Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1060280
26 PCB007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2018 Feature by the I-Connect007 Editorial Team A year on from their first demonstration, IPC's Connected Factory Exchange (CFX) now nears the release of version 1.0 at this year's upcoming IPC APEX EXPO. The I-Connect007 team spoke with CFX specialists Michael Ford and Dave Bergman about how far the program has come from the first initial public demo all the way through now becoming a published standard, and what users can expect from the demonstrations planned for the 2019 show. Barry Matties: Gentlemen, can you please tell people about the CFX program at IPC APEX EXPO 2019—what should they know? Dave Bergman: I am the current staff liaison for the CFX committee for IPC. Michael serves as a working chairman. We have three chairmen, but Michael is a vital industry volunteer. He is the glue for all the pieces, answering tons of questions, and giving presentations every- where. He has a crucial role in this effort and works very hard on this, including staying up late to do interviews like this one. I am happy he is joining. From IPC's perspective and what we have going, I think it's important to note that IPC- 2591 CFX is marching forward continuously and getting nearer to publication. CFX is in a 30-day final draft for industry review cycle per our standardization rules. Then, it will be fol- lowed by a 30-day vote cycle where companies need to give a vote of approval—a thumbs up, thumbs down, or technical comments. We're doing this circulation slightly differ- ently: IPC-2591 explains everything about CFX and provides examples and explanations. The nuts and bolts of CFX, which are the messages that machines both publish and consume, are on the open-source software development site called GitHub. We pushed both the standard and the GitHub link out a week or so ago to have people starting to look at. I am happy to announce that we are getting closer to the re- lease of version 1.0 of CFX. At the same time that we're doing that, Michael and the committee decided we had to draw a line in the sand some- where. We looked at this and said, "Does CFX have enough content that the industry can start implementing it and get- ting excited about it?" We drew the line in the sand and said, "Okay, this is enough for now. Let's stop here, get this approved and published, and then we'll turn our focus on IPC APEX EXPO 2019 Offers a Full Operating CFX Demo Line