While Industry 4.0 is no longer a new or novel concept, there are still plenty of factories and production facilities that have yet to adopt one of the most crucial aspects envisioned by this revolution – automation of the factory itself. At the machine level, automation is now commonplace; however, setting up each of the machines to talk to more than just themselves can be quite the daunting task if undertaken unprepared and uninformed. What needs to be communicated, how this communication should be implemented, and what should be done with the newfound communication channels and potentially vast amounts of information available for each machine are the key questions that should guide any effort to implement factory automation. Standard communication frameworks like SEMI’s SECS/GEM (SEMI Equipment Communication Standard / General Equipment Model) do help in providing a basis for what is generally possible but concrete goals and example setups can be immensely helpful in navigating unfamiliar situations. Of course, all of this is not being carried out without good reason; various benefits to embracing the automation aspects of Industry 4.0 include:
- Rapid and effective responses to any production interruptions through resource-lean, comprehensive, and continuous monitoring of machine processes.
- Efficient future optimizations of processes by utilizing complete records of production runs collected in a single centralized location.
- Reduced difficulty in overseeing and operating multiple machines in environments where manpower is a common limiting factor.
Setting up the frameworks to achieve these benefits can be difficult without a firm understanding of the potentials, which is why Palomar Technologies will share its experience in facilitating factory automation and how the Palomar systems contribute to Industry 4.0 and comply with SEMI communication standards. In this webinar, you will learn:
- What is possible to communicate and command through SECS/GEM.
- How Palomar systems utilize and interface with SECS/GEM.
- What some example host applications look like and what needs to be done on the factory end to make the most out of the communication channels integrated into Palomar machines.
