Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/948150
18 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2018 data stream. And the demands are going to be there for that. Forsythe: We suspect so, yes. That's a natural progression, where we'll be the guy feeding that cleaning data, the pick-and-place guys are going to be feeding in their data—the AOI and SPI, every process in the line. We'll simply be leading the way on the cleaning side. Matties: What sort of feedback are you getting from the customers? Forsythe: They're quite satisfied, because it's a delivery system that is providing user-friendly alerts, and no one needs another horn going off in the factory. And it's a technical world, so even the flashing lights are sometimes more distracting than they are helpful. So, the idea that some engineer's getting an alert on his phone, whether it's a text or an email, whatever their choice maybe, is empower - ing. They're up at their desk, say they're at the end of the build- ing, and they get this alert. Well, instead of running to that machine to find out what's going on, they log onto the system, click, look and see if corrective action is needed, and if so, by whom. This is a very real-time tool that we think adds a lot of value and a lot of performance to their day, by simplifying their day a little bit. Matties: Right, and aside from those efficiencies, are there other efficiencies that they found in just processing alone, or in some points that they didn't even realize? Forsythe: Sure, and remember this: Engineers are thinkers. Our customers are thinkers. They're going to look at this data and they're going to connect some dots in their world and say, "You know, we have this little issue over here on the side; I wonder if I tweak this just a little bit, maybe that will solve some other problems." And by having that well-controlled system and the data, it allows them to experi- ment and try to improve their overall process by making some tweaks to the cleaning process. Matties: How does that affect their security? Forsythe: We've taken two steps to ameliorate that issue. First, this is a transmit-only system. There's no remote-control change settings capa- bility at all; it's simply a broadcast-out, so that should decrease the opportunity for someone to hack in since there's no ramp or in-channel. Secondly, we separate the bar code data from the backup data in a customer's product; it doesn't go to the cloud, so that stuff stays local. Matties: But it's still traceable? Forsythe: Still traceable, but it stays local, and it doesn't go to the cloud. So now the data that's out in the cloud is not connected to anything. It separates the process data from the prod- uct, and the process data by itself doesn't help anybody because most people want many part numbers. The idea that some- one outside your organization could know what part number is being run in any particular time is pretty hard to get to. Matties: You've covered security and accessibility; it's all Internet-based through the cloud. What about customization? Forsythe: Well, there are the displays, whether line graphs or the dashboard tiles, and they can all be tweaked and twisted, and you can make one bigger and one smaller. The software might decide it should be aligned, but if you like a bar chart, so there are loads of choices in there to play with, to have it speak in the clear- est possible way to the individual user. Matties: In terms of the customization and utilizing it in the factory, is it only tied to your controllers?