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40 SMT007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2019 analysis, issues based on variation in manu- facturing processes and material supply can be accounted for, leaving clear patterns associated with design features. For the first time, design for manufacturing (DFM) can work based on dynamic rules rooted in the reality of manufac- turing and associated with a specific location, factory, line configuration, product type, and more. Dynamic design rules based on actual production performance enable designers to consistently create products that can be made cost-effectively with maximum quality. The IPC-2581 Digital Product Model Exchange (DPMX) is a prime candidate to become the bi-directional tool of choice, containing both design and manufacturing feedback data, enabling a direct assessment of design intent versus manufacturing result. Having intro- duced digital manufacturing engineering and an IIoT-based MES that includes Lean mate- rial management and advanced quality man- agement on a single platform, we can consider the ultimate next step of qualified and contex- tualized design-related information to be used as part of the design process. The Way Forward Though this final part is yet to be realized commercially, all of the other manufacturing software technology mentioned is already avail- able, representing a step-change opportunity in terms of the reduced cost of ownership and deployment issues as well as far greater poten- tial benefits than ever experienced before. The final part is just a simple step away. Looking at the almost gradual change in manufactur- ing software technologies over the years that have helped—but, in some cases, hindered— manufacturing innovation, it is exciting today to see how the latest software solutions are key enablers and providers of the Industry 4.0 rev- olution. SMT007 Michael Ford is the senior director of emerging industry strategy for Aegis Software. To read past columns or contact Ford, click here. uous accountability. With traceability estab- lished in manufacturing, the pressure is on material suppliers to extend such traceability upwards throughout the supply chain so that the origin of counterfeit ingress is discovered and eliminated. The revolutions described in each of the respective software solution areas combine to make this possible—a critical dif- ferentiator of a single-platform based manufac- turing software solution. Advanced quality programs, such as CAPA and failure reporting, analysis, and corrective action system (FRACAS), can also be expected to be incorporated into the modern real-time quality management solution, such that manu- facturing quality control and accountability for issues can reach the level at which clear differ- entiation for the root-cause origin of potential defects can be accurately discovered. Quality is now a continuous process with no lead-time or loss-time required and has the potential to achieve zero defects from the advanced analy- sis of test and inspection data, eliminating the space needed for defect diagnosis and repair. Manufacturing Feedback to Design Our time-space journey within manufactur- ing ends at the beginning—the link between design and manufacturing. These entities were once very far apart from each other, in terms of time (in the order of months) and space (across many time zones). Following the business need for ever-shorter product cycles, faster new product introduction times, and on-shoring or re-shoring of manufacturing, design and man- ufacturing have had to become much closer. But things did not change for the designer who followed a set of design rules that determined how PCB designs should be laid out based on theoretical rules that often differed from prod- uct to product. From the design perspective, manufacturing has still been regarded as being in the "Wild West" phase until very recently. Putting together all of the revolutions asso- ciated with digital manufacturing software as described, there is, for the first time, a very clear understanding of where responsibili- ties lie for production challenges and poten- tial defects. Through the process of advanced