DATA INTEGRATION -- Tooling Up for CIM

For a number of reason, Press believes the industry is still at least five years away from realizing CIM on a broad scale. A key sticking point is the amount of old iron in use that doesn't have any digital control capabilities. "There are some add-on systems you can attach to legacy machines, but you really need equipment that is JDF/CIP4 capable to fully realize the vision," he says.