and solutions tend to limit focus on a narrow slice of a larger business process or only function point-to-point between partner vendor solutions or custom integrations. Emerging IoT Technology The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the manufacturing industry offers the increased capability to connect processes and acquire data, but an infrastructure must be defined to manage the capabilities and dis- tribute the information between multitudes of possible data streams. Considering the three levels of applications discussed previously and assuming a single language as proposed, a general approach to connecting the factory can be defined by the responsibilities of each layer of applications as shown in Figure 2. Process applications will be responsible for exchanging raw data with equipment and oper- ators and will normalize the events and infor- mation into a single language for consump- tion externally. Internally, each application can function optimally for the given equipment or process, but each application will expose the same generic interface to describe the manu- facturing operations being performed. Site applications will be responsible for add- ing perspective from the complete line and qualifying the data collected to identify root cause and bottlenecks. Since the process appli- cations all produce the same type of normal- ized events in a single language, there is mini- mal effort required to connect processes for the highest level of detail and perspective. Enterprise applications will be responsible for distributing the information from the under- lying infrastructure for external use. In addi- tion to the existing enterprise-level resources like ERP and MES, a gateway to the IoT manu- Figure 2: Smart layer responsibilities.