Industrial Automation Systems Improve Operation Speed & Accuracy
Improve Real-Time Visibility of Operations
Industrial Automation Systems Eliminate Manual Processes for Greater Efficiency and Productivity
Industrial Automation Systems combine various sensors, data collection hardware, controls, software, business rules and logic to improve efficiency, speed and reduce errors in equipment functionality and production lines. Generally speaking, industrial automation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human interaction in the production of goods and services. Automating the processes of production greatly decreases the need for human sensory and mental requirements, including decision making. The goal is to examine repetitive or error prone processes and determine if industrial automation can be used to improve it.
Tell us where your problem is and the industrial automation experts at Peak Technologies can present a solution to improve your processes.
Improve Real-Time Visibility of Operations
“Automating processes” frequently means adding an application server to the various sensors and data input devices, such as photo-eyes, fixed-mount barcode scanners and machine vision cameras. Adding that server means the data is stored in a database on a local network or in the Cloud, in real-time, where you can get to it at any time via reporting.
Instant access reporting can show you everything that’s happening on your lines until the moment you run the report. If, for example, one of your manufacturing lines has been showing an increase in rejects, you can see the data and send maintenance to investigate before something malfunctions and the line stops. You can also see which line is producing the most items—or the most rejects—and take notes of the efficiencies or get the problem employee some extra training. Real-time reporting offers very powerful information for any industrial line.
Machine Vision Systems
Key Industrial Automation Components
Machine vision is a versatile turnkey solution that can be used for a wide array of purposes in the logistics and supply chain sectors.
Automating conveyor lines:
- Use fixed-mount barcode scanners and conveyor controls to automatically route packages to different sections of the conveyor—commonly used for work-in-process, picking from racks and sorting to different carriers.
- Use fixed-mount barcode scanners and print-and-apply systems to scan a carton, automatically print and apply shipping and contents labels, and then scan again to ensure the right label was applied.
- Use fixed-mount barcode scanners and signal beacons, audible alarms or email to notify someone if the barcode on a label doesn’t match what the system is expecting.
- Use fixed-mount barcode scanners and in-line scales to ensure a package weighs within a set tolerance of what the system is expecting.
Automating manufacturing equipment:
- Industrial automation systems can work with PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) to determine if a component passed or failed a test, and then automatically print the appropriate label.
- Industrial automation systems can be used with legacy manufacturing equipment (non-networked) to obtain operation and production information, such as temperature and piece count, and make it available on the network in real-time.
- Industrial automation systems can incorporate Machine Vision Cameras to boost quality for regulatory compliance. Machine vision combines the picture-taking ability of a camera with the processing power of a computer to make decisions about the position, quality and completeness of a manufactured product and its parts. Most machine vision systems include a library of software tools that perform different types of inspections and let you incorporate multiple inspections from captured images.
Automating security functions:
- Automation can be used with access control using RFID badges with strategically-located RFID readers. Employee movement can be detected and sent to an application server to restrict access, unlock gates, automatically stop equipment, activate signals or send emails.
- Industrial automation systems can work with sensors, such as light curtains, along with application servers to stop equipment, activate signal beacons, log the time/date of occurrences and send emails.
