Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1035071
46 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2018 standard to CFX. I spoke to David Bergman of IPC at the SMT Hybrid Packaging Nuremberg about this, and they agree that there is still a level of confusion between CFX and Hermes. However, it is my understanding that they talk on a regular basis and it will be a partnership. The intended outcome—I am not sure if this has been set in stone yet—is that the Hermes protocol will be used for machine-to-machine communications, while the CFX protocol will be used to extract data from all the machines in parallel. I've asked IPC to create a clear and concise statement on the future partnership on Hermes and CFX, and I am waiting to see that statement. At productronica, there were many leaf- lets being given out about the Hermes stan- dard, and it came across as an Industry 4.0 standard—a competitor—but it isn't. This one argument may be holding CFX back. There is still confusion between Hermes and CFX, but they are going to work together, which still needs clarification from IPC. Las Marias: That's right. Thank you very much again, David. Fenton: Perfect. Thank you! SMT007 IPC has recognized The Hermes Standard to be the next generation solution to "the SMEMA Standard" IPC- SMEMA-9851. Accordingly, The Hermes Standard was assigned an IPC naming code: it can now officially be referred to as IPC-HERMES-9852. Modern, open, and based on TCP/IP and XML, IPC- HERMES-9852 is designed to replace the obsolete SMEMA standard for the transfer of board-related information. It was developed and introduced to the market by The Hermes Standard Initiative, an independent and open group of leading vendors of SMT assembly equipment. The IPC-HERMES-9852 includes all features of SMEMA regard- ing board handover but addresses a far wider range of additional requirements related to board handling. In fact, IPC-HERMES-9852 combines leading edge technologies and established standards into a completely new gener- ation solution. Since The Hermes Standard was released, both IPC and The Hermes Standard Initiative share the same under- standing that The Hermes Standard moves in the right direction to bring digitization to the PCB flow manage- ment. It was clear to all that the previously existing stan- dard IPC-SMEMA-9851 cannot be simply "enhanced" to meet the requirements of an Industry 4.0-environment. Having looked into the details of The Hermes Standard specification, everybody agreed that this new standard provides what it takes to be a suitable next generation solution for SMEMA, offering a migration path into the world of "smart factories". There was a very close cooperation between IPC and The Hermes Standard Initiative from the very begin- ning. This was set forth when it was found that the new IPC standard for vertical integration, the IPC Connected Factory Exchange (CFX), and The Hermes Standard are a perfect match when it comes to fully integrated communi- cation in a mixed vendor SMT factory. Having an official IPC naming code does not change anything in the nature of The Hermes Standard itself. Both IPC and The Hermes Standard Initiative are convinced that further deployment of the standard will be strongly accelerated by maintaining the concept of a free and open standard. (Source: IPC) The Hermes Standard Becomes IPC-HERMES-9852