While facing fierce world-wide competition, enterprises from different industries in Taiwan dedicate themselves to the development of “smart manufacturing.” Developing smart manufacturing requires a business information system and a large number of information talents, as well as terminal manufacturers to integrate all information from different equipment and manufacturing facilities to equip smart sensors and internet devices to connect to the terminal units. The printed circuit board (PCB) industry in Taiwan is marching toward the prospect of smart manufacturing. With assistance from the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs(IDB, MOEA), Taiwan Printed Circuit Association(TPCA) integrates all enterprises from the PCB supply chain with the guidance of domestic experts and scholars to establish the first PCB equipment protocol (PCB Equipment Communication Interfaces, PCBECI) in the world. The protocol enables facility manufacturers to develop equipment based on unified protocol standards, so that terminal manufacturers can manage a variety of equipment with the same system to conduct smart manufacturing and industrial integration.
Ampoc Far-East Co., Ltd. is a system supplier providing facilities, materials and inspection equipment necessary for PCB, flat panel display (FPD), semiconductor wafer manufacturing, and package testing. Its self-developed wet-related equipment for PCB manufacturing has taken the lead in Asia. To enhance its competitiveness in the equipment manufacturing industry, Ampoc Far-East Co., Ltd. dedicates itself to the R&D of smart manufacturing equipment based on the PCB equipment protocol standards. Furthermore, it seeks support and assistance from MOEAs’ Technology Development Program and Industry Upgrading and Transformation Service Team (The Service Industry Sub-Group) to shorten the lead time for new product development.
Ampoc Far-East Co., Ltd. looks into ways to make the PCB manufacturing process “smarter”; it noticed that one of the procedures, measuring thickness of copper foils, consumed a lot of time. To measure the thickness of copper foils, the inspector had to sample copper foils off-line during the manufacturing process and measured the thickness from many spots using destructive measurement to ensure the thickness is qualified throughout. After the thickness reached specified standards, it could then proceed to the next process. With the assistance from MOEA’s Optoelectronic & Semiconductor Equipment Industry Development Project and cooperation with The Service Industry Sub-Group (Metal Industries Research & Development Centre, MIRDC), Ampoc Far-East Co., Ltd. was able to devote its efforts to the development of a non-contact smart measurement and communication module, whereby the thickness of copper foils can be measured by an instant measuring equipment without contacting the surface, preventing the surface from being damaged. The results of the measurement can be uploaded instantly to the management center of the terminal system factory in the network, so that terminal manufacturers can implement big data analysis and manufacturing quality management to create new patterns for smart manufacturing and develop new business for equipment markets. It is estimated that the newly developed non-contact smart measurement equipment can bring a five to ten percent increase in profits for Ampoc Far-East Co., Ltd..