PROJECT
PROJECT
PROJECT
WHAT IS SEMI-AUTOMATION?
Semi-Automation is a process or procedure that is performed by
the combined activities of man and machine with both human and
machine steps typically orchestrated by a centralized computer
controller. Many manufacturers choose not to fully automate a
process, and instead implement semi-automation due to the
complexity of the task, or the number of products produced is too
low to justify the investment in full automation. Other processes
may not be fully automated because it may reduce the flexibility
to easily adapt the processes to reflect production needs.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOMATION:-
Early developments
The first tools made of stone represented prehistoric man’s
attempts to direct his own physical strength under the control
of human intelligence. Thousands of years were undoubtedly
required for the development of simple mechanical devices and
machines such as the wheel, the lever, and the pulley, by which
the power of human muscle could be magnified. The next
extension was the development of powered machines that did not
require human strength to operate. Examples of these machines
include waterwheels, windmills, and simple steam-driven devices.
More than 2,000 years ago the Chinese developed trip-hammers
powered by flowing water and waterwheels. The early Greeks
experimented with simple reaction motors powered by steam.
The mechanical clock, representing a rather complex assembly
with its own built-in power source (a weight), was developed
about 1335 in Europe. Windmills, with mechanisms for
automatically turning the sails, were developed during the Middle
Ages in Europe and the Middle East. During the two centuries
since the introduction of the Watt steam engine, powered engines
and machines have been devised that obtain their energy from
steam, electricity, and chemical, mechanical, and nuclear sources.
The early life of automation begins, then, with the industrial
revolution and industrial machinery between 1790 and 1840.
Then, like now, people feared the impact of automation on their
jobs.In 1837, Charles Babbage began creation of a prototype
machine he called ‘The Analytical Engine’, which was the first
device to earn the name ‘computer’. His friend Ada Lovelace,
meanwhile, created the first ever computer program, which
would have run on the machine. Sadly, Babbage died before his
prototype was complete.
Principles And Theory Of Automation
The developments described above have provided the three basic
building blocks of automation: (1) a source of power to perform
some action, (2) feedback controls, and (3) machine
programming. Almost without exception, an automated system
will exhibit all these elements.
Power source
An automated system is designed to accomplish some useful
action, and that action requires power. There are many sources of
power available, but the most commonly used power in today’s
automated systems is electricity. Electrical power is the most
versatile, because it can be readily generated from other sources
(e.g., fossil fuel, hydroelectric, solar, and nuclear) and it can be
readily converted into other types of power (e.g., mechanical,
hydraulic, and pneumatic) to perform useful work. In addition,
electrical energy can be stored in high-performance, long-life
batteries.
The actions performed by automated systems are generally of
two types: (1) processing and (2) transfer and positioning. In the
first case, energy is applied to accomplish some processing
operation on some entity. The process may involve the shaping of
metal, the moulding of plastic, the switching of electrical signals in
a communication system, or the processing of data in a
computerized information system. The second type of action—
transfer and positioning—is most readily seen in
automated manufacturing systems designed to perform work on a
product. In these cases, the product must generally be moved
(transferred) from one location to another during the series of
processing steps.
Feedback controls
Feedback controls are widely used in modern automated systems.
A feedback control system consists of five basic components: (1)
input, (2) process being controlled, (3) output, (4) sensing
elements, and (5) controller and actuating devices. These five
components are illustrated in Figure 1. The term closed-loop
feedback control is often used to describe this kind of system.
The History of Robotics in the Automotive Industry
It’s often said industrial robots have made their biggest mark in
the automotive world but it took many decades of refinement for
them to get there. How long has it been since robots got their
start? The most basic ideas originate in Leonardo's time!
The modern idea for the robot made its first appearance in a
play in 1921. In this production, robots were mechanical workers
who helped humans – but they eventually revolted and took over
the world. To say this is an inauspicious beginning would be an
understatement. Still, real-life technology soon began to catch up
with the concept.
World War II Gives Industrial Automation a Push
WWII represented a leap forward in technology. U.S. automakers
had high quotas and constantly sought ways to improve output.
The conflict accelerated development of technologies like the first
computer. In 1970, when the first integrated circuit appeared, the
automation race was on. Early industrial robots had no external
sensors. However, they were still able to perform basic tasks like
pick and place. This made automotive factories much safer for
their employees.
LIMITATIONS:-
Limitations commonly attributed to automation in automobile
industry are
1.LESS VERSATILITY– by having a machine that can perform a
certain task limits to the flexibility and variety of tasks that an
employee could do.
2.MORE POLLUTION – different types of machines operate
using motor which may require gases or chemicals in order to
operate. This can cause an increase in pollution in the workplace.
3.LARGE INITIAL INVESTMENT – automated machines can
be one of the most costly operating costs for a company. With
automated machines running anywhere between thousands and
millions of dollars depending on the type and degree of
automation.
4.INCREASE UNEMPLOYMENT – by increasing the amount of
automation, there are less employees required causing high
unemployment rates.
5.UNPREDICTABLE COSTS– there can be several
unpredictable costs that may exceed the actual cost saved by the
automation itself. Some of these costs could include research and
development costs of automating a process, preventative
maintenance costs, and the cost of training employees to operate
automated machines.
6.MAINTENANCE-Automated machines require lots of upgrades
and maintenance during operation like system upgrades,broken
electronics etc.
7.DEPENDENCY ON TECHNOLOGY-Implementing most
automation requires some degree of technical assistance
“Robotics in Indian Automobile Industries”
India became the fourth largest auto market in 2019 displacing
Germany with about 3.99 million units sold in the passenger and
commercial vehicles categories. India is expected to displace
Japan as the third largest auto market by 2021.
This could not be possible if robotics was not introduced to the
different automobile companies in India.
As the demand in car units increased, the production time needed
to be lesser that is why so many companies are trying to bring
more robots and semi-robots into production work.
This does affect the human resource requirements but improved
the production rate, profit and also perfection of the products .
Following are some of the leading automobile companies that
have been using these advanced robots in their manufacturing
unit.
TATA
MARUTI SUZUKI
HYUNDAI
Here is all you would like to know about the first India
made robot, Tata Brabo:
AN ARMY OF ROBOTS:
The number of robots in use worldwide multiplied threefold over
the past two decades to 2.25 million, according to a June 2019
report by Oxford Economics. Trends suggest the global stock of
robots will multiply even faster in the next 20 years, reaching as
many as 20 million by 2030—with 14 million in China alone, the
report adds.India is way behind at the moment. But things can
change very quickly. The automotive industry, which is currently
racked by a slowdown, is a great example. In the face of
stagnation, firms that had begun to ramp up their robot density
(robots per 10,000 workers) in the mid-2000s have now merely
chosen not to rehire a bulk of the short-term, rotational, low-
skilled contract workforce. According to a 22 January 2019 report
by the International Federation of Robotics, India’s automotive
sector was the main customer for industrial robots, accounting
for as much as 62% of the total supply.
UNIQUE QUANDRY:
India is in a unique quandary. While the country needs to find
jobs for its booming population, the globally competitive
opportunities are almost entirely in smart manufacturing, most of
which require less human hands per unit of output. “The
conventional ways of doing incremental business will no longer
suffice. India needs to push its people to adopt disruptive ways of
doing business," said Ashutosh Sharma, secretary, Department of
Science and Technology at the 4th Confederation of Indian
Industries Smart Manufacturing Summit, held on 26 October 2018
in Delhi.
Technological unemployment
A RENEWED OPPORTUNITY:
While India may have missed the manufacturing bus of the 1980s
and 90s, which powered China’s growth, the bus has now become
more advanced. And the competitive edge lies in artificial
intelligence (AI), industrial internet of things (IoT), wearables,
robotics and additive manufacturing (better known as 3D
printing), which are all set to fundamentally transform global
production.
In any case, automation on the shop floor is now being taken to
new levels. Machines develop faults like parts getting worn out or
equipment not getting calibrated properly. An operator could,
thus, waste a lot of time trying to locate the origin of the problem.
It’s here that automation is being combined with AI and IoT on
the shop floor to resolve such issues.
AI, for instance, can be integrated with CNC machines to enable
self-diagnosis. Thus, when a fault develops, it will be detected and
the software will try and solve the problem. Apart from using the
data that is collected thus for diagnostics, a more advanced AI
system could analyze that data and alter the settings of the
machine to optimize a prototype being manufactured.
According to a 10 May blog by Craig Lyjak, EY Global Smart
Factory leader, the smart factory is no longer a futuristic vision. It
is the heart of the broader Industry 4.0, or the Fourth Industrial
Revolution, which refers to the gradual combination of traditional
manufacturing and industrial practices with digital technologies.
The most prominent of these technologies, according to Lyjak,
include computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided
engineering (CAE) software, cloud computing, IoT, advanced
sensor technologies, 3D printing, industrial robotics, data
analytics, AI and machine learning (ML), and enhanced machine-
to-machine (M2M) communications.
These technologies are already showing impressive results both
globally and in India. In 2016, The Times of India reported that
the country’s first “self-aware" factory was being set up in
Bengaluru at the Indian Institute of Science’s Centre for Product
Design and Manufacturing with seed funding from the Boeing Co.
The factory is enabling data to be continuously collected and
monitored, from both sensor-fitted machines and digitally
connected wearables in order to provide real-time insights about
every movement and process taking place on the factory floor.
The factory remains a “work in progress".
On its part, German auto-component maker Bosch’s Bidadi plant
has cobots, or collaborative robots, working alongside humans.
GE’s Chakan (in Pune) factory’s enterprise resource planning
(ERP) system is linked to the manufacturing execution system
(MES). Equipment efficiency is monitored in real time to decide
production schedules like availability of forks or lifts, raw
material trucks, workers and machines while sensors (read IoT)
send warnings on possible breakdowns.
DIGITAL FACTORIES:
While the Indian automobile industry is unquestionably at the
vanguard of the oncoming change, other companies are not
entirely untouched. Mondelez India describes its Sri City (in
Andhra Pradesh) unit as an “integrated digital factory", one which
can pack 6,300 chocolate bars a minute, while Jaipur Watch Co.
has added a new collection of stainless steel watches that were 3D
printed.
Walmart, for instance, cut its physical inventory from one month
to 24 hours by using drones that fly through the warehouse, scan
products, and check for misplaced items. Using algorithms that
learn from experience to optimize logistics, BMW tracks a part
from the point it was manufactured to when the vehicle is sold—
from all of its assembly facilities across the world. In finance
operations, AI can close operations and automate monthly,
quarterly and year-end processes. Using ML, bots can learn from
human inputs to make better judgments and adapt to the
behaviour patterns of accounting professionals.