Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1411055
30 PCB007 MAGAZINE I SEPTEMBER 2021 necessary, omitting what is not, and really get- ting things in the right layer stack better than we've ever had before. Johnson: And that gives the CAM team some confidence in what happens for the automa- tion then? Stevenson: Exactly. Getting to a point where they are not only comfortable but prefer that data type, will be good on the front-end side. Right now, we use them interchangeably, but as time goes on, if you've got the ODB++, we will gladly take that. It's fewer orders on hold, fewer questions, fewer delays in the cycle, and more benefit for the customer. Johnson: We conducted a sur vey regarding data formats and packages, asking why they prefer using Gerber. e feedback indicated it is because that's what the fab tells the custom- er they need. Stevenson: Yeah. And you know why? Because that's the way we've always done it. Johnson: One of the forces pushing assemblers to use ODB++ or IPC-2581 is the smart facto- ry. en, there is the adoption of CFX, etc., to help the assembly process and the machinery up and down that line communicate with each other. Is it fair to say that you're starting to be called upon to feed that digital factory? Stevenson: Yes. Johnson: Does that push you to become a digi- tal factory as well? Stevenson: It does help open a conduit to be- coming a better digital factory because, at least from a Sunstone standpoint, the equip- ment isn't all interconnected with soware. Each process is on its own. Some of it is very mechanical and not necessarily digitized, if you will, but could it be? Yes. Having a data format that might flow better through a man- ufacturing facility opens that conduit. Johnson: Not only are you passing the infor- mation along in your ERP process from gate to gate, but you're also passing along information that helps keep the fab steps within established process windows at the equipment level. Stevenson: Exactly. Johnson: Is gate-to-gate communication on your roadmap going forward? Stevenson: Not in the next couple of years. We have several other high ticket/high com-