Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/831357
48 SMT Magazine • June 2017 Armstrong: Well, one of the things is to have a standard for the information we exchange, the format of that information, and the avenue for channeling that information from one equip- ment supplier to another. Another thing that's very important is having data that is actually usable and actionable. It's one thing to transmit data, but you need to have some kind of useful data. So, things like accuracy come into ques- tion with the AOI inspection. Are you able to generate data that is accurate enough to actual- ly provide some useful actionable resolve in the mating equipment? And this is something that Saki has had a great deal of success in. Mainly because since the very first machines that Saki made, they've always been not only inspection but measure- ment equipment. So that measurement aspect has always been very important for Saki, for say, carrying down through the development of the 3D line up. Now, we see that being a nice ben- efit for us as things develop into this intercon- nectivity and Industry 4.0, smart factory. Saki has the SPI and the AOI equipment and X-ray, all of that can provide feedback data to feed the process with the mating equipment and to trigger the mating equipment to make adjustments, correct placements, based on the data that's measured and fed back. Saki is work- ing with several of the major suppliers, both with pick-and-place equipment and screen printers. A good amount of this is already done, and we're continuing to work with some of the other big players and pursue more to be able to reach out to all the major pieces of equip- ment in the line, and exchange use- ful data that can be used as we fig- ure out just where all this is going to go. We don't want to just limit our- selves or anybody else to just meet- ing up with certain suppliers, and there's a wide variety of equipment out there and a wide mix of how that equipment is mated together. It's important to be able to reach out to the entire market and be able to provide our solutions to the en- tire market and to work with the wide variety of suppliers. Las Marias: Are standards now being developed towards that goal? Armstrong: Well, let's say there's at least talk about the need for that. I guess it's not really clear yet just where we are with establishing those standards, but the need is identified and thought and action being taken in that regard. Las Marias: In the AOI space, what specific de- velopments are happening that are geared to supporting customers toward that trend? Armstrong: Certainly, the connectivity aspect is very important, but what you're able to com- municate through this connectivity is extreme- ly important, and that's one of the things that's become very apparent as we move through the process. What kind of data and how accurate is your data? That determines how useful it's go- ing to be, not only to the customer but in the production line itself. If you can't give accurate data to a pick-and- place machine to make it into some kind of a meaningful correction, or the same with SPI to printer and so on, then you really don't have anything useful to work with. These needs be- came apparent and identified and fortunately, in our case with Saki, we're in very good posi- tion with that. SAKI DISCUSSES INDUSTRY 4.0 AND TRUE 3D TECHNOLOGY Quintin Armstrong