What Is Industrial Automation?
Increase quality and flexibility in your manufacturing process-
Earlier automation was intended to increase productivity (since automated systems can work 24 hours a day), and to reduce costs associated with human operators (ie wages and benefits). However, today the focus of automation has shifted to increasing quality and flexibility in a manufacturing process. In the automobile industry, pistons in the engine were manually installed with an error rate of 1–1.5%. Currently, this work is performed using automated machinery with an error rate of 0.00001%.
Benefits of industrial automation
Lower operating costs: Industrial automation eliminates healthcare costs and pays for the holidays and holidays associated with a human operator. In addition, industrial automation does not require other employee benefits such as bonuses, pension coverage, etc. Although it is associated with a higher initial cost, it saves the workers' monthly salaries leading to substantial cost savings for the company. Maintenance costs associated with machinery used for industrial automation are low because it often does not fail. If it fails, only computers and maintenance engineers are needed to repair it.
Hierarchy of an industrial automation system-
Industrial automation systems can be very complex in nature, with a large number of devices operating in synchronization with automation technologies. The figure below describes the hierarchical arrangement of automation systems consisting of different hierarchical levels.
Field level Industrial automation
This is the lowest level of the automation hierarchy that includes field equipment such as sensors and actuators. The main function of these field devices is to transfer the data of processes and machines to the next higher level for monitoring and analysis. And it also includes controlling process parameters through actuators. For example, we can describe this level as the eyes and arms of a particular process.
Sensors for Industrial automation -Sensors convert real-time parameters such as temperature, pressure, flow, level etc. into electrical signals. This sensor data was further transferred to the controller so that real-time parameters could be monitored and analyzed. Some sensors include thermocouples, proximity sensors, RTDs, flow meters, etc.
Actuator for Industrial automation -On the other hand the actuator converts electrical signals (from controllers) into mechanical means to control processes. Flow control valves, solenoid valves, pneumatic actuators, relays, DC motors and servo motors are examples of actuators.
It is the top level of industrial automation that manages the entire automation system. Functions at this level include production planning, customer and market analysis, ordering and sales etc., so it deals more with commercial activities and less with technical aspects.
industrial communication networks- industrial communication networks are also the most prominent in industrial automation systems that transfer information from one level to another. So these are present in all levels of automation systems to provide a continuous flow of information. This communication network can vary from one level to another. Some of these networks include RS485, CAN, DeviceNet, Foundation Field Bus, Profibus etc.
conclusion for industrial automation-
From the above hierarchy we can conclude that there is a continuous information flow from high level to low level and vice versa. If we follow this graphical method, it is like a pyramid in which information goes up, and as we go down, we get detailed information about the process.
Industrial automation is employed to perform fixed and repetitive operations to achieve high production rates. It uses special purpose or dedicated tools to automate fixed sequence assembling or processing tasks. Once employed, changing or changing product design is relatively difficult. Therefore, it is inflexible in providing product diversification, but increases efficiency and reduces unit costs with higher production rates.
In Industrial automation, a specific class of product changes and the combination or processing functions can also be changed with the modification of the control program in automated devices.
This Industrial automation is best suited for batch production process where product volume is more than medium. But in this, changing and reconfiguring the system for a new product or sequence of operations is difficult. Therefore, a longer setup is required to reconfigure a new product or sequence of operations.
Examples of Industrial automation-
- numerically controlled machines
- paper mills
- steel rolling mills
- industrial robots etc.
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