Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1035071
18 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2018 Somebody came in and said, "Hey, this is what I need for my application," completely out of the blue. They wrote a messaging update, they inserted it in the open-source software development site that we have on GitHub, and the feedback that I had from some of the committee members is, "This is pretty good stuff. We didn't even think of it, yet somebody has created some new messaging." I think that long-term, I am excited for what CFX might become. The concept of breaking the manufac- turing operation down into a standard format and to deliver that message in a secure proto- col, it doesn't have to just stop at electronics manufacturing. As the awareness is built for this, somebody has started from another manufacturing envi- ronment to ask, "Can this be used to manu- facture widgets?" We don't see why not. The concept of breaking manufacturing equip- ment down into its element parts and writ- ing it in this protocol, there's nothing specif- ically unique or limiting it to just electronics. It's very possible that CFX could be used to build other things like mechanical parts, auto- mobiles. Who knows? We'll see. Las Marias: Dave, would you say digitalization is one technology enablers for CFX to come to fruition? Bergman: Absolutely. The ability to monitor what's going on on the shop floor, to be able to have one piece of equipment tell another one, "Hey, something is going wrong. That prod- uct you just put through," I'm now a camera, and I'm telling the machine before it that says, "Hey, something is wrong here. You need to make an adjustment." Then at the factory level, I can be monitoring. Somebody calls me up and wants to know where is their product in my manufacturing line, and to be able to see that simply. All of that is facilitated by CFX. Las Marias: There's a plethora of industry trends right now pushing for smarter manu- facturing. We've got Industry 4.0, Internet of Things (IoT), etc. Where does CFX sit among those trends? Bergman: I thought about that, and first I thought it sits in the middle; but, I think CFX provides the solid foundation. Industry 4.0 is a visionary statement or a visionary term. To be able to create that vision, you need a solid foundation. You need to be able to reach down and understand what's going on to have a factory that can manufacture and really be self-adjusting without devices that are commu- nicated. I would say smart manufacturing and Indus- try 4.0 are almost similar terms. I would say that CFX is the foundation using the IoT where the devices are able to be accessed, and to have the tools to meet the vision of smart manufac- turing, which is Industry 4.0. Las Marias: I understand one of the benefits of CFX is also traceability. Bergman: There should be ways of gathering data on what is being built, what is going in. Since you're pulling information from the line and storing it in your manufacturing system, you should be able to track everything that is being put on the board, what's happening to it, before it's sent to the customer. I should be able to collect data on the order going in. I should be able to pull information on all the compo- nent lots that are being used in the boards. I should have all the information; any faults in the machinery while it was going down the line; and all the temperatures that were used during the manufacturing environment. This is the advantage of being able to pull information from the manufacturing line and storing it in some type of manufacturing execu- tion system (MES). CFX is not the MES. It facil- itates that. There is a layer of intelligence that needs to be present on top of CFX. CFX is the foundation. The applications that facilitate the traceability, or collect all the information to make traceability possible, CFX makes that easier. From a traceability standpoint, the fact that you can see what is taking place—and your manufacturing line is sending all those messages—and those can be collected, that would lead to the ability of maintaining trace-