Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1534953
36 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2025 By Chris Jorgensen IPC (Editor's note: Part one of a two-part series.) Since its initial release in March 2019, IPC Connected Factory Exchange (CFX), the global standard for plug-and-play, machine- to-machine, and machine-to-system com- munication serving as the backbone for digital manufacturing, has seen continu- ous enhancement through multiple version updates. In 2024, the standard matured as adoption spread, with a global committee of EMS, OEM, machine vendors, and soware solution providers twice releasing version IPC-CFX, 2.0: Expanding the Digital Backbone of Electronics Manufacturing updates to build on the standard's base frame- work and enhance its usability in industry. In February 2025, IPC released CFX, Ver- sion 2.0. is full version update, documented in IPC-2591, Connected Factory Exchange, Version 2.0, provides several updates or expansion to support a broader range of shop floor operations. It also includes some sig- nificant updates to account for legacy sup- port, AGV and AMR technologies deployed in a CFX environment, and two additional equipment types—all significant milestones in the standard's evolution.