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SEPTEMBER 2023 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 27 the PCB fabrication space. Values of enhanced productivity, quality, and agility associated with the analysis of data can be made, support- ing the local fabrication business case. ere is also a profound value for the assembly of the PCB. Individual IDs for PCBs are currently cre- ated once they are introduced onto an assem- bly line. ese IDs are not material IDs but are, in fact, product IDs with all subsequent assem- bly activities traced on the basis of this identi- fier, the root of traceability into the final prod- uct. Traceability of the PCB itself, therefore, is very limited only back to the manufacturing batch, and hence the rough date that the fabri- cation was completed. Smart fabrication enables enhanced trace- ability. Process variation and defects identified during assembly, for example, by the AOI pro- cess will be connected to a root cause in PCB fabrication, refining quality and productiv- ity, as well as reducing the overall waste in the fabrication process. Common issues, such as warping, stretching, non-vertical drilling, and many other potential issues, can be qualified as part of the holistic, active quality solution. Many will argue that fabrication and assem- bly were once done relatively adjacently, and the business case for local fabrication was very poor when compared to the costs and scale of remote fabrication. With the use of secure pre- cision automation in terms of engineering data processing and contextual analysis of manu- facturing data, this move of fabrication back to assembly locations can be very attractive with a solid business case. If approached correctly, it will allow us to move ever closer toward zero defects and zero waste, thereby supporting our sustainability credentials. SMT007 Michael Ford is the senior director of emerging industry strategy for Aegis Software. To read past columns, click here. distributed over many documents, the risk appears acceptable, or at least unavoidable. A modern, digital format, however, means the whole data is in one place and could be cop- ied onto a USB stick very easily, running the risk that clones or copies of products could be produced instantly. Both analog and digital approaches represent a real security risk, but the slightly lower risk approach remains the better in this respect. e key lesson for any- one involved in digitalization of engineering and manufacturing data is that unless security is built into tools that transfer, access, or pro- cess data, the risk to adopt them may be too great. Having PCB fabrication onshore reduces the overall risk substantially, in that violations of trust can more easily be brought to account. Improvements Are Needed To make digital format design data exchange acceptable, a step-change improvement is needed. A new, simple concept has been cre- ated using IPC-2581. e design files associ- ated with each product remain securely within the OEM domain, and are not simply sent to the manufacturing partner. A secure messag- ing solution, such as IPC-CFX with end-to-end encryption, provides certain elements of the data to fabrication CAM systems as needed, as well as for other uses in manufacturing, such as for machines to use as a contextual reference. Each authorized party requests only the ele- ments of the design data needed to fulfill their roles without the need for local storage of the design data. In this way, there is no opportu- nity for design IP leakage. e knowledge of the product is the resultant operational data, not the design information. is is more prac- tically achieved where there is automation of design data processing, as is uniquely possible with IPC-2581 files. Resolving these two challenges in PCB fabri- cation, collecting information related to mate- rial and product IDs, with the ability to con- textualize against solid engineering data, opens the floodgates for Smart manufacturing within