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68 SMT007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2025 As EMS companies adopt automation, machine data collection and integration are among the biggest challenges. It's now com- monplace for equipment to collect and out- put vast amounts of data, sometimes more than a manufacturer knows what to do with. While many OEM equipment vendors offer full-line solutions, most EMS companies still take a vendor-agnostic approach, select- ing the equipment companies that best ser ve their needs rather than a single-vendor solu- tion. Many manufacturers still struggle with machine data silos, where different machines such as pick-and-place systems, inspection machines and screen printers store informa- tion separately and in different formats, pre- venting a unified view of factor y performance. In an era where Industry 4.0 and smart manu- facturing are shaping the future, companies that fail to unify their data collection can miss out on the bigger picture. Here, I explore why integrat- ing machine data is critical for efficiency, qual- ity control, and predictive analytics, and how manufacturers can use automation to overcome these challenges. The Problem With Data Silos in Electronics Manufacturing Modern electronics manufacturing facilities operate with different machines, each playing a crucial role in production. Despite their inter- connected roles, these separate proprietary systems oen store data from the machines. For example, a typical pick-and-place machine records placement accuracy, component utili- zation, mis-picks, etc., but that data isn't nec- Smart Automation by Josh Casper, Horizon Sales The Power of Data Integration in Electronics Manufacturing