eSmartFactory Conference

The eSmartFactory conference (https://esmartfactory.net/) has taken place in California’s Silicon Valley on an annual basis as one of the highlights of the industry calendar. This year, the focus moves to Europe, searching out innovative, practical, and adoptable technologies for successful Smart manufacturing.

European pragmatism, attention to detail, and inspiration behind Industry 4.0, is a perfect match to the aims of this conference, where technologies presented are immediately practical and relevant for companies moving toward digital transformation of manufacturing, and who do not want to get caught out by immature, unsustainable technologies, that come with a glossy sales pitch, but leave a bitter after-taste.

The keynote from Steffen Kroenert, firmly asserts coming business opportunities, as the worlds of semiconductor and electronics assembly converge, allowing those of us in the industry to redefine what happens and where, aligning with expectations of sustainable and risk-controlled local manufacturing.

Looking through the other conference sessions, there are some unique and interesting technologies, and new electronic product categories to explore. The novel invention of electro-medical solution, “Lab on a PCB”, for example, that is set to revolutionize the way we test for a wide range of diseases and conditions, including many forms of cancer, simply by “licking a stick of circuit-board”. Imagine this new industry, creating literally millions of sustainable electro-medical PCBs each month, eliminating damage done by the non-diagnosis of serious conditions.

Across digital manufacturing, several presentations, including from myself, address such things as whether and how AI will change our manufacturing lives, OT-specific Cyber-Security that determines immediately, whether an attack is taking place through analysis of machine behavior, the use of image data for quality and reliability analysis, automation of Smart inspection, Lean material management around machines, and major updates in the ways that data should be used to create value, rather than simply sitting in a stagnant data lake.

Attendees to this conference will experience a unique set of experiences and opportunities in the industry, as we seek to redefine the geography, skills, capabilities, and methods of manufacturing. Being held the day before SMT Connect, also in Nuremberg, the eSmart Factory conference provides a convenient opportunity to be a part of one of the industries’ most important events.