Automation

Levels of automation and its different types

What is Automation
• Automation is defined by the creation and application of technology
to monitor and control the production and delivery of products and
services.
• Automation reduces the man power required to complete the process
and also saves time.
• In many areas of manufacturing automation is necessary where a
labor or a worker could not work or the conditions for a human to
work is not available.
Levels of Automation
Types of automation
1. Fixed Automation
2. Programmable Automation
3. Flexible Automation
Fixed Automation
 Hard Automation
 Refers to an automated production facility in which the sequence of
operations is fixed by the equipment configuration.
 High initial investment and high production rates.
 The operational sequence is not complex.
 Involves fundamental functionalities like rotational or plain linear
motion, or an amalgamation of both.
 Suitable for products that are made in large volumes.
 E.g. Machining transfer lines, Automatic assembly machines, chemical
processes..
Programmable Automation
• Form of automation for producing products in batches.
• The products are made in batch quantities ranging from several dozen to several thousand
units at a time.
• For each new batch the production equipment must be reprogrammed and changed over to
accommodate the new product style.
• Production rates is generally lower than fixed automation.
• Equipment designed to facilitate product changeover rather than for product specialization.
• A numerical control machine tool is a good example of programmed automation. The
program is coded in computer memory for each different product style and the machine tool
is controlled by the computer program.
• Industrial robot is another example. PLC
• The main advantage of the programmable automation is greater flexibility to deal with the
variation of designs. While it is the best-fit for batch production of a variety of designs.
Flexible Automation
• This automation type is an extension of programmable automation
• The Variety of products is sufficiently limited so that the changeover of the equipment can
be done quickly and automatically.
• Greater production rate.
• No need for complex reprogramming
• The reprogramming of the equipment in flexible automation is done offline that is the
programming is accomplished at a computer terminal without using the production
equipment itself. There is no need to group identical products into batches instead a
mixture of different products can be produced one right after another.
• Modern adaptive cruise control and self-learning thermostats are examples of Flexible
Automation — users don’t need to reprogram the mechanisms to change their outcomes.
• FMS is another example
Integrated Automation
• An Integrated Automation System is a set of independent machines,
processes and data, all working synchronously under the command of
a single control system to implement an automation system of a
production process. CAD (Computer Aided Design), CAM (Computer
Aided Manufacturing), computer-controlled tools and machines,
robots, cranes and conveyors are all integrated using complex
scheduling and production control.
Comparison of types of automation
Global and Specific Automation Approaches
All automated systems will fall into either Fixed, Programmable or
Flexible, but there are many other global and specific applications of
automation. Here we will explore some additional forms of automation,
beginning with a global, integrative approach and then moving onto
more specific types.
1. Integrated Automation
2. Industrial Automation
3. Computer-Aided Manufacturing
4. Robotics Process Automation
5. Cognitive Intelligence
6. Conversational Automation