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Automation of Manufacturing Processes

INTRODUCTION
Until the early 1950s, most manufacturing operations were carried out on traditional machinery,such as lathes, milling machines,and presses,which lacked flexibility and required considerable skilled labor. The development of new products and of parts with complex shapes required numerous trial-and-error attempts by the operator in order to set the proper processing parameters on the machine.

AUTOMATION
Automation is generally defined as the of having machines follow a predetermined sequence of operation with little or no human labor, using specialized equipment and devies that perform and control manufacturing processes. Automation is an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary concept. In manufacturing plants it has been implemented cessfully in the following basic areas of activity:

Manufacturing processes. Machining, forging, cold extrusion, casting, and grinding operations are typical examples of processes that have been extensively automated. Material handling. Milterials and parts in various stages of completion are moved throughout a plant by ~mputer-controllcd equipment, without human guidance. inspection. Parts are automatically inspected for quality, dimensional accuracy. and swface finish. either at the time of manufacturing (in-pr:ocess inspection) or after they ar,. Assemybl. Individually manufactured parts are automatically assembled into subassemblies and, finally. intO a product. e Iliade (postprocess inspection). Packaging. Products are'packaged automatically]

Goals of Automation
Automation has the following primary goals: a. to Integrate various aspects of manufacturing operations so as to improve prodUCI quality and uniformity. minimize cycle times and effort and. thus. reduce labor costs; b. Improve pnictuctlvlty by reducing manufacturing costs through beuer conlrol of production. Parts are loaded, fed and unloaded on machines more efficleQ.tly. machines are uked moreeffectively, j,;d'production is organized more efficiently

c.To improve quality by employing more repeatable d. to reduce human involvement, boredom,and possibility of human error e. to reduce workpiece damage caused by manual handling of parts Applications of Automation Automation can be applied to the manufacturing of all types of goods. from raw materials to finished products, and in all types of production, from job shops to large manufacturing facilities The type of product manufacfactured The quantity and the rate of production required The particular Phase of the manufacturing opration to be automation The leve of skill in the available workforce

Hard Automation In Hard automation or fixed-position automation the production machinesare designed to produce a standardized product such as an engine block a valve a gear or a spindle Although product size and processing parameters (such as speed ,feed, and depth of cut) can be changed these machine are specialized,and they flexibibility.

Soft Automation soft automation is an important development. because the machine can be easily and readily reprogrammed to produce a part having a shape or dimensions different from the one produced just before it. Because of this characteristic, soft automation can produce parts having complex shapes Programmable Controllers The control of a manufacturing process in the proper sequence, especially one involving groups of machines and material- handling equipment, has traditionally been performed by timers switches relays counters and similar hardwired devices based on mechanical elactromechanical and pneumatic principals Numerical Control Numerical control is a method of controlling the movements of machine components by directly inserting coded instructions in the form of numbers and letters into the system.The system automatically interprets these data converts them to output signals.

Principals of NC Machines The functional elements in numerical control and the components involved follow; A. Data input; The numerical information is read and stored in the tape reader or in computer memory. B. Data processing; The programs are read into the machine control unit for processing. C. Data output; This information is translated into commands to the servomotor the moves The table to specific positions throUgh linear or rotary movements by Means of stepping motors lead screWs and other similar devices.

Computer Numerical Control In direct numerical control as originally conceived and developed in the 1960s,several machines are directly controlled step by step by a central main frame computer. In this system the operator has acess to the central computer through a remote terminal. In this way, the handling of tapes and the need for a separate computer on each machine are eleminated. withDNC,the status of all machines in a manufacturing facility can be monitored and assessed from the central computer. However, DNC has a crucial dis-advantage. If the computer shuts down,all the machines become inoperative.

Types of'Control Systems There are two basic types of control systems in numerical control: point-la-point and contouring.

a. In a poInt.to-point system. also called positioning. each axis of the machine is dri vco-<eparately by leadscrews-and. depending on the type of operation. at different ve loci ties.' The machine moves initially at maximum. velocity in order td reduce nonproductive time, but decelerates as the tool approaches its numerically defined position b. in a contouring system (also known as a continuous path system), the positioning and the operations are both performed along controlled paths but at different veloci lies. Because the too\"acts as it travels along a prescribed path (Fig. 38. lOb), accurate control and synchronization of velocities and movements are important

Advantages and Limitations of NC Numerical control has the following advantages over conventional methods of machine control.

1. FIexibility of operation i. improved, as well as the ability to produce complex shapes with good dimensional accuracy. good repeatability, reduced scrap loss. high pro- on rales. high productivity. and high product quality. 2. Too ling costs are reduced. because Iemplales and other fixtures are not requited . 3. Machine adjustments are easy to make with microcomputers and digital readouts. 4. Programs can be prepared rapidly. and they can be recalled at any time, by utilizing microprocessors, Less paperwork is involved. Methods of material Handling a. the shaps,weight,and characteristics of the parts. b. the types and the distances of momvement,and the position and orientation of the parts during movement and at their final detination. c. the condition of the path along which the parts are to be transported. d. the operator skill required;and e. economic consideration.

Robot Components To appreciate the function of robot components and their capabilities, we might simultaneously observe the flexibility and capability of diverse movements of our arm,wrist,hand,and fingers in reaching for and grabbing an object from a shelf,or in using a hand tool,or in operting a car or a machine.Described next the basic components of an industrial robot.

INDUSTRIAL ROBOTES An industrial robotes has been defined as a reprogrammable multifunctional mainpulator,designed to move materials,parts,tools,or other devices by means of vriable programmed motion and to perform a variety of other tasks

Manipulator. Also called arm and wrist. The manipulator is a meehanical unit that provides motion similar to those of a human arm and hand End effector. The end of the wrist in a robot is equipped with anend effector,also called end-of-tooling Power supply.Each motion of the manipulator is controlled and regulated by independent actuators that use an electrical,a pneumatic Control system. Also known as the controller,the control system is the communication and information-processing system that gives commands for the movements of the robot.It is the brain of the robot. Feedback devices. Such as transducers,are an important part of the control system. Robots with a fixed set of motion have open-loop control.

Classification of Robotes Type of classified robots a. cartesian or rectilinear b. Cylindrical c.spherical or polar d. Articulated, or revolute ,or jointed, or anthropomorphic Fixed-and Variable-Sequence Robots.The Fixed-sequence robot is programmed for a specific sequence of operation Playback robot. An operator leads or walks the playback robot and its end effector through the desired path in other words, the opertor teaches the robot by showing it what to do. Selection of Robots a.load-carrying capacity b. speed of movement c. reliability d. repeatability e.arm configuration

SENSOR TECHNOLOGY A sensor is a device which produces a signal in response to its detecting or measuring a property,such as position, force,pressure,temperature,humidity, speed,acceleration, or vibration.Traditionally, sensors, actuators,and switches have been used to set limits on the performance of machines sensor classification 1.Mechanical sensor measure such quantities as position,shape,velocity,force,torque.pressure,vibration, strain,and mass. 2.Electrical sensor measure voltage,current,charge,and conductivity. 3.Magnetic sensor measure magnetic field,flux,and permeabillity. 4.Thermal sensors measure temperature,flux condutivity, and specitic heat

A.Tactile sensing tactile sensing is the continuous sensing of variable contact forces,commonly by an array of sensors. B. visual sensing.in visual sensing,cameras optically sense the presence and shape of the object

Assemble systems There are three basic methods of assembly:manual, high-speed automatic,and robotic. Manual assemble uses relatively simple tools and is economical for small lots. Because of dexterity of human hand and fingers,and their capability for feedback through verison senses,workers can mamually assemble even complex part without much difficulty. High-speed automated assembly utilizes transfer mechanisms designed specially for assembly. Two exmples of such assembly are show

Desing guideline for high-speed automated assembly include,in addition to some of those for manual assembly,the fact that parts have to be handle not manually but automatically,using verious devices.

Proposed redesign for a pressure recorder


The original design for the functional part of an electromechanical pressure recorder is show.

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