Industrial Automation Technologies

Industrial Automation Technologies With the digitizing world, many technologies have entered our lives; artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of Things, automation technologies are just a few of these. These technologies continue to change our lives differently each day. For example; nowadays, a person setting up a new company doesn't need to hire a graphic designer to design their logo, they can easily design a logo for their company using artificial intelligence. Or there are now fewer people working in factories because; robots that perform tasks that humans can do in a more flawless manner exist. One of those driving this change in industry is automation technologies. Particularly from the 1980s onwards, major changes began to occur in industry worldwide. With machines becoming more intelligent, the need for human labor gradually decreased. Today, robot technologies that can perform almost every task flawlessly have entered our lives. For these robot systems to work correctly, be programmed, be manufactured, and be monitored, industrial automation technologies are required. The primary purpose of industrial automation is to ensure continuity in production and to prevent production from stopping for 24 hours. Time flexibility and quality improvement provided by automation systems can be utilized not only in factories but in many fields of business. The most widely used areas of industrial automation systems are; manufacturing industry, automotive industry, scientific research, medical devices, and furniture industry stand out.

Industrial Automation System Benefits

With the increase in market demand and transition to mass production, speed in production and efficient use of time began to matter. At the same time, with mass production, flawless sustainability in production is sought and producing products with the same characteristics became mandatory. Where human labor is used, defects can occur and problems arising from human error can be experienced. At this point, robot technologies are of great importance. Automation systems can help monitor the working together of these technologies, program them, and store data. The contributions that automation systems provide to industry can be listed with the following points.

Lower Costs

Cost is among the topics that businesses focus on most. Although robot technologies and automation systems are costly to install, these technologies will subsequently provide cost advantages for businesses. Automation systems can do the work that multiple people can do by themselves, thereby allowing businesses to employ fewer people and reducing the salary burden on businesses. Not just salaries but other items paid for employees will also decrease.

Faster Production and Increased Quality

For 24-hour production to continue, employees working in multiple shifts are required. Even in this case, during long working hours, people can become fatigued and experience distraction. This causes errors. However, automation systems can detect an error that may occur beforehand and provide warnings. Thus, more flawless production is ensured. This also provides an advantage in terms of cost while preventing disruptions that may occur in production, quality improvement is achieved. Another advantage offered by automation systems is production speed. Industrial automation systems can provide 7/24 operation. While this can be achieved in shift systems as well, it would create additional expense. With industrial automation systems, this additional expense is eliminated and faster production is provided.

Easier Adaptation to New Systems

Before a new product is produced, before the system is changed, all employees in a factory operating with the normal system must undergo training and this requires extra time. Even after this training, a certain amount of time will be required for employees to become accustomed to the new system, and the error rate will be high at the beginning. With industrial automation systems, easy adaptation to the new system can be achieved by changing just a few features and transition to the new system can be made without wasting time.

Factory Automation Types

Every factory automation process can vary depending on the product to be manufactured. However, if automation types need to be classified, they can be divided into simple automation and controlled factory automation. Looking at simple automation; for this automation system, a sensor is placed on each conveyor and a program is written with a sequential system. And in this way, a sequential working system is established. This system; when the first conveyor sensor sees the pallet, it looks at the next conveyor. After this; if there is no product on the following conveyor, the motor of the first and following conveyor is activated. The system is based on sensors that see the pallet and continues this way. When the last conveyor's sensor sees the pallet, it stops. In controlled factory automation; a sensor is installed on each conveyor and a time algorithm is also created with the sensors. A program is written with a sequential system. Here the system has defined periods. When the sensor on the conveyor in the first system sees the pallet for a defined period, it looks at the following conveyor. If there is no product on the following conveyor, the motor of the first and following conveyor is activated. The time after the motor starts for it to move to the next conveyor is calculated and a specific period is given for the sensor to stop when it sees the pallet. If the sensor has not seen the pallet within the specified time, the system issues an alarm. The system continues in this order. If the system stops due to timing, it alerts the operator by issuing an alarm.

Key Points to Consider

There are points that need to be considered in these systems. Especially in automation systems, protecting mechanical systems is very important and should be handled with care. At the same time, rather than a system that operates based on a single signal; different conditions to be considered such as time factor and specific command conditions are also determined. Another important point is; that these systems are designed to issue operating alarms, safety alarms, warning alarms and be recorded and analyzed. Automation systems stand out as one of the important technologies for organizing the production system according to the latest technology, and it is thought that with further development of systems in the coming years, it will become one of the most used technologies. Automation systems are also used in many places outside of factories, such as smart homes; scientific work. To be able to benefit from technological developments, we must make our production and our own lives compatible with these technologies. For this, we need to follow technological developments and integrate systems into our lives and work that, no matter how costly they seem initially, will provide benefits in the long term. References https://www.optimak.com.tr/fabrika-otomasyon-sistemleri-nedir/ https://isovdinckok.meb.k12.tr/icerikler/endustriyelotomasyon-teknolojileri-alani_144985.html https://teslaakademi.com/endustriyel-otomasyon-nedir https://www.makliftsan.com.tr/blog/endustriyelotomasyon-ne-demek-endustriyel-otomasyonsistemleri-nedir https://www.oskon.com.tr/fabrika-otomasyonu Compiled by: Nilsu Kotil