Automation in Industry

Many industries are highly automated or use automation technology in some part of their operation. In communications and especially in the telephone industry, dialing, transmission, and billing are all done automatically. Railroads too are controlled by automatic signaling devices, which have sensors that detect cars passing a particular point. In this way the movement and location of trains can be monitored. Not all industries require the same degree of automation. Agriculture, sales, and some service industries are difficult to automate. The agriculture industry may become more mechanized, especially in the processing and packaging of foods; however, in many service industries such as supermarkets, for example, a checkout counter may be automated and the shelves or supply bins must still be stocked by hand. Similarly, doctors may consult a computer to assist in diagnosis, but they must make the final decision and prescribe therapy.

The concept of automation is evolving(developing; growing) rapidly, partly because the applications of automation techniques vary both within a plant or industry and also between industries. The oil and chemical industries, for example, have developed the continuous-flow method of production, owing to the nature of the raw materials used. In a refinery, crude oil enters at one point and flows continuously through pipes in cracking, distillation, and reaction devices as it is being processed into such products as gasoline and fuel oil. An array (range, group, selection) of automatic-control devices governed by microprocessors and coordinated by a central computer is used to control valves, heaters, and other equipment, thereby regulating both the flow and reaction rates.

In the steel, beverage, and canned food industries, on the other hand, some of the products are produced in batches. For example, a steel furnace is charged (loaded with the ingredients), brought up to heat, and a batch of steel ingots produced. In this phase very little automation is evident. These ingots, however, may then be processed automatically into sheet or structural shapes by being squeezed through a series of rollers until the desired shape is achieved.

The automobile and other consumer product industries use the mass production techniques of step-by-step manufacture and assembly. This technique approximates the continuous-flow concept but involves transfer machines; thus, from the point of view of the auto industry, transfer machines are essential to the definition of automation.

Each of these industries uses automated machines in all or part of its manufacturing processes. As a result, each industry has a concept of automation that fits its particular production needs. More examples can be found in almost every phase of commerce. The widespread use of automation and its influence on daily life provides the basis for the concern expressed by many about the influence of automation on society and the individual.

Words and expressions

dialing - набор номера

billing - составление счетов

checkout counter - касса (the person who performs the

check-out; also cashier)

to evolve - развиваться (to develop; to grow)

cracking - крекинг (однопроходный выход

бензина)

distillation - перегонка; ректификация

an array - ряд (range; group; selection)

to coordinate - координировать; согласовывать;

устанавливать правильные

пропорции

valve - клапан; вентиль; задвижка; заслонка;

золотник; распределительный кран

heater - нагревательный прибор; нагреватель

подогреватель; калорифер

batch - партия; производственная серия

to be charged - быть загруженным (to be loaded with

the ingredients)

ingot - слиток; болванка

evident - очевидный (obvious)

step-by-step manufacture - постепенное, ступенчатое

производство

Exercise 1

Ответьте на вопросы:

1. Are many industries use automation technology in their production process and to what extend this technology is used?

2. What operations are automated in communications and telephone industry?

3. By means of what automatic signaling devices railroads are controlled?

4. What industries require less degree of automation?

5. Can we state that the concept of automation is developing rapidly?

6. How can you explain the continuous-flow method of production, and in what fields of industry this method is used?

7. Can valves, heaters and similar equipment be operated automatically? If yes, how?

8. How automation is used in certain stages of steel industry?

9. How do you understand step-by-step manufacture and assembly?

10. What is the main principle of the continuous-flow concept in industry?

11. What industries use automated machines in all or part of their manufacturing processes?

12. Do you think that each industry has a concept of automation that fits its particular production needs? Give examples of full automated and semi-automated productions.

13. Can you give examples of automation technologies used in commerce?

14. Do you think that the widespread use of automation influences on individual’s and society’s daily life?

15. Does automation provide the basis for the concern of society and the individual?

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