Enabling Advanced Data Analytics for Manufacturing
Making it easy to obtain, standardize, and use your manufacturing data for new and legacy machines
ArchFX Broker
For the first time, the ArchFX Broker makes it easy for manufacturers to get advanced data from any SMT manufacturing machine, standardize it, and securely use the data on-premise or move it to any cloud platform using the ArchFX Broker.
Here’s how it works: The ArchFX™ Broker enables data to be captured in one centralized location. Once captured, you can easily automate reporting on key performance indicators like throughput, machine utilization, LU (line utilization), and OEE (overall equipment effectiveness). It also enables manufacturers to build advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence applications to optimize their operations.
Collect SMT Machine Data
Arch database connectors and sensors make it easy to quickly instrument commonly used SMT machines—including legacy machines—to gather data on machine cycles, quality testing results, environmental data, and more.
Arch connects to both proprietary and standard software APIs on newer machines such as Pick-and-Place, inspection machines, and printers. The ArchFX Broker’s database connectors silently stream data from the database in the background with no performance impact. For legacy machines generating no data, Arch IOTile devices can tap PLC or wire I/O as well as monitor machines for shocks, voltage, temperature, humidity, and other environmental metrics. Arch edge devices utilize Bluetooth Low Energy to a robust, low cost wireless network that passes data to the broker via WiFi or Ethernet.
Deploy on-premise or in the cloud
The ArchFX Broker can run on-premise, normalize data, and securely transfer data into any cloud. It can run on VMs or be installed on an existing factory-floor machine’s native OS. The Broker can cache months of production data, function as an edge server, and provide low-latency on-site custom dashboards and condition alerts.
ArchFX Broker can also run in the cloud and normalize incoming data from any source.
Production performance dashboard
Manufacturers sometimes want production data cached at the local site to support real-time exception notifications and low-latency dashboards for operational staff. The ArchFX Broker can be deployed on-site in factories and serve as a local edge server.
All raw data collected by Arch from sensors, logs, vendor APIs, integrations, etc. is sent to the ArchFX Broker. The Broker transforms raw data from diverse proprietary formats into standardized messages that are ready to power applications and advanced analytics. The Broker caches all of the site’s data for 90 days and can use the cached data to support real-time local production dashboards and condition alerts.
Data is also securely transferred to ArchFX Cloud for permanent archiving on the cloud in the data lake, a relational database, and a timeseries database. So all data collected from the site by the Broker will remain permanently available for purposes like showing performance over time and developing machine learning models.
“Arch is being deployed across many of our digital factories to capture the relevant analytics that help us drive production efficiencies, process automation, and predictive analytics. They can pull raw data from new and existing machines to help us generate actionable metrics. We are very excited with our partnership; their technology is very impressive.”
– Gus Shahin, Chief Information Officer, Flex
Standardize data to enable analytics insights
Even when factory machines generate data, the data is often in diverse, incompatible formats that make analytics and machine learning difficult. The ArchFX Broker can standardize data into a common format so data scientists can focus on insights instead of on mapping fields, yielding competitive advantage.
Configurable workers for
data transformation
The ArchFX broker has a high performance open architecture including the ability to have any number of worker processes to handle data transformations, data transfers, and other requirements. The number of workers of each type can be tuned up or down to match the deployment’s load requirements and to optimize spending on public clouds.
Works with native
cloud services
The ArchFX Broker integrates with cloud event hubs to support advanced enterprise IoT cloud messaging infrastructures and leverage cloud-based services and analytics.
Supports enterprise applications
ArchFX Broker can work with your existing manufacturing execution system and ERP solution, so your existing investment is protected.
Securely federate and share data
across suppliers, contract manufacturers, and OEMs
Leading OEMs are increasingly asking their contract manufacturers to submit detailed reports on throughput, quality, line utilization, and OEE. The ArchFX Broker can securely store data in ArchFX Cloud so it can be federated and shared with the ArchFX Factory Exchange throughout the value chain to provide the secure visibility into production and quality processes that world-class brands demand today.
Similarly, ArchFX Broker and ArchFX Cloud can be used with the ArchFX Factory Exchange to share machine and component information and prescriptive and predictive maintenance information between manufacturers and vendors to improve the quality and timeliness of support and maximize machine performance.
