Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1504794
AUGUST 2023 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 21 User credentials verification and encryption are the basic security tools; at a higher level, the use of innovative new technologies, such as W3C verifiable credentials, which allow facts to be exchanged without the exposure of spe- cific data elements, ensure privacy and the protection of intellectual property. In addition, consideration must be given as to the source, ownership, and integrity of the data. e effect of adopting solutions using the IPC Digital Twin architecture for data exchange means that, as in the case of CFX, data from different machines about different aspects of their operation can be put together like building blocks without the need for spe- cific customization or middleware. is saves orders of magnitude of investment and, cru- cially, enables rapid response to changing manufacturing conditions, including customer demand. As well as covering manufacturing, the IPC Digital Twin includes branches to repre- sent design and events occurring in the mar- ket, such as telemetry and product perfor- mance data capture, provenance, repair, recy- cling, etc. e IPC Digital Twin standard was first published in December 2020, but requires industry best practice leaders to further evolve its content. Currently, sustainability data is a very active area of development, which com- e CFX standard came to the rescue for machine-related shop-floor communication, and the IPC Digital Twin (IPC-2551) standard is the next step forward. e standard defines the single specific data formats and languages to be used. In the case of CFX, it will be used for IIoT-based communication. To bring such standardization to the digital twin, the process is quite simple. For those old enough to remem- ber, playing a video file on any Windows-based PC was fraught with issues. Certain media file types and content combinations, which were oen proprietary, could only be played on cer- tain players, or on those with certain soware extensions or licenses. Today, we simply click on a media file, and our chosen player displays it, no matter what file structure, video codec, resolution, etc., has been adopted in the coding. e way this works with digital twin is also simple: Within the file, there is a section of data called metadata that explains the media content and how to decode it. e IPC Dig- ital Twin standard adopts the same princi- ple using a hierarchical cell structure in which each cell contains metadata that describes the content and format. Cells from many different sources are combined to create the complete manufacturing operation, all the way from the enterprise down to individual tools, such as nozzles. Examples would be digital twins of SMT machines, assembly robots, conveyors, and storage solutions, etc., all combined at the highest level of the hierarchy to represent the digital twin of an entire production line. ere are other very important aspects that must be addressed regarding sharing data between solutions using a digital twin. e first is basic security to ensure that data is only utilized for intended uses by intended par- ties. Expected uses of the IPC Digital Twin standard include design through manufactur- ing automation, supply network trust, mate- rial and product provenance, and sustainabil- ity, as well as the many potential uses for opti- mization, simulation, and automated decision- making.