Press release, Product News – January 2020

Adapdix Software integration at ficonTEC

Machine Learning for Advanced Manufacturing: Predictive Analytics and Adaptive Maintenance for Photonics Assembly & Test

ficonTEC Service GmbH of Achim, Germany, and Adapdix Corporation of Pleasanton, CA/USA, have entered into a strategic agreement to implement Adapdix’ EdgeOps™ platform technology within ficonTEC’s advanced photonics production systems. With the integration of an AI / Machine Learning layer to monitor, predict and appropriately adapt operation-critical process steps, overall system reliability and performance is improved, thus creating a further level of sophistication and differentiation for ficonTEC’s machine systems.

EdgeOps™, a market-leading AI/ML platform and software engine, works by tapping into the wealth of data generated by ficonTEC’s comprehensive software control interface, PROCESS CONTROL MASTER (PCM). PCM already automatically logs real-time positional, vibrational, environmental and physical/optical performance data for all system modules and customer process steps. Predictive analytics realizes the full potential of this data for optimization purposes.
According to Torsten Vahrenkamp, CEO at ficonTEC, “Through the addition of EdgeOps™ into our software we integrate access to predictive maintenance technology for the customer. This helps streamline real-time monitoring, greatly simplifies the establishment of process and machine metrics, and enables the development of low-latency adaptive maintenance capability – in particular vital for installations operating at the Edge.”

ficonTEC customers will be able to trial and ultimately select subscription-based add-ons through the company’s newly launched ‘Performance Services’. Tailored packages variously targeted at collation and visualization of machine-level operational data serve predictive analytics and facilitate self-optimization. This development not only underlines and strengthens ficonTEC’s leadership position in the photonics manufacturing space, it additionally establishes a significant growth path for ficonTEC production systems in modern volume manufacturing sectors (Industry 4.0, IIoT, sensors and more).
Anthony Hill, CEO at Adapdix, adds, “We have already successfully deployed multiple systems for key device manufacturers, demonstrating a measurable reduction in downtime and increased production yield. By handing control to the systems operators in this way, they can expect a tractable improvement in operational performance, leading to lower total-cost-of-ownership (TCO). Taking all aspects together, device manufacturers themselves can better leverage their own competitive edge in the market.”

More information is available by contacting ficonTEC or Adapdix directly.

About ficonTEC Service GmbH
ficonTEC is a recognized market leader for automated packaging and testing machine systems for high-end opto-electronic components and integrated photonic devices. Considerable process capability and dedicated assembly technologies have been accumulated over more than two decades of serving the needs of a broad selection of industry segments – including telecom and datacom, high-power diode laser assembly, sensing from bio-med to automotive, micro-optics, fiber-optics and more. ficonTEC’s flexible and scalable automation options enable customized assembly and test solutions suitable for early device development, for new product introduction (NPI), and all the way up to high-volume manufacturing ()HVM – regardless of whether for contract manufacturing or for in-house corporate R&D and production.

About Adapdix Corporation
Adapdix offers its software-based Edge Intelligent Automation platform that integrates ML/AI technologies into a real-time intelligent adaptive control network system to provide ultra-low latency exchange of operational technology (OT) data. The platform allows for unparalleled time-sensitive, synchronized distributed data at the edge resulting in significant improvement in uptime, yield, productivity. The company has pioneered the area of automation and adaptive controls with fifteen patents in this area that have been developed in collaboration with leading industrial automation partners.