Mechatronics (Part-XIV)- Exploring Industrial Automation

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Check Out The Significant Roles Of Automation In Industries

Here we continue with the fourteenth part of our blog on mechatronics. Those who have missed our thirteenth blog can read it from Here. It will help to connect with the fourteenth part of the blog discussing about the significant applications of automation in industries. Let us explore the blog to find out in more details. Automation and technology would be a great boon if it were creative, if were more leisure, more opportunity to engage in raising family, providing guidance to the young, all the staff we say we need.

What is Industrial Automation?

Industrial automation deals primarily with the automation of manufacturing, quality control and material handling processes. General purpose controllers for industrial processes include Programmable logic controllers, stand-alone I/O modules, and computers. Industrial automation is to replace the decision making of humans and manual command-response activities with the use of mechanised equipment and logical programming commands. One trend is increased use of Machine vision to provide automatic inspection and robot guidance functions; another is a continuing increase in the use of robots. Industrial automation is simply required in industries. The integration of control and information across the enterprise enables industries to optimise industrial process operations. Energy efficiency in industrial processes has become a higher priority. Semiconductor companies like Infineon Technologies are offering 8-bit micro-controller applications for example found in motor controls, general purpose pumps, fans, and e-bikes to reduce energy consumption and thus increase efficiency.

Industry 4.0

The rise of industrial automation is directly tied to the “fourth industrial revolution”, which is better known now as Industry 4.0. Originating from Germany, Industry 4.0 encompasses numerous devises, concepts, and machines. It, along with the advancement of the Industrial Internet of Things (formally known as the IoT or IIoT) which is “Internet of Things is a seamless integration of diverse physical objects in the Internet through a virtual representation”. These new revolutionary advancements have drawn attention to the world of automation in an entirely new light and shown ways for it to grow to increase productivity and efficiency in machinery and manufacturing facilities. Industry 4.0 works with the IIoT and software/hardware to connect in a way that (through communication technologies) add enhancements and improve manufacturing processes. Being able to create smarter, safer, and more advanced manufacturing is now possible with these new technologies. It opens up a manufacturing platform that is more reliable, consistent, and efficient that before. Implementation of systems such as SCADA is an example of software that takes place in Industrial Automation today. SCADA is supervisory data collection software, just one of the many used in Industrial Automation. Industry 4.0 vastly covers many areas in manufacturing and will continue to do so as time goes on.

Industrial Robotics

Industrial robotics is a sub-branch in the industrial automation that aids in various manufacturing processes. Such manufacturing processes include; machining, welding, painting, assembling and material handling to name a few. Industrial robots utilizes various mechanical, electrical as well as software systems to allow for high precision, accuracy and speed that far exceeds any human performance. The birth of industrial robot came shortly after World War II as United States saw the need for a quicker way to produce industrial and consumer goods. Servos, digital logic and solid state electronics allowed engineers to build better and faster systems and overtime these systems were improved and revised to the point where a single robot is capable of running 24 hours a day with little or no maintenance. In 1997, there were 700,000 industrial robots in use, the number has risen to 1.8M in 2017.

To be continued in the next blog...