COVENTRY, UK – Manufacturing Technology Centre has developed a smart factory demonstrator for the manufacture of electronic assemblies to help EMS companies “go digital.”

MTC's digital engineering experts are working with key vendors to develop and evolve a range of digital processes that help electronics manufacturers improve productivity and quality, while becoming agile to meet time-to-market constraints.

To power the smart factory demonstrator, MTC is using IPC Connected Factory Exchange, a standard developed by the IPC Connected Factory Initiative Subcommittee, which enables industrial machines to communicate with other machines and systems across manufacturing facilities, including the supply chain, using standardized machine communication message sets. IPC CFX powers the development of the MTC demonstrator test bed for EMS. EMS firms can trial digital technologies without disrupting day-to-day production. The technology includes augmented reality.

OEM and technology supplier members from a variety of industrial sectors support the project.

"Our goal is to showcase products going through a state-of-the-art digital production line, collecting data from each station and machine, creating visibility, and showing the value that can be obtained from the many uses of the data,” said Naim Kapadia, technology specialist at MTC. “It is essential for industry to understand that digitalization can now be achieved using interoperable standard components, which yield immediate results and short-term ROIs, which are best seen to be believed.”

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