What is industrial automation? Follow the details

Industrial automation

 industrial automation

Industrial automation is the process of automation that has generated exponential changes in the way we live and work. It seems incredible to imagine that much of what we know today is intimately linked to technological advances, as we live in an era in which automatic tools facilitate every aspect of our lives and activities. Without a doubt, technological evolution represents an increasingly indispensable advance, not only in our but also in the world of companies, industries, and sales. All these changes and progress are an imminent response to the needs of human beings. We are also going to explain the functionality of this tool to you today. History bears witness to the fact that machinery for the production, distribution, and marketing of products has been working tirelessly for the High quality and fast working machine due to industrial automation capable of performing repetitive and mechanical tasks that can replace human intervention and increase production.

benefits

Although industrial automation has fairly broad functionality, it is important to emphasize some benefits of this process: It is has enabled them to complete mechanical tasks faster and increase production

homogeneity and quality

For companies or industries, this mechanism allows reducing both manufacturing times and material and labor costs. Although industrial automation poses a threat to operators of industries or companies, its functionality has made it possible to reduce polluting or unuseful environments. In the same way, this tool has been essential to carry out jobs that require the transferor loading of large goods and that, logically, an operator cannot perform. The truth is that industrial automation companies not only have a fair broad functionality in the production sector, but it is also a profitable tool for any company or industry, which can make the investment in record time. Now that we know what industrial automation is and its functionality, let's see where this process can be applied.

Since we understand that this mechanism's main objective is to increase production while improving the quality of products and reducing costs and risks, it is possible to intuit that industrial automation and robotics are integrated into companies or sectors of food, metallurgy, pharmaceutical, automotive, and even chemical industries. Let us remember that although there are automatic machines that allow moving objects and goods, it is also possible to find technological tools capable of differentiating between volume, weight, and the elements that make up a product, therefore, industrial automation can be applied in different areas.

Types automation

Being a fairly broad and innovative field of study, it is important to differentiate between the types of industrial automation that exist. Logically, the type of automation will depend on the objective of the company or industry when it comes to manufacturing its products. If you want to produce identical parts in large volumes, fixed automation is the ideal tool to carry out this action. This type of automation is designed to carry out a specific task that can also be done at a very low cost. On the other hand, programmable automation is more useful when looking for low-volume production of different types of objects, as this tool allows machines and software to be configured according to the needs of the programmer. Finally, flexible automation could be considered the best option, since it incorporates the functionalities of the previous two. Its production level is medium and allows adjustments to be made in the production line.

New trends

This year marks the beginning of a new decade, so it is logical that in an increasingly globalized and interconnected world, technologies change exponentially. In the area of industrial automation, there will be multiple transformations that we will witness thanks to the advancement of Industry 4.0.

The manufacture of new tools connected to intelligent technologies will allow industrial automation to expand and reach new levels of production. The blockchain, for example, is a key technology for machines to be able to make decisions independently and communicate with each other. In other words, they will be able to carry out different actions such as ordering a missing part or controlling the production chain.

In the same way, machine learning will open new horizons in this area, since with this the machines will be able to learn automatically and act in consequence of the learned patterns.

The presence of robots in warehouses triggers their growth According to data from the American consultancy ABI Research, up to four million robots and machines will end up operating in more than 50,000 warehouses worldwide in 2025, compared to just 4,000 using robotics in 2018. This includes a wide variety of devices such as We saw in our article on robotic warehouses.

However, currently, the most widely used machines are those designed to cover the tasks of moving loads between the different areas of the warehouse or connecting some facilities with others.

In this sense, stacker cranes for pallets or conveyors for pallets represent the most established technology in the sector. When evaluating these systems, companies prioritize durability, reliability, and uptime, but not forgetting cost, achievable return on investment (ROI), and maintenance options. The path to industrial process automation starts with modest devices Sometimes, when we talk about the automation of industrial processes in logistics, it may seem that we are only referring to facilities that operate under a lights-out model, that is, they can operate with minimal human intervention (“with the lights off”). . It is true that these smart warehouses are great examples, but it is also true that there are different levels of automation when modernizing the warehouse. And therein lies the key. The starting point for the automation of industrial logistics processes is generally found in modest projects. These seek to improve warehouse productivity by providing operators with automatic devices to assist them in their tasks. Let's see some solutions along this line: Picking assistance devices such as voice picking or light picking - not only speed up the process but also improve order picking accuracy. Pallet Shuttle: this motorized trolley is designed to work in warehouses with compact racks. The trolley replaces the operator in the pallet entry and exit maneuvers within the storage channel. Warehouse management system: there is as much variety of functionalities as of prices of SGA. Therefore, simple and affordable warehouse management software can be found, which may be enough to start automating a simple warehouse. Easy Basic by Mecalux is proof of this. The correct study of the needs, the key to the success of the automation of industrial processes in logistics The condition for a successful industrial process automation project in logistics is to correctly detect the needs and evaluate the performance of the equipment that is installed to meet those needs. How to do it? Going to the data.

Current warehouses have systems that are responsible for collecting information: radio frequency terminals, ERP, warehouse management systems, Labor Management Systems that monitor employees, the equipment maintenance program ..., among others. The way to determine which processes to automate is by interpreting that vast volume of data. For this, the key indicators (KPI) linked to the warehouse and the forecast of future sales will be of great help. If in your analysis process you want to take into account the vision of one of our robotics and automation experts, contact us. We have more than fifty years of experience carrying out industrial process automation projects in warehouses of all kinds: we invite you to take a look