文档介绍：外文原文
Production Automation
Introduction to production Automation
Automation is a widely used term in manufacturing. In this context ,automation can be defined as technology concerned with the application of mechanical, electronic, puter-based systems to operate and control production. Examples of this technology include:
·Automatic machine tools to process parts.
·Automated transfer lines and similar sequential production systems
·Automatic assembly machines
·Industrial robots
·Automatic material handing and storage systems
·Automated inspection systems for quality control.
·Feedback control puter process control.
·Computer systems that automate procedures for planning, data collection, and decision making to support manufacturing activities.
Automated production systems can be classified into two basic categories: fixed automation and programmable automation.
Fixed Automation
Fixed automation is what Harder was referring to when he coined the word automation. Fixed automation refers to production systems in which the sequence of processing or assembly operations is fixed by the equipment configuration and cannot be readily changed without altering the equipment. Although each operation in the sequence is usually simple, the integration plex. Typical features of fixed automation include initial investment for custom-engineered equipment, production rates, to products in which high quantities are to be produced ,and inflexibility in modating product changes.
Fixed automation is economically justifiable for products with high demand rates. The high initial investment in the equipment can be divided over a large number of units, perhaps millions, thus making the unit cost pared with alternative methods of production. Examples of fixed automation include transfer lines for machining, dial indexing machines, and automated assembly machines. Much of the technology in fixed automation was developed in the automobile ind