APEX 2022 - Looking Back on a Refreshing Electronics Manufacturing Show

Time 0:00 - In this interview, François starts by explaining why Cogiscan and iTAC were a perfect fit. While Cogiscan really concentrated its efforts on shop floor control and machine connectivity; iTAC on the other hand, decided to build a higher level MES. As Keith explains, those 2 parts are not only complementary, they are intrinsically linked together if a factory really wants to be more effective and efficient (factory control, asset utilization, prevention, etc.)

You can't really have a real Digital Factory without having both and now that factories are getting bigger and bigger, they all want to have a solution that can eventually do everything they need from the shop floor all the way to business KPIs for C-level executives. iTAC and Cogiscan together can do that for electronics manufacturers.

Time 3:04 - Peter then goes on to explain that iTAC now offers more than just an MES - they now have a MOM suite. Covering everything a factory needs: Planning and Scheduling, MES functionality & Analytics. The objective is to be able to do more than just provide visibility. They are helping clients predict what's going to happen before it happens in order for them to take action before hitting a problem. In other words, factories are now able to go from prediction to prevention.

In order to do that iTAC is now able to add AI (standard or client's algorithms) to their systems in order to optimize processes and machine utilization.

Time 4:42 - François elaborates that for Cogiscan, connectivity goes back all the way to the equipment. We've been working for many years with the main equipment vendors (ASM, Juki, Universal Instruments, etc.) to create software that they can integrate into their machines in order for them to seamlessly integrate with one another. In many cases, their clients won't have to buy anything from us since our solution is already integrated into their machine.

Time 6:20 - Nowadays, visibility is not only needed in a factory but sometimes across a more complex ecosystem. For example, some OEMs outsource part of their manufacturing and they want to have complete visibility regarding their supplier's production process (real-time order status, quality management for build requirements, etc.) With iTAC and Cogiscan's solutions, these companies are able to rely on a system that is fully integrated and provides that level of visibility and quality control.

Time 8:32 - For most companies, factory digitalization is not only for PCB assembly since those PCBAs are housed inside something such as in a cellphone, a car, an airplane, a heart monitoring device, etc. Therefore, most factories want a solution that can cover the whole process: from design to the final assembly. With iTAC and Cogiscan, factories are now able to have all the information they need in one place.