INTRODUCTION TO AUTOMATION

Dr.Y. M. PURI,
Mechanical Engineering Department
VNIT
Nagpur, India
 MECHANISATION V/S AUTOMATION

• Mechanization refers to the use of machinery (usually powered) to assist or

replace human workers in performing physical tasks, but human workers are
still required to accomplish the cognitive and sensory elements of the tasks.
• Automation refers to the use of mechanized equipment that performs the
physical tasks without the need for oversight by a human worker.
 ELEMENTS OF AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM

• (1) Power to accomplish the process and operate the system,

• (2) A program of instructions to direct the process, and
• (3) A control system to actuate the instructions.
 P O W E R TO AC C O M P L I S H T H E AU TO M AT E D P RO C E S S

• Manufacturing operation
• Loading and unloading the work unit
• Material transport between operations
• Automation systems
 PROGRAM OF INSTRUCTIONS.

• The actions performed by an automated process are defined by a program of

instructions.
• Part program in CNC
• Ladder diagram in PLC
• Etc.
• For
• Work cycle
• Loading / unloading
• Inspection
• Misc.
 WORK CYCLE PROGRAM

• Set-point control, in which the process parameter value is constant during the work
cycle.
• Logic control, in which the process parameter value depends on the values of other
variables in the process.
• Sequence control, in which the value of the process parameter changes as a function
of time. The process parameter values can be either discrete (a sequence of step
values) or continuously variable.
• Interactive program, in which interaction occurs between a human operator and the
control system during the work cycle.
• Intelligent program, in which the control system exhibits aspects of human intelligence
(e.g., logic, decision making, cognition, learning) as a result of the work cycle
program.
 A TYPICAL SEQUENCE OF STEPS IN
DISCREET MANUFACTURING

• (1) load the part into the production machine,

• (2) perform the process, and
• (3) unload the part.
During each step, there are one or more activities that involve changes in one or
more process parameters
 EXAMPLE: AN AUTOMATED TURNING OPERATION

• Consider an automated turning operation that generates a cone-shaped product.

• The system is automated and a robot loads and unloads the work units.
• The work cycle consists of the following steps:
• (1) Load starting workpiece,
• (2) position cutting tool prior to turning,
• (3) turn,
• (4) reposition tool to a safe location at end of turning, and
• (5) unload finished workpiece. Identify the activities and process parameters for each
step of the operation.
 SOLUTION:

• In step (1), the activities consist of the robot manipulator reaching for the raw work part, lifting and
positioning the part into the chuck jaws of the lathe, then retreating to a safe position to await unloading.
• The process parameters for these activities are the axis values of the robot manipulator (which change
continuously), the gripper value (open or closed), and the chuck jaw value (open or closed).
• In step (2), the activity is the movement of the cutting tool to a “ready” position. The process parameters
associated with this activity are the x- and z-axis position of the tool.
• Step (3) is the turning operation. It requires the simultaneous control of three process parameters: rotational
speed of the workpiece (rev/min), feed (mm/rev), and radial distance of the cutting tool from the axis of
rotation. To cut the conical shape, radial distance must be changed continuously at a constant rate for each
revolution of the workpiece. For a consistent finish on the surface, the rotational speed must be
continuously adjusted to maintain a constant surface speed (m/min); and for equal feed marks on the
surface, the feed must be set at a constant value. Depending on the angle of the cone, multiple turning
passes may be required to gradually generate the desired contour. Each pass represents an additional step in
the sequence.
• Steps (4) and (5) are the reverse of steps (2) and (1), respectively, and the process parameters are the same.
 MORE EXAMPLES

• Automatic screw machine cycles,

• sheet metal stamping,
• plastic injection molding, and
• die casting.
 HARD AUTOMATION

• Work cycles were controlled by hardware components, such as

• limit switches,
• timers,
• cams, and
• electromechanical relays.
The assemblage of hardware components served as the program of
instructions that directed the sequence of steps in the processing cycle.
 DISADVANTAGES:

• (1) They often required considerable time to design and fabricate, forcing the
production equipment to be used for batch production only;
• (2) Making even minor changes in the program was difficult and time
consuming; and
• (3) The program was in a physical form that was not readily compatible with
computer data processing and communication.
 SOFT AUTOMATION

• Modern controllers used in automated systems are based on digital computers.

• the programs for
• Virtually all modern production equipment is designed with some form of
computer controller to execute its respective processing cycles.
• The use of digital computers as the process controller allows improvements and
upgrades to be made in the control programs, such as the addition of control
functions not foreseen during initial equipment design.
• Easy to change, flexible.
CONTROLLERS
 INDUSTRIAL CONTROL

• Defined as the automatic regulation of unit

operations and their associated equipment, as well
as the integration and coordination of the unit
operations in the production system.
CONTINUOUS V/S DISCRETE CONTROL
 DISCRETE CONTROL SYSTEMS

• Parameters and variables of the system are changed at discrete moments in

time, and the changes involve variables and parameters that are also discrete.
• The changes are defined in advance by means of a program of instructions
• The changes are executed either because the state of the system has changed
or because a certain amount of time has elapsed.
• These two cases can be distinguished as
(1) Event-driven changes or
(2) Time-driven changes.
• It is executed by the controller in response to some event that has caused the state of the system to be altered.
• The change can be to
• initiate an operation or terminate an operation,
• start a motor or stop it,
• open a valve or close it, and so forth.
• Examples of event-driven changes are the following:
• A robot loads a work part into the fixture, and the part is sensed by a limit switch. Sensing the part’s presence is the event
that alters the system state. The event driven change is that the automatic machining cycle can now commence.
• The diminishing level of plastic molding compound in the hopper of an injection molding machine triggers a low-level
switch, which in turn opens a valve to start the flow of new plastic into the hopper. When the level of plastic reaches the
high-level switch, this triggers the valve to close, thus stopping the flow into the hopper.
• Counting parts moving along a conveyor past an optical sensor is an event-driven system. Each part moving past the sensor
is an event that drives the counter.

EVENT-DRIVEN CHANGE
• It is executed by the control system either at a specific point in time or after a certain
time lapse has occurred. As before, the change usually consists of starting something or
stopping something, and the time when the change occurs is important.
• Examples of time-driven changes include:
• In factories with specific starting times and ending times for the shift and uniform break
periods for all workers, the “shop clock” is set to sound a bell at specific moments during
the day to indicate these start and stop times.
• Heat-treating operations must be carried out for a certain length of time. An automated
heat-treating cycle consists of automatic loading of parts into the furnace (perhaps by a
robot) and then unloading after the parts have been heated for the specified length of time.
• In the operation of a washing machine, once the laundry tub has been filled to the preset
level, the agitation cycle continues for a length of time set on the controls. When this time
is up, the timer stops the agitation and initiates draining of the tub.

TIME-DRIVEN CHANGE
• Logic control is used to control the execution of event-driven changes
• Sequence control is used to manage time-driven changes.
• Discrete control is widely used in discrete manufacturing as well as the process industries.
• operation of conveyors and other material transport systems,
• automated storage systems,
• Standalone production machines,
• automated transfer lines,
• Automated assembly systems, and
• flexible manufacturing systems.
• All of these systems operate by following a well-defined sequence of start-and-stop actions,
such as:
• powered feed motions,
• parts transfers between workstations, and
• on-line automated inspections.

USES OF DISCRETE CONTROL

 Forms of Computer Process Control:
(a) process monitoring, (b) open-loop process control, (c) closed-loop process control.

FORMS OF COMPUTER PROCESS CONTROL

• Computer Process Monitoring.
• Computer process monitoring is one of the ways in which the computer can be interfaced with a
process.
• It involves the use of the computer to observe the process and associated equipment and to collect
and record data from the operation.
• The computer is not used to directly control the process Control remains in the hands of humans
who use the data to guide them in managing and operating the process.
• Classification of data:
• Process data
• Equipment data
• Product data

FORMS OF COMPUTER PROCESS CONTROL

• Direct Digital Control DDC: is a computer process-control system in which certain components in
a conventional analog control system are replaced by the digital computer.
• The regulation of the process is accomplished by the digital computer on a time-shared, sampled-
data basis rather than by the many individual analog components working in a dedicated continuous
manner.
• With DDC, the computer calculates the desired values of the input parameters and set points, and
these values are applied through a direct link to the process, hence the name “direct digital” control.

FORMS OF COMPUTER PROCESS CONTROL

• Computer Numerical Control and Robotics. CNC is another form of industrial computer control. It involves the
use of the computer (i.e. microcomputer) to direct a machine tool through a sequence of processing steps defined
by a program of instructions specifying the details of each step and their sequence.
• The distinctive feature of CNC is control of the relative position of a tool with respect to the object (work part)
being processed.
• Computations must be made to determine the trajectory that will be followed by the cutting tool to shape the part
geometry.
• CNC requires the controller to execute not only sequence control but geometric calculations as well.
• industrial
• Closely related to CNC is industrial robotics, in which the joints of a manipulator (robot arm) are controlled to
move the end of the arm through a sequence of positions during the work cycle.

FORMS OF COMPUTER PROCESS CONTROL

• A programmable logic controller can be defined as a microprocessor-based
controller that uses stored instructions in programmable memory to
implement logic, sequencing, timing, counting, and arithmetic control
functions for controlling machines and processes.
• Today’s PLCs are used for both continuous control and discrete control
applications in both the process industries and discrete manufacturing.

FORMS OF COMPUTER PROCESS CONTROL

THANKS!