Industrial Automation

In this module students are introduced to the technology used to automate industrial tasks. They look at advantages and disadvantages of automation in the contest of technical and financial viability.

1. Describe the principle of operation and characteristics of sensors, actuators and controllers.

2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of control strategies including open loop, closed loop, sequential control, process control, PID control.

3. Investigate robotic capability, technology and anatomy.

4. Evaluate the technical and financial viability of automated production systems.

5. Investigate the application, benefits and implementation of Flexible Manufacturing Systems with particular reference to Bottleneck modelling.