UNIT – 1: BASICS OF AUTOMATION

Automation
Automation and robotics are 2 closely related technologies. Automation as a technology that
is concerned with use of mechanical,electronic and computer-based systems in the operation
and control ofproduction
Example: NC machine tools and industrial robots
Automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need
for human work in the productionof goods and services.
Automation is defined as “The creation & application oftechnology to monitor &
control the production and delivery of products and services.”
Basic elements of an automated system

An automated system consists of three elements

1.Power: To accomplish process and operate the system
2.Program of instructions: To direct the process
3.Control system: To control and accurate the instructions

1.Power:
power is required to drive the process as well as the controls. Theprincipal source of power in
automated systems is electricity.
Electric power has many advantages in automated as well as non automated processes
• Electrical power can be readily converted to alternative energy forms: mechanical, thermal, light,
acoustic, hydraulic, and pneumatic.
• Electrical power at low levels can be used to accomplish functions such as signal transmission,
information processing, and data storageand communication.
• Electrical energy can be stored in long-life batteries for use inlocations where an external source of
electrical power is not conveniently available.
Power for the Process:
In production, the term process refers to the manufacturingoperation that is performed on a work unit.

2.Program of instructions:
The actions performed by an automated process are defined by a program of instructions. The
manufacturing operation involves low, medium, or high production. Each part or product requires one
or more processing steps are performed during a work cycle. The particular processing steps for the
work cycle are specified in a workcycle program. Work cycle programs are called part programs in
numerical control.
3. Control system:
The controls in an automated system can be either closed loop or openloop. A closed loop control system,
also known as a feedback control system. is one in which the output variable is compared with an input
parameter, and any difference between the two is used to drive the output into agreement with the input.
closed loop system
A closed loop control system consists of six basic elements:
(I) Input parameter,
(2) Process,
(3) Output variable,
(4) Feedback sensor,
(5) Controller,
(6) Actuator.

(1) Input parameter: The input parameter, often referred to as the set point, represents the desired value
of the output.
(2) Process: The process is operation or function being controlled
(3) Output variable: The output variable is desired result of product
(4) Feedback sensor: A sensor is used to measure the output variable andclosed loop between input
and output
(5) Controller: The controller compares the output with the input and makesthe required
adjustment in the process
(6) Actuator: These are the hardware devices which perform the required job.

Open loop system

The open loop control system operates without feedback loop. In this system the controller
operates without measuring the output variable,so no comparison is made between the actual
value of the output anddesired value of input.
Need of automation
1. To increase labour productivity Automating a manufacturing operation usually increase production
rate and labour productivity this means greater output per hour of labour input.
2. To reduce labour cost For Increasing production increasing labour and labour cost has been a
continuous trend in old industrialization societies. consequently, higher investment in automation has
become economical justified to replace manual operations. Machines are increasingly being substituted
for human labour to reduce unit product cost.
3. To improve worker safety Automating a given operation and transferring the worker from active
participation in the process to a monitoring role makes the worker safer.
4. To reduce manufacturing lead time Automation helps to reduce the elapsed time between
customer order and product delivery providing a competitive advantage to the manufacturer for future
orders.
5. To reduce or eliminate routine manual and clerical tasks An argument can be put that there is a
social value in automating operations that are routine, fatiguing and possible risk some tasks.
Automating such tasks improves the general level of working conditions.
6. To improve product quality By automation the production rate is increased due to uniformity and
conformity of specifications. The product quality has improved.to mitigate (making less severe or
serious) the effect of labour shortages. There is general shortage of labour in many advanced nations
and this has stimulated the development of automated operations as a substitute to labour.
7. To accomplish process that can’t be done manually Certain operations can’t be accomplished
without the aid of a machine. These processes require precision, complexity of geometry that can’t be
achieved manually. These processes can only be realized by the computer-controlled systems.
Types of automation
There are 3 broad classes of industrial automation.
1. Fixed automation
2. Programmable automation
3. Flexible automation

1. Fixed automation:
Fixed automation is used when the volume production is very high and itis therefore appropriate
to design specialized equipment to process the product or a component very efficiently under
high production rates.
Example; Automobile industry where highly integrated transfer lines consisting of several
dozen workstations are used to perform machiningoperations on engine and transmission
components.

Dis-advantages:
Risk encountered with fixed automation is this, since the initial investment cost is high, if
volume of production is turns out to be lower than anticipated (expected or predicted). Then unit
costbecomes greater than anticipated
i. The equipment is specially designed to produce one product and after that
products life cycle is finished. The equipment is likely tobecome obsolete.
Characteristics of fixed automation
• Sequence of operations integrate to equipment
• It is difficult to automate changes in the design of product
• It is used where high volume of production required
 • In these production rates is high
• In this automation no new products are processed for a givensequence of operation

2. Programmable automation
It is used when the volume production is relatively low andthere are variety of products to be
made In this case the production equipment is designed to beadaptable to variations in product
configuration
The adaptability feature is accomplished by operating equipment under control of a programme
of instructions whichhas been prepared for given product.
The programme is read in to a production equipment and the equipment perform the particular
sequence of processing operations to make the product. Because of programming feature and
the resulting adaptability many different and unique products can be economically in small
batches.
Characteristics of programmable automation
• In this equipment is to be designed
• Different types of programmes loaded in equipment inorder to change
sequence of operations and produce products with new configurations
• It is used for small batches of production

3. Flexible automation
It includes FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System) and CIMS (ComputerIntegrated
Manufacturing System).
Flexible automated system typically consists of a series of work stationsthat are
interconnected by a material handling and storage system. A central computer is used to
control the various activities that occur in thesystem, routing the various parts to the
appropriate stations and controlling the programmed operations at different stations
Characteristics of flexible automation
• It is used for mid volume production
• It includes FMS and CIM
• It consists of series of fluctuations which are connected by materialhandling
and storage system.
• Central computer is used to control the various activities
programme at the different stations
• In FMS the different products is made at same time on same
manufacturing system.
 Advanced Automation Functions
In addition to the general automation functions there are some advancedautomation functions
which are used for different processes. Generally, they are used for maintaining and safety and
performance of the system.Some of the advanced automation functions are
1. Safety monitoring
2. Maintenance and repair diagnostics
3. Error detection and recovery

1. Safety monitoring:
One of the main reasons of using Automation is to remove the workers form doing hazardous
operations which can lead to the loss of the life. However, the workers are needed to operate the
machines instead of doing that hazardous work. The automated machines are designed safely in order
they should not beself-destructive. Thus, there are reasons to monitor the system safely. They are:
1. To protect the workers
2. To protect the system which is associated with it.

Safety monitoring of a system involves safety tracking of the system using the sensors. If there is a
hazard then the safety monitoring system responds in eitherof the ways:

1. By giving an alarm sound (or)

2. By reducing the speed of the system (or)
3. By turning off the automated system.

2. Maintenance and repair diagnostics:

Modern automation systems are becoming more complex by using the maintenance and repair
components. Actually, they are the components which are used for the maintaining and reducing the
failures. There are three modes of operation which are used for performing this task.
a) Status Monitoring: Initially in this mode the status of the present system is estimated. It monitors
over it by using the sensors or by using theparameters of the system. By using them the current status of
the system isbeing monitored.
b) Failure notification: This mode comes under procedure when the failure occurs. It compares the
present values and the previous values before and after failures.
c) Recommending for the repair: here after noting the repair, this mode takes the decision how to
repair and what are the parts which are to be repaired

3. Error detection and recovery:

The error detection can be done using the sensors. The different types of errors can be formed in the
production system they are: random errors andsystematic errors etc. These can be detected by using the
detecting systemsand the recovering system is used for recovering the errors. Thus these are
the advanced functions which are necessary for making a system automate.
1. Error detection – functions:
▶ Use the system’s available sensors to determine when a deviation or rmalfunction has
occurred
▶ Correctly interpret the sensor signal
▶ Classify the error
2. Error recovery – possible strategies:
▶ Make adjustments at end of work cycle
▶ Make adjustments during current work cycle
▶ Stop the process to invoke corrective action
▶ Stop the process and call for help

Levels of automation
The automated system can be applied to various levels of operations,normally automation with
the individual machines. In production the machines itself is made up of subsystems that may
be themselves automated. The various levels of automation is as follows
1. Device level:
It is the lowest level in our automation. It includes the actuators sensors and other hardware
components that comprise the machine level.
The devices are combined into a individual control loops to form nextlevel of machine.

Eg: The feed back control loop for one axis of CNC machine,Single joint of an industrial robot.

2. Machine level:
The hardware at the device level is assembled into individual machineslike CNC machine tools and
similar production equipment, industrial robots, material handling equipment.

3. Cell or system level:

It is the manufacturing cell or system level which operates under instruction from the plant level. It is
a group of machines are workstations connected by material handling system, computer and other
equipments.

4. Plant level:
This is the factory production or system level. It receives instructionsfrom the corporate information
system and translates them into operational plants for production.
It consists of order processing, process planning, inventory control,purchasing, material requirement
planning, shop floor control and quality control.

5. Enterprise level:
This is the highest level consisting of the corporate information system.This includes marketing and
sales, accounting, design, research, aggregate planning and master production schedule
 Hardware components for automation andprocess control
The main hard ware components for automation and control are
1. Sensors
2. Actuators
3. Analog-to-Digital Conversion
4. Digital-to-Analog Conversion

1. Sensors:
A sensor is a transducer that converts a physical stimulus from one forminto a more
useful form to measure the stimulus
Sensors can be classified into two basic categories:
1. Analog (continuous)
Examples: thermocouple, strain gauges, potentiometers.
2. Discrete Binary (on/off)
Examples: Limit switch, photoelectric switches.
1. Digital (e.g., pulse counter)
Examples: photoelectric array, optical encoder.

2. Actuators:
Actuators are hardware devices that convert a controller command signal into achange in a
physical parameter.
The change is usually mechanical (e.g., position or velocity).
An actuator is also a transducer because it changes one type of physical quantity into some
alternative form (e.g. electric current to rotational speed ofelectric motor).
Types of Actuators
1. Electrical actuators
Electric motors (linear or rotational)
1. DC servomotors
DC motors are widely used:

 Convenience of using direct current.

E.g. motors in automobiles.
 Linear Torque-Speed relationship.
 One special type of DC motors is Servomotors.
 A feedback back loop is used to control speed.

2. AC motors
Mostly used in industry.
Advantages: Higher power supply, Ease of maintenance
Two types: Induction motor , synchronous motor
3. Stepper motors
Provides rotation in the form of discrete angular displacement (stepangles).
Each step angle is actuated by a discrete electrical pulse.These Are used in open loop
control systems.
2. Hydraulic actuators: Use hydraulic fluid as the driving force

3. Pneumatic actuators: Use compressed air as the driving force

3. Analog-to-Digital Conversion
The continuous analog signals from the process must be converted into digitalvalues. The
procedure for converting an analog signal from the process into digital form consist of
following steps
➢ Sensor and transducer
This is measuring device that generates the analog signal
➢ Signal conditioning
The continuous analog signal from the transducer may require conditioning torender
(provide or give) it into more suitable form
Common signal conditioning includes

• Filtering to remove random noise

• Conversion from one signal to another
➢ Multiplexer
The multiplexer is a switching device connected in series with each input channel from the
process. It is used to share the analog to digital converteramong the input channels.
➢ Amplifier
Amplifier are used to scale the incoming signal up or down to be compatiblewith the range
of the analog to digital converted.
➢ ADC (Analog to Digital Converter)
As the name indicates the function of ADC is to convert the incoming analogsignal into its
digital counterpart.
 3. Digital-to-Analog Conversion

A simple form of DAC (Digital-to-Analog Conversion) using a summing

amplifier to form the weighted sum of all the non-zero bits in the input word.The
reference voltage is connected to the resistor by means of electronic switches
which respond to binary one
The values of input resistances depend on which bit in the word a switch is
responding to the value of resistor for successive bits from the LSB (Limit Switch
Box) being halved. Hence the sum of voltage is a weighted sum of the digits in
the work, such a system is referred as a weighted resistor network. Thelimitations
of the weighted resistor network is that accurate resistance have to be used for
each of the resistors and it is difficult to obtain wide range of such resistors. This
form of DAC tends to be limited to 4-bit conversions.

Process Industries Versus Discrete Manufacturing

Industries
• In the discussion of industry types , industries and their production
operations weredivided into two basic categories:
✓ (1) process industries and
✓ (2) discrete manufacturing industries.
• Process industries perform their production operations on amounts of
materials, becausethe materials tend to be liquids, gases, powders, and
similar materials, whereas discrete manufacturing industries perform their
operations on quantities of materials, because the materials tend to be
discrete parts and products.
• The kinds of unit operations performed on the materials are different in the
two industrycategories. Some of the typical unit operations in each
category are listed in Table.
 Process Industries Discrete Manufacturing Industries
Chemical reactions Casting
Comminution Forging
Chemical vapor deposition Extrusion
Distillation Machining
Mixing and blending of ingredients Plastic molding
Separation of ingredients Sheet metal stamping

Continuous Versus Discrete Control

• Industrial control systems used in the process industries tend to emphasize
the control of continuous variables and parameters. By contrast, the manufacturing
industries produce discrete parts and products, and their controllers tend to
emphasize discrete variables and parameters.
• Just as there are two basic types of variables and parameters that characterize
production operations, there are also two basic types of control:
1) continuous control, in which the variables and parameters are
continuous and analog;and
2) discrete control, in which the variables and parameters are discrete,
mostly binary discrete.
• Some of the differences between continuous control and discrete control are
summarized in Table.
• In reality, most operations in the process and discrete manufacturing
industries include both continuous and discrete variables and parameters.
Consequently, many industrial controllers are designed with the capability to
receive, operate on, and transmit both types of signals and data.

Comparison Factor Continuous Control in Process Discrete Control in Discrete

Industries Manufacturing Industries
Typical measures of Weight measures, liquid volume Number of parts, number of
product output measures, solid volume products
measures
Typical quality Consistency, concentration of Dimensions, surface finish,
measures solution, absence of contaminants, appearance, absence of defects,
conformance to specification product reliability
Typical variables and Temperature, volume flow rate, Position, velocity, acceleration,
parameters pressure force
Typical sensors Flow meters, thermocouples, Limit switches, photoelectric
pressure sensors sensors, strain gages,
piezoelectric sensors
Typical actuators Valves, heaters, pumps Switches, motors, pistons
Typical process time Seconds, minutes, hours Less than a second
constants
 Computer Process Control
• The use of digital computers to control industrial processes had its origins in the
continuous process industries in the late 1950s.
• Prior to that time, analog controllers were used to implement continuous control,
and relay systems were used to implement discrete control. At that time,
computer technology was in its infancy, and the only computers available for
process control were large, expensive mainframes.
• Compared with today’s technology, digital computers of the 1950s were slow,
unreliable, and not well suited to process-control applications.
• The computers that were installed sometimes cost more than the processes they
controlled.
• Advances in integrated circuit technology have resulted in the development of
the microprocessor.
• Today, virtually all industrial processes, certainly new installations, are
controlled by digital computers based on microprocessor technology.