Automation and Group

technology
 Automation
• It can be defined as the technology used for the
application of integrated mechanical, electronic and
computer based systems in the operation and
control of production system.

 Automation of production system means:

– Automation of manufacturing facilities, or
– Automation of manufacturing support system, or
– Automation of the both facilities and manufacturing
support systems.
 Automation
 Automation is not economically feasible in low
scale production.
 However, as the volume of production goes on
increasing, automation becomes more and
more feasible.
 Some of the examples of automation of
processes in production systems are as follows:
• NC and CNC machines,
• Automatic assembly machines,
 Automation
• Automated assembly lines,
• Industrial robots,
• Automated material handling system,
• Automated storage system,
• Automated inspection and quality control system,
• Automated transfer lines,
• Automated feedback and process control
equipment,
• Computer aided production planning and control.
 Need of Automation
• To increase the productivity,
• To reduce the cost of production,
• To improve product quality,
• To mitigate the effects of labour shortages,
• To reduce production time,
• To have better control over manufacturing activities,
• To improve worker safety, and
• To reduce or eliminate routine manual and clerical
tasks.
 Types of Automation
• The production of automation systems can be
broadly classified as:
– Fixed (Hard) Automation
– Programmable Automation
– Flexible (Soft) Automation
 Fixed Automation
• Fixed automation is an automation system in
which the sequence of processing operations is
fixed by the production equipment configuration.
• The fixed automation cannot be changed once it
is established and hence, it is inflexible in
accommodating the product variety.
• The fixed automation is economical when there is
continuous high demand for the product at the
high volume.
 Fixed Automation
• The initial cost of the automated equipment can
be spread over a very large number of units,
thus making the unit cost attractive compared
with the equipment without automation.
• The fixed automation is suitable for continuous
flow type production systems and mass
production systems.
– Bottling plant, packaging plants, transfer lines, etc.
 Programmable Automation
• IT is an automation system in which the production
equipment is designed with a capability to change the
sequence of operations so as to accommodate the
different product configurations.
• The operation sequence is controlled by a program,
which is a set of coded instructions that can be read by
the equipment.
• New programs can be prepared and entered into the
equipment to produce the new equipment.
 Programmable Automation
• To produce a batch of new products, a new program
must be prepared and entered into the equipment.
• The physical setup of the machine (i.e. tooling, fixtures,
machine settings, etc.) must also be changed.
• This changeover procedure takes time and is called as
setup time.
• Programmable automation is suitable for batch
production systems.
– NC machine tools, industrial robots, PLC’s, etc.
 Flexible Automation
• Flexible automation is an extension of programmable
automation, which is capable of producing products of
design variations, continuously with little or no time
loss for changeovers from one product to the other.
• There is no production time loss while reprogramming
the program fro new configuration of product.
• Therefore, the system can produce various
combinations of products continuously instead of
requiring that they may be made in batches.
 Flexible Automation
 The variety of products that can be produced
by flexible automation system is less than
that can be produced by programmable
automation system.