Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1228683
28 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2020 are capable of making the product, and, if so, what would be the expected line rate and yield, etc. At the same time, other applications will confirm the material and availability of capacity. 5. All of the data is collated and fed back automatically upstream to the quotation application, which then offers the choices for the quotation team, including costs. Another example could be where a manu- facturing site has the allocation made of prod- ucts to a specific configuration, which includes the setup of robots, requiring both optimiza- tion and simulation. Taking the applicable cells from the product digital twin—together with the manufacturing digital twin cells that repre- sent the robots—the appropriate analysis takes place using an application that is dedicated to a deep knowledge of robot operations, includ- ing the robot arms, conveyors, associated tools, etc., such that the exact operation of the line can be assessed. This application can run as a result of many cases. Some examples include: 1. Needing to know the processing time of a potential new product, as seen in the previous example. 2. Determining the features of the line to support near-term manufacturing expectations in a way that is specifically optimized in terms of tooling and flow, choosing from a selection of potential configuration changes. 3. Finding the best sequence of events needed to run the line, including the prediction of maintenance events. Each of the hundreds of applications of the IPC digital twin is interoperable with each other through the data definitions defined. Applications are developed, provided, and exe- cuted without the need for customization and middleware, interoperable with other applica- tions from different vendors. As the development of the IPC digital twin is ongoing, successive layers are likely to be added over the coming months, until every aspect of product design, manufacturing, and lifecycle are included. The speed with which this is done very much depends on interest and participation from the industry. As there are many products available on the market which are based on proprietary digital twins, there are many opportunities on the horizon to evolve them into being aligned with this indus- try standard. As seen with the revolution in shop-floor communication using IPC-CFX, the design through manufacturing flow using IPC-DPMX has seen barriers between companies in terms of data exchange come down when it is real- ized that there is a true mutual and business need to share and utilize big data from mul- tiple sources to effectively achieve a desired goal. The interoperability that the IPC digital twin provides enables companies to provide their specific value to customers in a way that does not require specific collaboration using proprietary data formats between companies, supporting the protection of intellectual prop- erty, whilst also having increased functionality and capability. As with the autonomous car, having access to data from outside of a specific sphere of visibil- ity enables applications to "see around the cor- ner" to be able to build value that is far greater than had they been limited by data obtained only from within their own domain, or through expensive middleware and customization. In the future, software with futuristic 3D interfaces, and amazing graphics will have substance behind them, as is normally expe- rienced when working with companies that are instrumental in creating and utilizing IPC standards. Ultimately, the awareness of the business differentiation that this kind of tech- nology brings—in terms of costs, return on investment, quality, and dependability—will drive the IPC digital twin forward, benefiting the whole industry. SMT007 Michael Ford is the senior director of emerging industry strategy for Aegis Software. To read past columns or contact Ford, click here.