Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493797
48 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2023 said, just imagine all the data and insight that you will get from automation and what you can do with that in terms of design, traceabil- ity, efficiency, etc. So, when AI gets it wrong, it can gaslight quite convincingly (laughs). My other take- away is that the staffing on an SMT line will probably be smaller, but better educated. We're moving toward more engineers than operators. I used to say that, statistically, AI could per- form better than human beings. But when it's wrong, it's egregiously wrong. You still need human beings to be a part of the process. I would argue that a system like ours can be used by operators with less AI expertise than one might think. We're working with those operators now and asking them what they need to see and so forth. You don't need to be a coder or know a programming language, but you do need knowledge of PCBA defects: this is a tombstone; this is a bad solder joint, etc. at's probably where we're heading, to upskill an operator who's applying their domain exper- tise with an AI workflow. That, and a well-thought-out user interface? Yes, exactly. at's something we're proud of. We came from the enterprise world where we were used to very polished graphical UIs (user interfaces). At IPC APEX EXPO, some- one called our system the iPhone of interfaces because it was just so simple; that's something we like to hear. What are your customers hoping to achieve with this application of AI? Some are looking to address concerns around labor; they have an aging workforce that is doing this work and they're concerned that they can't replenish it with younger workers. ey're introducing automation to offset those concerns. Part of it is reduction in costs. We're also seeing the effects of the U.S. CHIPS Act, which is encouraging the movement of sensi- tive electronics manufacturing work to North America. If you want to compete with prices in the Far East, you need to bring more auto- mation to your plant. e last one is increased throughput. If I have part of the workflow done by automation, I can get product out the door quicker. Of course, that speaks to anybody in our industry who needs to fulfill so many orders in a given amount of time. Finally, there is a bit of cachet; some EMS houses like to say to their customers, "We're on the cutting edge. We're using the latest AI in this part of the workflow," to distinguish them- selves from their competitors. at said, we're starting to see the substance behind the hype with the concrete results our clients are real- izing. Obviously, there is some consultation involved in the setup. Once the company decides to work with you, there's some system analysis to figure out what's already in place and what needs to be added to create a system. What is a typical setup for a customer from start to finish? Our implementation team will come onsite with the system and help set it up. Our sys- tem will then undergo a site acceptance test to ensure it is ready for production, increases productivity, and is safe. ey sort of believe it, but they need to see it working on their line. A quality engineer needs to make sense of the inspection trend data and to draw conclusions on how to avoid defects in the first place...