What Is The Importance Of Automation In Industrial Applications?

Simply put, using automation in industrial applications means saving money and increasing reliability of production. Automation handles the tasks that are easily prone to error, that are difficult for humans to handle without injury, and the tasks that humans don’t necessarily wish to perform.

So, the importance of automation in the industrial industry is saving money and time. However, that doesn’t tell you what automation system will actually fit your needs.

We will discuss the options below!

Conveyors

Conveyors are generally used to move product from point A to point B in a manufacturing environment. They can be used in other applications, however, they will still be used to move product from one place to another.

There are many types of conveyors, and each one is better for a different purpose. You can check out our post on the different types of conveyor belts.

Robotics

Robots have been revolutionary in the automation sphere. They can do nearly any task that a human can do which means that they can replace humans in unsafe environments. This allows humans to perform other tasks that only they can do, while keeping a safe distance from potentially injurious tasks.

There are two main types of robots that you will come across. Industrial robots and collaborative robots (cobots).

Industrial Robots

Industrial robots are considered the more “dangerous” of the two types. They have a higher payload which is very beneficial for manufacturing environments especially, however, they often require guarding to protect humans from being injured when crossing paths with them.

Industrial robots can be broken down into even more types of robots:

  • Cartesian
  • Scara
  • Articulated
  • Cylindrical
  • Delta
  • Polar

Robots (including cobots) can perform tasks such as:

Collaborative Robots

Collaborative robots are considered “safe”. There are safety protocols in place to prevent serious injury to humans working alongside the robot. For example, these robots are designed to abruptly stop once it has come into contact with humans. This prevents serious injury from happening.

While these robots are safer and can perform much the same tasks as an industrial robot, they do have a lower payload on average. If your project requires a high payload, an industrial robot may be your best option.

To learn about how to keep humans safe while collaborating with robots, read our Human Robot Collaboration post and guide.

Electric Automation

Electric Automation is essentially the used of electrical energy to power applications. There are many different types of electrical products that could help you power systems including electrical actuators, electrical control panels, sensors, lasers, etc.

These products are generally tied together to create a system that can handle tasks that are generally monotonous for workers to perform. Think cutting, checking for defects, machine tooling, and beer filling. Those are only a few applications electrical automation can handle.

Pneumatic Automation

Pneumatic automation is essentially the use of pressurized air or gas to create motion. The motion part is how the automation really takes place. Pneumatic automation can be used to perform many industrial applications:

  • Gripping
  • Positioning
  • Moving objects
  • Pressing
  • Sorting
  • Placing

Aluminum Framing

You may not consider aluminum framing a traditional automation system. However, aluminum framing allows easy movement of materials, sterile options for easily contaminated applications, and the ability to create flexible structural solutions for your application.

Aluminum framing is often used alongside other aluminum technologies. In industrial applications, aluminum framing can be used for:

  • Wheelable structures
  • Structures that robots interact with (tables, trays, etc.)
  • Tabletops and cabinets for robots to sit on
  • Workstation structures
  • Gurneys

Automation In Industrial Applications

Multiple types of automation systems can be integrated to solve a task or perform an application. So, any type of automation above can be integrated with another system listed. This creates an efficient, reliable, and cost saving solution for your application needs.

To learn more about what system is best for your application, please contact us.

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