powered by CFX and HERMES connectivity
Learn more about Young’s commitment to open connectivity.
The Connected Factory Imperative
Modern electronics manufacturing demands more than precision at individual process steps. As production lines grow more complex and quality expectations continue to rise, the ability to move data seamlessly between machines, software systems, and decision-makers has become as critical as the equipment itself. Without standardized machine communication, manufacturers face fragmented data, manual intervention between process steps, and limited visibility into what is actually happening across the line. Connectivity is no longer a feature, it is the foundation of a responsive, intelligent manufacturing operation.
The IPC Connected Factory Exchange (IPC-2591) and the Hermes Standard (IPC-HERMES-9852) represent the industry’s most significant advancements in machine-to-machine and machine-to-system communication for SMT assembly. CFX establishes a universal, open-source messaging protocol that enables any compliant equipment on the line to share process data, quality results, and operational status in real time — without proprietary middleware or custom integrations. The Hermes Standard complements this by governing board transfer communication between adjacent machines, creating a continuous, automated handoff of substrate data from printer to placement to inspection and beyond. Together, these standards form the connective tissue of the modern smart factory.
Koh Young’s commitment to open connectivity predates the widespread adoption of these standards. As a founding participant in both the CFX and Hermes initiatives, Koh Young helped shape the protocols from the ground up — contributing inspection-specific expertise to standards that now serve the entire industry. That foundational involvement earned Koh Young recognition as the first inspection company to achieve CFX certification, a distinction that reflects not only compliance but genuine participation in defining what machine connectivity means for process control and quality management in electronics manufacturing.
That history translates directly into practical value. Koh Young systems integrate natively with CFX and Hermes-enabled lines, eliminating data silos and enabling real-time communication across the production environment. Process engineers gain immediate access to actionable data, quality managers gain end-to-end traceability, and operations teams gain the closed-loop feedback necessary to reduce defects, minimise escapes, and improve yield — underpinned by the data infrastructure every smart factory strategy depends on.
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