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March 25, 2025 | ASMPTEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Dr. Thomas Marktscheffel, Director Product Management Software Solutions at ASMPT, was honored by the IPC at this year's IPC APEX EXPO in Anaheim, California, for his many years of commitment to the organization. The non-proprietary interface standards he helped develop form the basis for ASMPT’s intelligent factory concept.
“Especially in the age of big data, having standardized interfaces is more important than ever,” said Dr. Thomas Marktscheffel. “They are indispensable for using data across lines and locations in order to make electronics manufacturing more transparent, efficient and resilient, and to continuously improve the quality of your production.”
Basis for the intelligent factory
Dr. Marktscheffel began his professional career at Siemens AG in 1989 and has worked for ASMPT in the areas of R&D and product management software solutions since 2004. As part of his work for ASMPT, the proven software expert was involved in the development of the widely used industrial interface standards IPC-HERMES-9852 for M2M communication and IPC-2591 CFX for M2H communication, among others. Based on these interfaces and its intelligent factory concept, ASMPT has developed numerous software features, such as the Automated Program Change function of the WORKS Software Suite, which allows PCB data to travel from machine to machine via IPC-HERMES-9852 and trigger automatic downloads of new production programs when the product changes. The IPC-2591 CFX standard forms the basis for many other line- and factory-encompassing software solutions from ASMPT for intelligent automation in the areas of planning, work preparation, production, quality assurance, and production-wide material flow optimization.
Commitment to the unhindered flow of data
“Collecting and processing data throughout the factory and using it where it is needed and delivers benefits is what describes the essence of the intelligent factory strategy,” says Dr. Marktscheffel. “For ASMPT and me, this was and continues to be an important reason to consistently push the issue of interface standardization within the IPC. Fortunately, I can rely on the active support of ASMPT in this endeavor, and we will continue to work on ensuring that data can flow unhindered and in a non-proprietary manner in the Intelligent Factory so that it can be used to improve quality and efficiency.”
The IPC (Institute for Printed Circuits) is a global trade association for the electronics industry. It defines interface standards, offers training and certification, and helps electronics manufacturers to improve their competitiveness, to name just a few of its activities. The IPC also organizes the IPC APEX EXPO, one of the most important annual trade fairs and conferences for the electronics industry that brings together industry leaders, experts and companies from electronics manufacturing all over the world.
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