Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/960594
64 SMT007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2018 said the format, the content itself, requires further discussion. "What is the content that we should standardize and what is the data that we should send from each of the process? These are the chal - lenges that we are facing right now. We do hope that the commit- tee can create more open concept so that more and more companies will join in, and to create that envi- ronment where the industry can easily benefit. It is also how we can convince more parties to adopt the standard." "The challenge is always to define the content of the data and make sure every- body understands the same content," said Marktscheffel. "For instance, if we are talking about temperatures, I say, it is 20°C, others may likely see it as Fahrenheit. 20°F is quite cold, while 20°C is a nice temperature. If the data content is not properly defined, there's a big risk that we think we have a common language, but we understand different things." Fenton said the integration had been easier than they thought. "I think IPC and Aegis have done a great job with creating the standard. It is already almost complete. The latest standard that I was sent has something like 120 message headers; it is going to be easy, for people to integrate. I think the challenge will be for other manufacturers to just put the effort into it." What's Next Building a smart factory requires the cooperation of many companies. And everyone must speak the same language to have the same under- standing. Setting aside personal requirements for the betterment of the whole industry will result to more manufacturers adopting the standard. "I think there is more work to be done by IPC and Aegis and other members of the CFX team to promote the benefits rather than the tech - nology. The end-user really doesn't care how it works, they care what it is going to do for his business. I think, as manufacturers like us start advertising the fact that we can do it, it is then down to us to push the benefits of why we did it," said Fenton. "Being able to know that you can talk to other people's equipment will be great for innovators of, maybe, different robots, different storage systems, and dashboards for productivity, for instance, will be much easier to write. Now, if you want to write a dashboard to show efficiencies, you must contact the vendor directly, ask for their data formats, and then write a front-end system. Whereas with CFX, once that becomes standard, the people that write that type of software will know exactly what the inputs will look like. And therefore, developing these productiv - ity dashboards and MES will be much easier. I really hope it takes off, because it is going to be important in the future. But the important thing is we must explain the benefit to the customer. So that, I think, is for us the next step." "I am impressed with just how IPC was able to pull this together so quickly and made this exhibition and the CFX aspect to really work. It shows that the industry can pull together when it wants to pull together," said Smith. Khoo said, "We do hope that the commit - tees will be able to create a great standard that everybody would adopt. I think this year is the starting pace where we will create more awareness for those parties to join in and to provide ideas and concepts." It is indeed important for every stakeholder in the industry to work together toward this goal of a connected factory. In this Indus - try 4.0 vision, we are entering an era where new technologies transform the look of systems and processes of the modern factory. This CFX demonstration was just that. Imagine the near future, where these vendors are integrated together towards one common manufacturing goal—a true industry evolution. SMT007 Khoo Yak Hua Thomas Marktscheffel