AMIE Study Circle Blog

What is the difference between mechanization and automation? Mechanization refers to the replacement of human power with mechanical power of some form. The use of hand power tools is not an example of mechanization. Automation and mechanization are often confused with each other; Mechanization saves the use of human muscles whereas automation saves the use of human judgement. Mechanization displaces physical labour, whereas Automation displaces mental labour as well. Mechanization affects one or two industries at a time. Automation is the replacement of human thinking with computers and machines. Automation creates jobs for skilled workers at the cost of unskilled and semi-skilled workers. It affects many industries at the same time. Give examples of programmable automation and flexible automation. Flexible automation refers to the ability of a robot or system to do various tasks. To change from one task to another, a simple software change, or a change in the commands input to the con...

Define a resolution of a robot. The resolution of a robot is a feature determined by the design of the control unit and is mainly dependent on the position feedback sensor.  It is important to distinguish the programming resolution from the control resolution. The programming resolution is the smallest allowable position increment in robot programs and is referred to as the basic resolution unit (BRU).  The control resolution is the smallest change in position that the feedback device can sense. Transfer machine Transfer machines are metalworking machine tools with several stations for performing various machining processes. Workpieces are fed into the machine and automatically indexed from station to station. Each station simultaneously performs a different operation on the workpiece and they exit the machine as a partially or completely finished unit. Name any two types of FMS layouts. Sequential FMS : It manufactures a one-piece part batch type and then planning and prepara...

Geneva Mechanism The Geneva drive or Maltese cross is a gear mechanism that translates a continuous rotation movement into intermittent rotary motion. The rotating drive wheel is usually equipped with a pin that reaches into a slot located in the other wheel (driven wheel) that advances it by one step at a time. The drive wheel also has an elevated circular blocking disc that "locks" the rotating driven wheel in position between steps. Detroit type automation When companies began to replace scrapped or obsolete bine with those employing the latest technological advances, gave Up what eventually became known as Detroit automation, e.g. inline sequencing of manufacturing operations that utilized automatic material handling techniques. Automation transformed the automobile industry. Sequences of different machining operations could be carried out on a single platform and to higher tolerances and higher speeds than previous. Detroit automation has started from the automobile indu...

What is an automated guided vehicle system? An automated guided vehicle or automatic guided vehicle (AGV), also called autonomous mobile robot (AMR), is a portable robot that follows along marked long lines or wires on the floor or uses radio waves, vision cameras, magnets, or lasers for navigation. They are most often used in industrial applications to transport heavy materials around a large industrial building, such as a factory or warehouse. What are automated flow lines? An automated flow line consists of several machines or workstations which are linked together by work handling devices that transfer parts between the stations. The transfer of work parts occurs automatically and the workstations carry out their specialized functions automatically. The flow line can be symbolized as shown in the following figure.   How is FMS different from batch production? An FMS is a method used to manufacture and produce goods that is able to adapt to changes. Whether these changes involve...