Applications for robotic and automated manufacturing:
The manufacturing sector is one of the most significant areas where automation technology is used. Automating manufacturing is what automation implies to many people.
There are three distinct categories of production automation: fixed automation, programmable automation, and flexible automation.
- Fixed automation, commonly referred to as “hard automation,” describes an automated production facility where the equipment setup determines the order of processing processes. In reality, the machines’ cams, gears, wires, and other hardware—hardware that cannot readily be switched from one product style to another—contain the programmed commands. Significant production rates and a high initial investment define this type of automation. Therefore, it is appropriate for products that are produced in huge quantities. Examples of fixed automation include automatic assembly lines, specific chemical processes, and machining transfer lines used in the automotive sector.
- Batch production can be automated using programmable automation. Batch sizes for the items range from a few dozen to several thousand units at a time. The production machinery needs to be reprogrammed and modified to fit the new product style for every new batch. Each fresh batch of reprogramming and switch requires time to complete, and each one is followed by a manufacturing run. Because the equipment is made to ease product changeover rather than to support product specialization, production rates in programmable automation are often lower than in fixed automation.
- The next step beyond programmable automation is flexible automation. The drawback of programmable automation is the amount of time needed to reprogram and switch over the manufacturing machinery for each batch of new products. It costs money to have production time squandered in this way. Flexible automation allows for quick and automatic equipment changeover because the range of goods is adequately constrained. Flexible automation uses off-line reprogramming or programming done at a computer terminal without utilizing the actual production equipment, to update the equipment.
