ASM focused its presence at this year’s SMTconnect trade show in Nuremberg on answering the question how new smart factory technology can be effectively and profitably applied on all production levels. With exciting innovations from all segments of ASM’s broad product portfolio, the company demonstrated what the integrated smart factory of the future will look like.

On a central ‘control wall’, ASM showed off its new ASM Production Planner and ASM Command Center software options, which prove that many tasks in a modern electronics factory can be easily run from a central control point. And on two production lines (one featuring a DEK NeoHorizon printer with the ASM ProcessExpert and a SIPLACE SX placement machine, the other E by DEK and E by SIPLACE systems), ASM presented new features like the improved SIPLACE Odd-Shaped Component Package II and the new DEK Printer Programming. Another big hit was the new ASM SmartStencil system. Visitors crowded constantly around the DEK NeoHorizon printer to see this RFID-based hardware and software solution for monitoring and managing the service life of stencils in DEK printers in action.

At the SMTconnect 2019 trade show in Nuremberg, ASM exhibited solutions for the integrated smart factory in the areas of hardware, software and services. Highlights at the booth and the two SMT production lines included DEK SmartStencil, ASM Command Center and the digital learning and maintenance tools from the ASM Service team.

What does the integrated smart factory look like?
Smart and efficient electronics manufacturing requires the networking and integration of machines and processes, and in some cases of even entire factories. “No other equipment supplier has as much experience in implementing smart factory concepts as ASM,” says Gabriela Reckewerth, Senior Director of Global Marketing at ASM. “What we showed at this year’s SMTconnect in Nuremberg was based on our customers’ desire for a coordinated, open and digital concept that covers all workflows. This focus on total integration reshapes many processes in electronics production, and we want to make sure that our customers take full advantage of its potential.” The spectrum of ASM’s solutions in the areas of interfaces and integration ranges from the machine to line processes to factory control with MES solutions and cloud-based networking worldwide.

ASM SmartStencil: RFID-based service life control for printing stencils
With ASM SmartStencil, technology leader ASM introduced an RFID-based hardware and software solution for monitoring and managing the service life of stencils in DEK printers. For the first time, electronics manufacturers can have complete transparency regarding the operating life of stencils – automatically and without manual scanning. At the ASM booth, the company’s experts demonstrated the functionality of the new RFID-based print cycle control system: An RFID scanner read the stencils’ tags, recognized spent stencils, issued warnings if a stencil’s service life neared its end, and even stopped the printer of the maximum number of print cycles had been exceeded.
The system also kept track by writing the current job's print cycles to the RFID tag of the currently mounted stencil. In addition to improving the reliability and quality of the  printing process, ASM SmartStencil also makes internal logistics and component processes more efficient.

ASM Command Center: The new software solution for intelligent operator management
Another highlight at the ASM booth was the ASM Command Center, a highly innovative software platform that revolutionizes traditional operator models with their rigid assignment of people to lines. ASM Command Center permanently monitors all of a factory's production lines and analyzes all data and status messages. If many assists are needed, it uses smart devices (e.g., smartwatches) to notify operators with the appropriate training while supplying them with the necessary information and help. With ASM Command Center, companies can form teams that support multiple lines in a flexible, competent and task-oriented manner. Another benefit: assists like adjustments that don’t require an operator’s physical presence on the line can be performed from a central console.

Maintenance 4.0: Smart service tools and integration scenarios
Another focal point at this year's SMTconnect show were ASM's smart service tools as part of ASM Maintenance 4.0. Exhibits included a brand-new app with the virtual training offerings of the ASM Academy, the company's state-of-the-art e-learning platform. Visitors could test the app's virtual reality components, which convey hands-on experience for certain maintenance workflows, in realistic simulations. The ASM Service team also presented integration scenarios for optimized maintenance management for easy planning and smart user guidance, as well as ASM's Remote Smart Factory system for secure global connectivity and support between the equipment supplier and electronics manufacturers.

E by ASM: Superb quality and smart software for the midspeed segment
E by DEK and E by SIPLACE, which ASM developed especially for the flexible midspeed market, were also present at the SMTconnect show, with the line’s integrated software concept being center-stage. ASM's E-Solutions now use the same programming, planning, control and monitoring tools that ASM successfully employs in its high-end equipment and its integrated workflow solutions. Of special interest was the ASM Line Monitor software option. It can display not only order and line status information, but minimizes mistakes and line stops by proactively coordinating the staff's operations. ASM demonstrated how electronics manufacturers in all industry segments can benefit from E by ASM thanks to the platform’s impressive performance ratings and smart software portfolio. ASM’s E-solutions support many ASM software solutions that improve not just a line's productivity, but the processes and efficiency of the entire factory. For the Germany region, ASM offered an attractive zero-percent financing concept.

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