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68 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JULY 2020 before really making it. In Industry 4.0, we are not only trying to imagine and build digitally but even test it digitally to make sure it works, costs less, and is of high quality before really making it. What Is Industry 4.0? Both manufacturing execution systems (MES) and enterprise resource planning soft- ware (ERP) have the ability to work together. Since both types of software bring differ- ent capabilities to the forefront, using them together can help bring your business more well-rounded results. ERP knows why deci- sions need to be made, while an MES knows how to make those decisions. Both systems have their own purpose, which can make them complementary components. This is what we are doing while we are in Industry 3.0 today. Industry 4.0 connects ERP and MES to the machines on the shop floor, creating a two- way information-sharing system among all three layers: ERP, MES, and shop floor. It will connect suppliers, logistics, networks, and the industrial internet of things (IIoT) to phys- ical manufacturing to collect and use data to make decisions—with or without human intervention—to improve quality and reliabil- ity and reduce cost. Think of Industry 4.0 as a digital factory that connects every layer of business to enable a lights-out factory to be possible someday. Here is a simple example. In a 4.0 Factory, an AOI system will detect a problem and then tell the offending machine to automatically take corrective actions without human interven- tion. I don't think anyone is really there today. In addition, machine vendors are not happy— in normal cases—when customers want auto- mated adjustments; they prefer that a trained operator would confirm where a pattern has emerged, but we are far from that destination. It is better to think of Industry 4.0 as a journey and not a destination. Let us take an example of what happens in a typical SMT line. In SMT assembly, there are three major process steps: print paste, place components, and then solder. On a manufac- turing line, the defects could be caused at any or college, moving to Canada, or finding some medical excuses or admission to higher edu- cation to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam War. Now, we have been in the Industry 3.0 era for about 50 years. If history is a good guide, you would think we need to wait for another 50 years before talking about the Fourth Indus- trial Revolution or Industry 4.0, but we don't want to wait for anything. Whatever we need, we need it now. We don't have time to go and pick it up; someone had better deliver what we need to us at our doorstep. We are busy at home, doing what we do, such as writing columns, or attending Zoom meetings. This is why the title of this column is "Indus- trial Revolution 4.0: Hype, Hope, or Reality?" Before I expand on my point of view on Indus- try 4.0, here is my take. At this time, we have all three elements when we talk about Industry 4.0: some hype, a lot of hope, and a little bit of reality. I do not think it will be a reality in the next 3–4 years, but maybe in the next 10 years, and it is an optimistic view. However, it is still a very fast transition to a new way of doing things, considering the history of the previous two revolutions of Industry (1.0 and 2.0) that I mentioned. The main reason for a much faster transition from Industry 3.0 to Industry 4.0 (about 60 years instead of the usual 100 years) is that the First and Second Industrial Revolutions were all about hardware change. The third revolu- tion—Industry 3.0 about electronics and com- puters—started as a hardware revolution, but has been morphing more and more into a soft- ware revolution. From the same hardware com- ing out of Intel and other semiconductor com- panies, the software companies are able to get more performance, and it is reflected in their relative stock prices. And this Fourth Industrial Revolution is essentially all about software. I should also note that this Industry 4.0 is not a drastic change if you really think about it since this change in software has been with us for the last 30–40 years. All we are trying to do is let the software play a major role in making the hardware do things faster with no waste. It is a lot easier to make things in your head