Learning with Leo: Drones—Meeting Demand Without Compromise
Nolan’s Notes: Our Spotlight on North America
Global Sourcing Spotlight: Building a Supply Chain That Bends, Not Breaks
Taking Standards and Industry Into a Future Age
May 24, 2024 | Chris Jorgensen, IPCEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 proved to be another busy week in the world of IPC Factory of the Future standards development. It would be near impossible to cover every last nook and cranny of important discussions, outcomes, and future-looking plans that occurred during our Factory of the Future standards committee meetings, but we will do our best to provide a textual highlight reel for the week.
All the standards activities mentioned here are open for involvement by anyone. There is no IPC membership required or cost to participate. Our committees and A-Teams are simply looking for like-minded people who will roll up their sleeves and work with colleagues from around the world to advance these standards. Click here to sign up.
A Hermes Group is Born
APEX EXPO was host to the first-ever meeting of the IPC Hermes Standard Task Group. That’s right, we now have a task group for closer collaboration with The Hermes Standard Initiative members on the ongoing development of IPC-HERMES-9852, The Global Standard for Machine-to-Machine Communication in SMT Assembly.
The Hermes Standard Initiative and IPC formed this task group to give Hermes users on their shop floors a seat at the table and a voice in the ongoing development of the standard. This is an important step forward as Hermes utilization increases, especially in facilities that also utilize IPC-CFX.
During the meeting, attendees learned that IPC-HERMES-9852, Version 1.6 had recently cleared Final Draft for Industry Review (FDIR) and subsequent unanimous vote by the Hermes Standard Initiative members. The standard is now under vote by an IPC ballot group with publication planned for later this spring.
Even though Version 1.6 may be wrapping up, the Hermes Messengers A-Team is already getting to work on enhancements for Version 1.7.
To read the rest of this article, which appeared in Real Time with... IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Show & Tell Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Your magazines are a great platform for people to exchange knowledge. Thank you for the work that you do."
Simon Khesin - Schmoll MaschinenSuggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/08/2026 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007This week, I’ve selected some outstanding interviews that you’ll want to take note of. First, is a roundtable discussion featuring three dynamic industry cybersecurity experts. Please watch this important discussion that affects us all. Following that, I spotlight the IPC-2581 Consortium, which explains why IPC-2581 is the standard to replace Gerber data for manufacturing. Next, I am including my interview with PCBAA and AAM, who collaborated to release a short documentary on U.S. PCB manufacturing.
Global Electronics Association to Testify at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Panel on Section 301 Structural Excess Capacity
05/08/2026 | Global Electronics AssociationChris Mitchell, Vice President for Global Government Relations at the Global Electronics Association, will testify before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Panel on Section 301 Structural Excess Capacity on Friday, May 8.
Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Karen McConnell
05/07/2026 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007In 2021, Karen McConnell was awarded the Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame award in recognition of her contributions to the Association and the electronics industry. As a senior staff member and CAD/CAM engineer at Northrop Grumman Enterprise Services, her primary responsibility was to develop a common, shared EDM (Electronic Document Management) library to support the electrical and PCB design tool initiatives across Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.
A Necessary Shift From Gerber to IPC-2581
05/07/2026 | Tracy Riggan, Global Electronics AssociationIPC-2581 is an open, vendor-neutral data exchange standard developed by the Global Electronics Association to streamline the exchange of PCB design information across fabrication, assembly, and test. It replaces multiple legacy formats—including industry standards, Gerber, and ODB++—with a single, comprehensive, XML-based dataset that captures all manufacturing details.
TTC-LLC and TTCI: Smarter Training, Stronger Test at PCB East 2026
04/27/2026 | The Test Connection Inc.The Training Connection LLC (TTC-LLC) and The Test Connection, Inc. (TTCI) will be exhibiting together at PCB East 2026, taking place April 28–May 1 at the DCU Convention Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Attendees can find both teams at Booth #103 during the main exhibition day on Wednesday, April 29.