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88 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2022 e IPC Connected Factory Exchange stan- dard (CFX) has triggered a rapid evolution in the way that industrial machines communicate in a secure, IIoT-based, plug and play envi- ronment. Attention now is on how CFX can be connected to older, "dumber" machines, bringing 100% visibility and control across the whole manufacturing floor, thereby avoiding the numerous technical and financial pitfalls historically experienced. The Problem Is it a realistic expectation that something new can be applied to things that are very old? CFX IIoT Open-Source Hardware Windows 11, for example, only works on per- sonal computers that have a certain Trusted Platform hardware module, which, though available, had not been included on most per- sonal computers until the requirement was announced. Almost every PC in use today is therefore destined to be scrapped or remain on legacy versions of Windows forever. ough some would argue that this may cre- ate somewhat of a shock to the environment, PCs are far more replaceable than are indus- trial machines in manufacturing, where we see many cases of machines working well aer 25 years or more of use. For sure, these machines Smart Factory Insights by Michael Ford, AEGIS SOFTWARE