Standard of Excellence: The Perfect PCB Fab—A Vision for Five Years Ahead
Facing the Future: Engaging a New Generation
Global Sourcing Spotlight: Get Out of China? It’s Quite ComplexCimetrix Helping to Digitize Factories
April 16, 2020 | Dan Feinberg, Technology Editor, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Dan Feinberg met with Cimetrix’s Ranjan Chatterjee to discuss how their new Sapience software allows factories to establish communication with a wide variety of equipment across multiple lines and multiple facilities across the whole industry.
Dan Feinberg: Cimetrix’s software products deliver factory automation. Tell me about it, particularly the software for connectivity, analytics, and sensing, which, from what I understand is your specialty.
Ranjan Chatterjee: Yes. We work on automating the machines, collecting data from those machines, and performing analytics on it. In other words, we provide software on both sides of the pipe as well. We provide the pipe as well We provide you with control capabilities as well as connectivity capabilities on the machines to automate them. We connect any kind of machines across the whole industry, whether it’s semiconductor front end, semiconductor back end, or PCB assembly. We have customers in all of these industries. Most wafer fabrication customers use our products to do analytics, and then we provide OEE and those kinds of things. We prefer standards, but sometimes we do custom projects.
Feinberg: The semiconductor industry and board fabrication are closely connected. What are some of the similarities you see between the two?
Chatterjee: Because of the advances in packaging technology, the boundaries between the industries are blurring. SMT machines are handling wafers now, for example. PCB industries are using a variety of non-traditional substrates that require a cleanroom.
Feinberg: Likewise, what are the key differences that make implementations unique between these two industries?
Chatterjee: The main difference is the cost and complexity of the manufacturing equipment and processes in the two industries. Investment in semiconductors is much higher. Still, the need for data and analytics is the same for every industry.
Feinberg: What other software do you have? What have you been working on?
Chatterjee: One of the main things we’re working on is this platform called Sapience, which is a platform for connecting any equipment with any protocol into various apps. We provide test APIs, and you can write an app. Think of it as like iOS, where you have the Apple store. They would provide you the ability to write your own application, and we will run the store; then, you will be able to connect to any kind of device, machine, robot, or a sensor.
To read this entire interview, which appeared in the March 2020 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Share on:
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
12/01/2023 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007This week’s news items taught me a few things I didn’t know. For instance, there’s news about the new equipment for THT work, governmental support for advanced packaging technologies, an upcoming webinar from iNEMI on counterfeits, an interview with U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, one of the sponsors of the bipartisan Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act, and columnist Tim Haag, using Star Trek to illustrate why simplicity is, ahem, paramount.
VPT Earns AS9100D Certification
11/30/2023 | PRNewswireVPT, Inc., a HEICO company, VPT, Inc., a trusted provider of power conversion solutions for aerospace and defense, proudly announces its latest achievement of obtaining SAE AS9100 Revision D certification. SAE AS9100 Revision D enhances VPT's existing suite of certifications, including MIL-PRF-38534, MIL-STD-883, J-STD-001 (Space), IPC-A-610, and IPC-A-600, further cementing our commitment to excellence in quality and reliability.
TRI Strengthens Presence in Malaysia with Office Expansion
11/29/2023 | TRITest Research, Inc. (TRI), the industry's leading provider of Test and Inspection systems for the electronics manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce the expansion of its Malaysian office, which opened in 2010.
Dana on Data: Simplify PCB Documentation
11/29/2023 | Dana Korf -- Column: Dana on DataNovember’s issue of Design007 Magazine had an excellent theme that evolved around design simplification. There were exceptionally good articles about how to reduce over-constrained or needlessly complex designs. One significant time-consuming category is the creation of many design files and drawings which lead to lengthy creation and interpretation time along with the considerable time to resolve conflicting or erroneous information.
Statement of Support from IPC for New Actions to Strengthen America’s Supply Chains, Lower Costs for Families, and Secure Key Sectors
11/27/2023 | IPCIPC welcomes the actions outlined today by the U.S. Government “to strengthen supply chains critical to America’s economic and national security.”