In response to the 5+2 Smart Machinery Industrial Transformation Plan promoted by the government, Career, Synpower, and PMR (Pomiran Metalization Research Co., Ltd.) worked with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) and the Institute for Information Industry to form a R&D Alliance for Rolling-type Micro-width Double-layered Flex Boards by integrating and promoting the Smart Manufacturing Service Plan under the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Alliance aims to integrate and develop new technology of flex boards and smart modules, as well as to build a high value-added flex board production line that features instant feedback on the quality of parts, dynamic adjustment of parameters, yield analysis via AI, and production traceability and infographics in the hopes of maintaining the technical competitiveness of Taiwan’s flex board industry.

According to statistics from the Taiwan Printed Circuit Association (TPCA), the output value of flex boards in Taiwan reached US$3.95 billion in 2016, with the world’s highest market share of 38%. ITRIIEK estimated that the global output value would reach US$12.6 billion in 2017 and US$13 billion in 2018. Taiwan will continue to play an important role in the supply chain. To lead the field in the future, Taiwan’s flex board industry must innovate and make breakthroughs with regard to production, including the development of new process technology and the establishment of a smart supply chain and a cloud computing platform, in order to accelerate production, create highly value-added products, make staffing more flexible, and make product quality easier to control, all of which would further achieve industrial optimization, transformation, and upgrade.    

Lu, Cheng-Chin, Deputy Head of the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs, has pointed out that the government has actively promoted smart machinery since 2016. As PCB is a key industry in Taiwan, the Alliance was formed through the ITRI, Institute for Information Industry, and TPCA to integrate resources in the domestic industrial chain, improve competitiveness, and accelerate the smart and quality development of Taiwan’s PCB industry.

TPCA Chairman Wu, Yong-Hui indicated that Taiwan’s PCB industry developed early and has significantly invested in process technology. To promote industrial upgrades, TPCA formulated the white paper of Taiwan’s PCB industry in 2017, which mentions that Taiwan’s PCB industry aims for an output value of one trillion by 2020, and a new manufacturing method, such as smart and green technology, is imperative. The establishment of the Alliance is an important opportunity for industrial upgrade and transformation. Through smart manufacturing, the Alliance allows equipment and resources in the supply chain to be integrated and makes production more flexible and faster in response to the needs of end products.

Hu, Chu-Sheng, Director of Mechanical and Mechatronics Systems Research Laboratories, ITRI indicated that an important task of the ITRI is to work with the industry. Smart automation has been a key topic for the PCB industry. The inconsistence in the equipment communications protocol was the first major problem to be solved. The Alliance intends to improve the overall efficiency and flexibility of the process through SECS/GEM (SEMI Equipment Communication Standard/Generic Equipment Model) and NIP (National IoT PaaS) shared with the ITRI and the rigid-flex integration of ICT and smart machinery. With the introduction of smart manufacturing, the production line can reduce the time to eliminate the non-performing rate by 50% and the time to manually analyze the yield by 30%, which will solve the issues of insufficient labor and excessive dependence on foreign labor.

In response to changes in electronic product needs in the global consumer market, the PCB industry has to gradually convert mass production into specialized production featuring variety. In the face of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean competitors, it is important for Taiwan’s PCB industry to promote industrial reconstitution through high-value and smart automation. With the establishment of the Alliance, Taiwan’s PCB industry expects to break through technology monopolized by Japanese manufacturers and increase the threshold for high-end flex boards and high-frequency communications products in the 5G market, thus creating an annual output value of NT$2.28 billion or more. (Source: TPCA)