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What are the three main types of automation used in manufacturing?
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At the top of the machine is a stack of punched cards that would be fed into the loom to control the weaving pattern. This method of automatically issuing machine instructions was employed by computers well into the 20th century.
In manufacturing, automation is categorized into three primary types based on how production equipment is configured and controlled:1
- Fixed automation: Also known as "hard automation," this type uses equipment where the sequence of operations is determined by the hardware configuration (such as cams, gears, and wiring). Because these settings are not easily changed, it is best suited for high-volume production of a single product style.1
- Programmable automation: This type is designed for batch production. The equipment must be reprogrammed and physically changed over for each new batch of products. While it allows for more variety than fixed automation, it involves nonproductive downtime during changeovers.1
- Flexible automation: An extension of programmable automation, this type allows for quick, automatic equipment changeovers. Programming is handled off-line, enabling a mixture of different products to be manufactured sequentially without the need to group them into batches.1
These systems often utilize computer-aided manufacturing and flexible manufacturing systems to optimize efficiency and respond to market demands.23