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76 PCB007 MAGAZINE I OCTOBER 2023 sistent data from processes and machinery. ere are two main reasons for it: 1. Lack of connectivity of some equipment, particularly the older machinery that makes data collection difficult if not impossible, 2. Lack of common data exchange protocols and formats within the PCB industry. e lack of connectivity can sometimes be addressed by installing dedicated sensors that transmit the relevant data wirelessly. In other cases, a special soware can be used to grab information directly from the user interface and send it to the central database by Ethernet or Bluetooth. e lack of common formats and proto- cols basically means that data from different processes must first be converted into some type of common format in order to be useable and then "stitched" together along relevant features and data dimensions. Also, some equipment manufacturers deliber- ately prevent external users from accessing and sharing their data, attempting to lock-in their cus- tomers within the ecosystem of that company's products and solutions. In such cases, the con- nection can be refused, or data can be encrypted to prevent third parties from reading it. We chose the opposite approach, ensuring safe and secure access to all data generated by our systems as well as data kept in our data- bases, using SDK (soware development kit). is enables other users, such as third-party developers or customers' IT engineers, to take full advantage of the wide range of actionable information available from AOI or AVI/AFI systems. The Future of ML and AI Technologies in PCB Manufacturing ere is little doubt that, for better or worse, AI will transform almost every aspect of our lives; this process has already begun. Only a few years ago, technologies like ChatGPT were considered science fiction, yet they are now available to everyone. Every industry, includ- ing ours, has the potential to be transformed by ML and AI technologies. What can we expect in the future once the above-mentioned challenges are resolved? One possibility is that AI systems may take over more of the day-to-day decision-making on how to manage PCB manufacturing oper- ations, even down to optimizing each individ- ual piece of equipment. When combined with material handling automation, such a system has the potential to automate PCB manufac- turing to unprecedented levels. Intelligent manufacturing solutions based on AI will be able to resolve quality issues on their own by automatically tweaking various parts of the process, reroute production flow to maximize yield, and optimize equipment and material usage, relying on human opera- tors only in a few exceptional cases. Once AI can control and optimize all elements of PCB fabrication, from quoting and CAD to manu- facturing and quality inspection, Smart fac- tories will truly become intelligent, ushering in a new era of innovation and technological progress. PCB007 Val Kaplan serves as the vice president of market- ing at CIMS, a globally renowned industry leader in the development of smart factory solutions includ- ing automated optical inspection, automation, advanced software, and cutting-edge AI solutions.