Automation
The word ‘Automation’ is derived from greek words “Auto”(self) and “Matos” (moving). Automation therefore is the mechanism for systems that “move by itself”. However, apart from this original sense of the word, automated systems also achieve significantly superior performance than what is possible with manual systems, in terms of power, precision and speed of operation.

“Automation is a set of technologies that results in operation of machines and systems without significant human intervention and achieves performance superior to manual operation”

Types of Automation System

Automated manufacturing systems can be classified into three basic types:

1. Fixed Automation.
2. Programmable Automation
3. Flexible Automation.

1. Fixed Automation

Fixed automation is a system in which the sequence of processing (or assembly) operations is fixed by the equipment configuration. Each of the operations is the sequence is usually simple, involving perhaps a plain linear or rotational motion or an uncomplicated combination of the two; for example, the feeding of a rotating spindle. It is the integration and coordination of many such operations into one piece of equipment that makes the system complex. Typical features of fixed automation are:

• high initial investment for custom-engineered equipment
• high production rates
• relatively inflexible in accommodating product variety

1. Programmable Automation,

In programmable automation, the production equipment is designed with the capability to change the sequence of operations to accommodate different product configuration. The operation sequence is controlled by a program, which is a set of instructions coded so that they can be read and interpreted by the system. New programs can be prepared and entered into the equipment to produce new products. Some of the features that characterize programmable automation include:

• High investment in general purpose equipment
•  Lower production rates than fixed automation
• Flexibility to deal with variations and changes in product configuration
• Most suitable for batch production

1. Flexible automation

Flexible automation is an extension of programmable automation. A flexible automated system is capable of producing a variety of parts (or products) with virtually no time lost for changeovers from one part style to the next. There is no lost production time while reprogramming the system and altering the physical setup (tooling, fixtures, machine settings). Consequently, the system can produce various combinations and schedules of parts or products instead of requiring that they be made in batches. What makes flexible automation possible is that the differences between parts processed by the system are not significant. It is a case of soft variety.so that the amount of changeover required between styles is minimal.
The features of flexible automation can be summarized as follows:

• High investment for a custom-engineered system
• Continuous production of variable mixtures of products
•  Medium production rate
• Flexibility to deal with product design variations

Advantages of Automation.

Companies undertake projects in manufacturing automation and computer integrated manufacturing for a variety of good reasons. Some of the reasons used to justify automated are the following:

1. To increase labor productivity. Automating a manufacturing operation usually increases production rate and labor productivity. This means greater output per hour of labor input.

2. To reduce labor cost. Ever-increasing tabor cost has been and continues to be the trend in the world's industrialized societies. Consequently, higher investment in automation has become economically justifiable to replace manual operations. Machines are increasingly being substituted for human lahar to reduce unit product cost.

3. To migrate the effects of labor shortages. There is a general shortage of labor in many advanced nations and this has stimulated the development of automated operations as a substitute tor labor.

4. To reduce or eliminate routine manual and clerical tasks. An argument can be put forth that there is social value in automating operations that are routine, boring, fatiguing, and possibly irksome. Automating such tasks serves a purpose of improving the general level of working conditions.
5. To improve worker safety. By automating a given operation and transferring the worker from active participation in the process to a supervisory role, the work is made safer. The safety and physical well-being of the worker has become a national objective

6. To improve product quality. Automation not only results in higher production rates than manual operations; it also performs the manufacturing process with greater uniform and conformity to quality specifications. Reduction attraction defect rate is one of the chief benefits of automation.

7. To reduce manufacturing lead lime. Automation helps to reduce the elapsed time between customer order and product delivery, providing a competitive advantage 10 the manufacturer for future orders. By reducing manufacturing lead time, the manufacturer also reduces work-in-process inventory

8. To accomplish processes that cannot be done manually. Certain operations cannot be accomplished without the aid of a machine. These processes have requirements for precision, miniaturization or complexity of geometry that cannot be achieved manually.

9. To avoid the high cost of not automating. There is a significant competitive advantage gained in automating a manufacturing plant. The advantage cannot easily be demonstrated on a company's project authorization form. The benefits of automation often show up in unexpected and intangible ways, such as in improved quality, higher sales, better labor relations, and better company image.

Disadvantages of Automation

Aside from these advantages, it is also important for us to discuss about the disadvantages of using and implementing automation in the industrial.

1. Higher Start-up cost and the cost of operation. Automated equipment includes the high capital expenditure required to invest in automation. An automated system can cost millions of dollars to design, fabricate, and install.

2. Higher Cost of Maintenance. A higher level of maintenance needed than with a manually operated machine. These include buying electromechanical devices such as electromechanically valve, sensory devices, and smart devices. Cost of spare parts for automation system may consider higher compare to the manual operate.

3. Obsolescence/Depreciation Cost. Obsolescence and depreciation is a gradual reduction in the value of physical assets. This phenomenon is characteristic of all physical assets in the form of equipment and machinery. It was something that was inevitable due to technology

4. Unemployment. A disadvantage often associated with automation, is worker displacement. Due to the fact that manual laborers are being replaced by robots or other automated machineries, this results to mass lay-off. A lot of people are losing their jobs especially those who work in the manufacturing industry such as a car factory.

5. Not economically justifiable for small scale production.