Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1466505
MAY 2022 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 67 Moreau: You can compare and then push the data up along with the other inspection data, looking at Industry 4.0, for instance, where you're trying to not only manage the quality of the processes during production, but have smart systems that can correlate that data and act on it. Our RPI and WPI systems can do this; if an electronics manufacturer is notic- ing a particular defect from end of line AOI or functional test, they're not just having to go machine by machine, one by one, and do some data collection to find the problem. In almost real-time, they can do some comparisons and see whether it was related to reflow. Was that print related? Was it a combination of both? ere's no way you can do that if you're miss- ing a full set of data from one of the processes, the thermal process. at's where this real- time monitoring on the reflow process inspec- tion becomes important. Shaughnessy: It's like the missing link. Moreau: Yes, exactly. Shaughnessy: is fits in well with CFX, Hermes, and all these other formats as well? Moreau: e whole idea of a smart factory and how it would be accomplished started proba- bly eight or nine years ago. KIC was a found- ing member of the IPC-CFX standards com- mittee. We were also one of the original 17 companies developing the Hermes standard. Now we have standards that are keyed in on Industry 4.0, so you have a common set of data where all the equipment and processes are doing things in the same way, almost like a plug-and-play smart factory. en, you can uti- lize those systems to automate the factory, so it's a self-improving manufacturing line. KIC is the only company focused on thermal process inspection that is listed on the IPC CFX quali- fied product list (QPL) and is Hermes capable as well.