Automation types
Forms of Modern Industry Automation
Automation relates to using technology in executing various functions without human involvement, input, or interference. It aims at minimizing costs due to errors, reducing its overall costs, and saving as much time as it possibly can. Depending on their purposes, there exist multiple kinds of automation.
- Fixed or Hard Automation: This is automation that does one set of tasks over and over again. It is often used in mass production environments, such as automobile manufacturing, where the volume of production is high and the variation is minimal. The system runs with minimal human intervention once it is set up.
2. Programmable Automation Programmable automation is also widely applied in batch manufacturing environments where machines can easily be reprogrammed for different tasks or products. It is, therefore best suited to those industries with the need for flexibility in terms of production runs, as in electronics assembly or pharmaceuticals.
3. Flexible or Soft Automation Flexible automation systems are highly versatile; it can do any range of tasks. The robotic arms, sensors, and AI combine to make a real-time decision based on changes in the input. Such automation is preferred in food processing, consumer goods, and aerospace. Here, the system switches from one activity to another with minimum idle time.
4. Industrial Automation: This serves mass production as an integration of hardware-like robots and conveyors with software-like control systems; its aim is to automate all the lines of production, and therefore increase productivity, and make it both consistent and safe for mass production.
Each one helps to maximize efficiency such that there are few errors, hence making them more intelligent and efficient in doing industrial operations.
