Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1424540
48 SMT007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2021 tics, a pandemic, or bad weather, the message is finally getting across that there really are fun- damental challenges ahead, not the least with- in manufacturing, which of course, brings new opportunities. In the manufacturing world, the advance- ment of soware within inspection, test, and assembly machines, as well as operational and business solutions such as MES, MOM, and ERP, has been radical over recent years. It is more difficult to see the progress of soware changes as compared to machine hardware technology, which you can see and for which there are clear specifications. Most of the so- ware value is not visible, with thousands of el- ements that contribute, which are not, howev- er, practical to detail and explain. Even the hu- man interface, the shopwindow of soware, has shrunk in significance. Advancement of soware brings more automation of decision- making, and even "creativity," but less human interaction and involvement. One manufac- turer was unhappy when they upgraded their product design data import from Gerber to the use of IPC-2581. Instead of a screen full of options and configurations needed to cope with the randomness of Gerber and the myr- iad associated supporting files, there was just one button, labelled "Import 2581." e feel- ing of being in control on behalf of the user is replaced by the cleverness within the soware and the data format itself. Which do we think is the quicker and most reliable? More and more, we see advanced technol- ogies being embedded within soware. In- credible improvements in factory manage- ment, active quality, supply-chain, and even image sensors and inspection algorithms, of- ten go unnoticed and are taken for granted, certainly lacking appreciation of value. Ven- dors oen attempt to recreate that feeling of interaction, making eye-catching game-ready graphical displays in the hope that people will notice that the soware is there and doing something. Against this backdrop, it is difficult to assess progression and therefore the need for mod- ern soware, to make confident, justified de- cisions that create changes in current manu- facturing practices. e purchase and use of soware very oen is based on information and perceptions dating from many years ago. Even in a period of months, values from so- ware become significantly enhanced. Anoth- er factor, however, is that not all vendors are keeping pace, and setting the state of the art for the industry. Vendors are also subject to the same difficulties in making paradigm-changing choices in the development of their products. We see many large soware platforms, pop- ular in the industry, date back decades since their initial creation, which will never be able to evolve quickly enough. Progressive vendors have reinvented solutions that take advantage of the latest technologies, such as standardized IIoT messaging, and use it to create previous- ly unachievable functionality and automation. It is essential to regularly reset perceptions and take a fresh look into which soware solutions have really evolved and which companies are driving the industry, helping manufacturing adapt and recover, knowing that perceptions of limitations from years ago have long since been addressed. Today's soware technology, architecture, and reliability is a long way ahead of what you might expect. It is more difficult to see the progress of software changes as compared to machine hardware technology, which you can see and for which there are clear specifications.