Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1035071
22 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2018 different format in Python. I didn't even know what Python was; I had to look it up. They said, "I need to get my hands on the standard. How can I participate?" The advantage of getting into a common language is really a driver, because I think the real exciting stuff, if you want to see how the industry will change, watch it change after CFX is out. CFX is not the whiz-bang stuff. It is the foundation, the common language. People are going to build amazing houses on top of the CFX foundation. In a year or two, when smart factories are out there, and you got machines that are self-adjusting, these are things that were on the technol- ogy roadmaps by INEMI. We had a vision that this machine could tell another one that there's some kind of problem going on, and what needs to be fixed. We're really close to that happening, and that had to be close to 20 years ago. I think what will be really exciting is what the industry will look like in a couple years once this language is out and people start to take their creativity, which was once spent on trying to write adapters for each individ- ual machine, they can now turn their focus on creating factory execution systems that take advantage and that can be truly intelligent. It is going to be cool. Las Marias: What's next for CFX? Bergman: We will probably be in awareness- building mode for the next several years. I'm hoping that as I add logos, everyone will be telling their friends so that it's not just depen- dent on me to be making presentations. I think that the industry will hear a lot more once it's out. Awareness-building is important, and then as we report on demonstrations, then I think we'll really get the ball rolling. Las Marias: Dave, what do you want our read- ers to know more about when it comes to CFX? Bergman: I guess what's interesting in this is that I have not really been deeply involved in a software-developed or software-written stan- dard, so this is a little bit of a new experience for me. We have had key committee members work hard to lower the barrier of entry. When you get the feedback from people that this is what they've been doing for years, working with machines and machine software, and they're stunned by how easy it is to implement. They're just like, "Wow, if I had known that it was this easy, I would have probably tried to do this six months ago." With the support of some key members, the barrier to play and the barrier to get engaged in this, and maintain an open-source industry standard, has really been fun to watch. I'm really looking forward to seeing the first really smart factory reported on, or maybe I'll get to tour one. Somebody to say, "We've imple - mented it. Come out and have a look." That's something that I'm really looking forward to. Las Marias: Dave, do you have anything that we haven't talked about that you think we should be talking about? Bergman: I think we've covered it well. Certainly, I think it's important to say that I'm doing the talking, but there's a lot of people that are key to this effort. Aegis Software, Heller Industries, Flex, and now IBM have leadership positions within the CFX effort and have contributed their companies' time and resources to make this a reality. Then, there are hundreds of companies now that I can go to and see people that have bought into the wave that's coming. IPC is facilitating this change, but it's not on our own. It's as an association with a lot of companies and a lot of members doing a lot of good work. We look forward to helping them achieve the vision, which is Industry 4.0. Las Marias: Great. Thank you very much again for your time, David. Bergman: You're welcome, Stephen. It's good to talk to you. SMT007