Gopalan College of Engineering and Management

(Accredited by NAAC, 2(f) status by UGC & ISO 9001:2015 certified)

Approved by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi
GCEM Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi, Karnataka
Recognised by Govt. of Karnataka
181/1, 182/1, Sonnenahalli, Hoodi, K.R.Puram, Whitefield, Bangalore, Karnataka - 560 048
Phone No: 080 – 42229748 Email: [email protected] Website: www.gopalancolleges.com/gcem

18ME732 – AUTOMATION & ROBOTICS

(SEMESTER – VII / B.E ME)
Faculty : Dr.Natarajan T / Associate Professor / ME / GCEM / Bangalore

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR SEMESTER END EXAM

Module - 1 Introduction to Automation

Syllabus

Q.No Important Questions

1. Define automation. Explain the basic elements of an automated system.
Explain the following advanced automation functions.
(i) Safety monitoring
2.
(i) Maintenance and repair diagnostics
(i) Error detection and recovery
3. Explain the various levels of automation with a block diagram.
4. Differentiate ‘Process industries’ and ‘Discrete manufacturing industries’.
Explain the following Continuous Process Control methods with suitable examples.
5. (i) Regulatory control
(ii) Feedforward control
6. What is ADC? Briefly describe the three steps of the analog-to-digital conversion process?

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1. Define automation. Explain the basic elements of an automated system.

Automation:
Automation can be defined as the technology by which a process or procedure is accomplished
without human assistance. It is implemented using a program of instructions combined with a control
system that executes the instructions.
Automated manufacturing systems operate in the factory on the physical product. They
perform operations such as processing, assembly, inspection, and material handling, in many cases
accomplishing more than one of these operations in the same system. They are called ‘automated’
because they perform their operations with a reduced level of human participation compared with the
corresponding manual process.

Basic Elements of an Automated System

An automated system consists of three basic elements:

(1) Power (to accomplish the process and operate the system)
(2) A program of instructions (to direct the process)
(3) A control system (to actuate the instructions)

The relationship among these elements is illustrated in Figure.

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

An automated system is used to operate some process, and power is required to drive the
process as well as the controls. The principal source of power in automated systems is electricity.
Alternative power sources include fossil fuels, atomic, solar, water, and wind. However, their exclusive
use is rare in automated systems. In many cases when alternative power sources are used to drive the
process itself, electrical power is used for the controls that automate the operation.

In addition to driving the manufacturing process itself, power is also required for the following material
handling functions:
• Loading and unloading the work unit
• Material transport between operations

Above and beyond the basic power requirements for the manufacturing operation, additional power is
required for automation. The additional power is used for the following functions:
• Controller unit
• Power to actuate the control signals
• Data acquisition and information processing

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(2) A program of instructions to direct the process

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

Whether the manufacturing operation involves low, medium, or high production, each part or product
requires one or more processing steps that are unique to that part or product. These processing steps
are performed during a work cycle.
A new part is completed at the end of each work cycle (in some manufacturing operations, more
than one part is produced during the work cycle: for example, a plastic injection molding operation may
produce multiple parts each cycle using a multiple cavity mold). The particular processing steps for the
work cycle are specified in a work cycle program, called part programs in numerical control.

The following are the features of work cycle programs (part programs) used to direct the operations of
an automated system:
• Process parameters
• Number of steps in work cycle
• Manual participation in the work cycle
• Operator interaction
• Variations in part or product styles
• Variations in starting work units

(3) A control system to actuate the instructions

The control element of the automated system executes the program of instructions. The
control system causes the process to accomplish its defined function, which is to perform some
manufacturing operation.

The controls in an automated system can be either closed loop or open loop. A closed loop
control system, also known as a feedback control system, is one in which the output variable is
compared with an input parameter, and any difference between the two is used to drive the output into
agreement with the input. As shown in Figure.

In contrast to a closed-loop control system, an open-loop control system operates without the
feedback loop, as in Figure. In this case, the controls operate without measuring the output variable, so
no comparison is made between the actual value of the output and the desired input parameter.

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2. Explain the following advanced automation functions.
(i) Safety monitoring
(ii) Maintenance and repair diagnostics
(iii) Error detection and recovery
(i) Safety monitoring

There are two reasons for providing an automated system with a safety monitoring capability:
• to protect human workers in the vicinity of the system
• to protect the equipment comprising the system

Safety monitoring in an automated system involves the use of sensors to track the system’s
operation and identify conditions and events that are unsafe or potentially unsafe. The safety
monitoring system is programmed to respond to unsafe conditions in some appropriate way. Possible
responses to various hazards include one or more of the following:
• completely stopping the automated system
• sounding an alarm
• reducing the operating speed of the process
• taking corrective actions to recover from the safety violation

(ii) Maintenance and repair diagnostics

Modern automated production systems are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated,
complicating the problem of maintaining and repairing them. Maintenance and repair diagnostics
refers to the capabilities of an automated system to assist in identifying the source of potential or actual
malfunctions and failures of the system.
Three modes of operation are typical of a modern maintenance and repair diagnostics
subsystem:

• Status monitoring: the diagnostic subsystem monitors and records the status of key sensors and
parameters of the system during normal operation.
• Failure diagnostics: The failure diagnostics mode is invoked when a malfunction or failure
occurs.
• Recommendation of repair procedure: In the third mode of operation, the subsystem
recommends to the repair crew the steps that should be taken to effect repairs.

(iii) Error detection and recovery

Error Detection. The error detection step uses the automated system’s available sensors to determine
when a deviation or malfunction has occurred, interpret the sensor signal(s), and classify the error.
The possible errors can be classified into one of three general categories:
(1) random errors (2) systematic errors (3) aberrations

Error Recovery. Error recovery is concerned with applying the necessary corrective action to overcome
the error and bring the system back to normal operation.
The types of strategies can be classified as follows:
• Make adjustments at the end of the current work cycle
• Make adjustments during the current cycle
• Stop the process to invoke corrective action
• Stop the process and call for help

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3. Explain the various levels of automation with a block diagram.

Automated systems can be applied to various levels of factory operations. Five levels of automation can
be identified, and their hierarchy is depicted in Figure.

1. Device level
This is the lowest level in the automation hierarchy. It includes the actuators, sensors, and other
hardware components that comprise the machine level. The devices are combined into the individual
control loops of the machine, for example, the feedback control loop for one axis of a CNC machine or
one joint of an industrial robot.

2. Machine level
Hardware at the device level is assembled into individual machines. Examples include CNC
machine tools and similar production equipment, industrial robots, powered conveyors, and automated
guided vehicles. Control functions at this level include performing the sequence of steps in the program
of instructions in the correct order and making sure that each step is properly executed.

3. Cell or system level

This is the manufacturing cell or system level, which operates under instructions from the plant
level. A manufacturing cell or system is a group of machines or workstations connected and supported
by a material handling system, computer, and other equipment appropriate to the manufacturing
process. Production lines are included in this level. Functions include part dispatching and machine
loading, coordination among machines and material handling system, and collecting and evaluating
inspection data.

4. Plant level
This is the factory or production systems level. It receives instructions from the corporate
information system and translates them into operational plans for production. Likely functions include
order processing, process planning, inventory control, purchasing, material requirements planning, shop
floor control, and quality control.

5. Enterprise level
This is the highest level, consisting of the corporate information system. It is concerned with all
of the functions necessary to manage the company: marketing and sales, accounting, design, research,
aggregate planning, and master production scheduling. The corporate information system is usually
managed using Enterprise Resource Planning.

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4. Differentiate ‘Process industries’ and ‘Discrete manufacturing industries’.

Industries and their production operations were divided into two basic categories:
(1) Process industries
(2) Discrete manufacturing industries

Process industries perform their production operations on amounts of materials, because the
materials tend to be liquids, gases, powders, and similar materials, whereas discrete manufacturing
industries perform their operations on quantities of materials, because the materials tend to be discrete
parts and products.

The kinds of unit operations performed on the materials are different in the two industry categories.
Some of the typical unit operations in each category are listed in Table.

The levels of automation in the two industries are compared in Table. Significant differences are seen in
the low and intermediate levels.

At the device level, there are differences in the types of actuators and sensors used in the two
industry categories, simply because the processes and equipment are different. In the process
industries, the devices are used mostly for the control loops in chemical, thermal, or similar processing
operations, whereas in discrete manufacturing, the devices control the mechanical actions of machines.
At level 2, the difference is that unit operations are controlled in the process industries, and
machines are controlled in discrete manufacturing operations.
At level 3, the difference is between control of interconnected unit processing operations and
interconnected machines. At the upper levels (plant and enterprise), the control issues are similar,
allowing for the fact that the products and processes are different.

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5. Explain the following Continuous Process Control methods with suitable examples.
(i) Regulatory control
(ii) Feedforward control

In continuous control, the usual objective is to maintain the value of an output variable at a desired
level, similar to the operation of a feedback control system.

(i) Regulatory control

In regulatory control, the objective is to maintain process performance at a certain level or

within a given tolerance band of that level. This is appropriate, for example, when the performance
attribute is some measure of product quality, and it is important to keep the quality at the specified
level or within a specified range.
In many applications, the performance measure of the process, sometimes called the index of
performance, must be calculated based on several output variables of the process. Except for this
feature, regulatory control is to the overall process what feedback control is to an individual control
loop in the process, as suggested by Figure.

(ii) Feedforward control

The strategy in feedforward control is to anticipate the effect of disturbances that will upset the
process by sensing them and compensating for them before they affect the process.
As shown in Figure, the feedforward control elements sense the presence of a disturbance and
take corrective action by adjusting a process parameter that compensates for any effect the disturbance
will have on the process.

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6. What is ADC? Briefly describe the three steps of the analog-to-digital conversion process?

Continuous analog signals from a process must be converted into digital values to be used by
the computer, and digital data generated by the computer must be converted to analog signals to be
used by analog actuators. This process is called as analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) process.

The procedure for converting an analog signal from the process into digital form typically consists of the
following steps and hardware devices, as illustrated in Figure.
1. Sensor and transducer. This is the measuring device that generates the analog signal
2. Signal conditioning. The continuous analog signal from the transducer may require conditioning to
render it into more suitable form. Common signal conditioning steps include (1) filtering to remove
random noise and (2) conversion from one signal form to another, for example, converting a current
into a voltage.
3. Multiplexer. The multiplexer is a switching device connected in series with each input channel from
the process; it is used to time-share the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) among the input channels.
4. Amplifier. Amplifiers are used to scale the incoming signal up or down to be compatible with the
range of the analog-to-digital converter.
5. Analog-to-digital converter. As its name indicates, the function of the ADC is to convert the incoming
analog signal into its digital counterpart.

(1) sampling, (2) quantization, and (3) encoding.

Sampling consists of converting the continuous signal into a series of discrete analog signals at periodic
intervals, as shown in Figure.

In quantization, each discrete analog signal is assigned to one of a finite number of previously defined
amplitude levels. The amplitude levels are discrete values of voltage ranging over the full scale of the
ADC.

In the encoding step, the discrete amplitude levels obtained during quantization are converted into
digital code, representing the amplitude level as a sequence of binary digits.