Critical Manufacturing at APEX 2025
Summary
“Customer demand for new and unique products is rising, which means electronics companies must shorten development cycles,” states Dante Dominguez, Director of Sales for SMT, North America. This capability requires the implementation of a smart, Industry 4.0-led MES solution that provides an elevated level of process orchestration and standardisation, alongside the agility to execute rapid changeovers. Industry 4.0 is transforming manufacturing, but without the optimal MES to support the replacement of multiple disconnected point solutions with a fully integrated factory system, achieving real time visibility, material flow automation, and scalability will prove challenging. Electronics manufacturers visiting Critical Manufacturing at IPC APEX EXPO will discover an MES with many industry-specific attributes, such as: MSD and floor-life control for handling sensitive components; material serialisation, and tracking for complete traceability; material availability checks for upcoming orders; set-up preparation ensuring the right recipes, consumables, and durables for key processes; X-outs and virtual ink spot handling to minimise costs and waste; and advanced analytics to provide insights for process optimisation and better decision-making. The solution also oversees Edge Processing within the IoT Data Platform to reveal powerful real-time factory insights that drive tangible outcomes.