Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1197000
30 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JANUARY 2020 ment in a CFX line—new or legacy—to per- form omnidirectional, point-to-point, request/ response (command/response) communica- tions with any other piece of equipment in the network without the need for extensive pro- gramming or messaging modification. ______________________ "CFX is a plug-and-play standard for Industry 4.0." Answer: True Because CFX defines the specific data con- tent for all fields and topics, any endpoint in the CFX network can understand the content from all other endpoints, no matter what type of equipment or software they are, or from which vendor they originate. This sets CFX apart from other solutions that recognize them- selves as Industry 4.0 for electronics manufac- ture. CFX is the solid foundation that will help put the "smart" into smart factories. ______________________ "CFX may be machine-readable, but it is not human-readable." Answer: False The Subcommittee spent a considerable amount of time deliberating the data format to use for CFX messages and came to consensus on JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). They did so because JSON is an open-standard data format that uses both machine- and human- readable text to transfer data messages. JSON- encoded CFX messages are easy for people to read and write and for any machine to parse and generate data, as well as easily transferred and read by any device or ERP system. ______________________ "CFX is not a secure data transfer protocol." Answer: False Hacking concerns got you down, Bunky? CFX can help! Data security was at the fore- front with the Subcommittee. AMQP, which was developed by the financial industry, guar- antees delivery of messages from one device in a CFX network to another device in the CFX network; provides security to prevent unwanted, uninvited, and/or malicious partic- ipants in a CFX network; and provides encryp- tion to protect the information shared within a CFX network. The Subcommittee selected AMQP as the data transfer protocol because it eases the bur- den of equipment manufacturers and factory- level system providers as they implement their CFX support and eliminates most of the devel- opment effort needed to send and receive CFX messages. It can also support billions of mes- sages per day on a basic server. ______________________ "CFX is costly and time-consuming to implement." Answer: False The Subcommittee developed CFX to allow for any internal IT team to be able to quickly and easily implement it on the factory floor or in equipment being shipped to customers. Using the SDK and supporting IPC-2591 stan- dard, the Subcommittee has reported that the total time to implement a CFX line on a fac- tory floor is a matter of days, and because no middleware is needed, there is no need for days or even weeks of on-site support from software and equipment vendors to set up a line. The Subcommittee has proven this out with live factory lines at IPC APEX EXPO, the LEAP Show in China, and productronica in Ger- many, where we have gone from equipment delivered to the booth to a functioning line a few days. Without CFX, the process would take weeks. This pales in comparison to estimates for the implementation of other systems as observed by the Subcommittee. For example: • SEMI ELS: Eight months plus at least four paid systems support visits