Rajeshwari

Senior Assistant Professor

Department of Mechatronics
Engineering
 MODULE 2
Industrial Control System: Basic Elements of an
Automated System, Advanced Automation
Functions & Levels of Automation, Continuous
versus Discrete control, Computer Process
control, Forms of Computer Process Control.
Quality Control Systems: Traditional and
Modern Quality Control Methods, Taguchi
Methods in Quality Engineering. Introduction to
SQC Tools.
 BASIC ELEMENTS OF AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM
Automation is the technology by which a process or procedure is
accomplished without human assistance.
:
Basic elements of an automated system:

• Power - to accomplish the process and operate the automated

system
• Program of instructions – to direct the process
• Control system – to actuate the instructions
1. Power - to accomplish the process and operate the automated system
Electricity - The Principal Power Source
• Widely available at moderate cost
• Can be readily converted to alternative forms, e.g., mechanical, thermal,
light, etc.
• Low level power can be used for signal transmission, data processing, and
communication
• Can be stored in long-life batteries
Power to Accomplish the Automated Process
• Power for the process
• To drive the process itself
• To load and unload the work unit
• Transport between operations
• Power for automation
• Controller unit
• Power to actuate the control signals
• Data acquisition and information processing
2. Program of instructions – to direct the process
• Set of commands that specify the sequence of steps in the work
cycle and the details of each step
• Example: CNC part program
• During each step, there are one or more activities involving
changes in one or more process parameters
Examples:
[Link] setting of a furnace
[Link] position in a positioning system
[Link] on or off
Decision-Making in a Programmed Work Cycle
The following are examples of automated work cycles in which
decision making is required:
• Operator interaction
• Automated teller machine
• Different part or product styles processed by the system
• Robot welding cycle for two-door vs. four door car models
• Variations in the starting work units
• Additional machining pass for oversized sand casting

Features of a Work Cycle Program

• Number of steps in the work cycle
• Manual participation in the work cycle (e.g., loading and
unloading workparts)
• Process parameters - how many must be controlled?
• Operator interaction - does the operator enter processing data?
• Variations in part or product styles
• Variations in starting work units - some adjustments in process
parameters may be required to compensate for differences in starting
units
1. Control system – to actuate the instructions

Two Types
1. Closed-loop (feedback) control system – a system in which the
output variable is compared with an input parameter, and any
difference between the two is used to drive the output into
agreement with the input

2. Open-loop control system –

o Operates without the feedback loop
o Simpler and less expensive
o Risk that the actuator will not have the intended effect
Positioning System Using Feedback Control
A one-axis position control system consisting of a lead screw driven by a dc
servomotor and using an optical encoder as the feedback sensor

When to Use an Open-Loop Control System

• Actions performed by the control system are simple
• Actuating function is very reliable
• Any reaction forces opposing the actuation are small enough as to have no effect
on the actuation
• If these conditions do not apply, then a closed-loop control system should be used
Advanced Automation Functions

• Safety monitoring
• Maintenance and repair diagnostics
• Error detection and recovery

Safety Monitoring
• Use of sensors to track the system's operation and identify
conditions that are unsafe or potentially unsafe
• Reasons for safety monitoring
 To protect workers and equipment
• Possible responses to hazards
 Complete stoppage of the system
 Sounding an alarm
 Reducing operating speed of process
 Taking corrective action to recover from the safety violation
Maintenance and Repair Diagnostics

• Status monitoring - Monitors and records status of key sensors and

parameters during system operation
• Failure diagnostics
• Invoked when a malfunction occurs
 Purpose:
• Analyze recorded values so the cause of the malfunction can be
identified
 Recommendation of repair procedure
• Provides recommended procedure for the repair crew to effect
repairs
Error Detection and Recovery
Error detection –
 Functions
• Use the system’s available sensors to determine when a deviation or
malfunction has occurred
• Correctly interpret the sensor signal
• Classify the error
• Error recovery
 Error recovery possible strategies:
• Make adjustments at end of work cycle
• Make adjustments during current work cycle
• Stop the process to invoke corrective action
• Stop the process and call for help
 The concept of automated systems can be applied to various levels of
factory operations. One normally associates automation with the individual
production machines. However, the production machine itself is made up of
subsystems that may themselves be automated.
LEVELS OF AUTOMATION
• Corporate or Information system. (marketing and sales,
accounting, design, research, aggregate planning, and master
production scheduling.)
• Production systems. (order processing, process planning, inventory
control, purchasing, material requirements planning, shop floor
control, and quality control.)
• Manufacturing Systems / Group of Machines (A manufacturing
cell or system is a group of machines or workstations connected and
supported by a material handling system, computer. and other
equipments)
• Individual Machines (industrial robots, powered conveyors, and
automated guided vehicles.)
• Sensors, Actuators and other Hardware elements (actuators,
sensors, and other hardware components that comprise the machine
level)
Device level:
This is the lowest level in our automation hierarchy. It includes the
actuators, sensors, and other hardware components that comprise the machine
level. The devices are combined into the individual control loops of the
machine; for example, the feedback control loop for one axis of a CNC
machine or one joint of an industrial robot.

Machine level:
Hardware at the device level is assembled into individual machines.
Examples include CNC machine tools and similar production equipment,
industrial robot, powered conveyors, and automated guided vehicles.

Cell or system level:

This is the manufacturing cell or system level, which operates under
instructions from the plant level. A manufacturing cell or system is a group of
machines or workstations connected and supported by a material handling
system, computer.
Plant level: This is the factory or production systems level. It
receives instructions from the corporate information system and
translates them into operational plans for production. Likely
functions include: order processing, process planning, inventory
control, purchasing, material requirements planning, shop floor
control, and quality control.

Enterprise level :
This is the highest level. consisting of the corporate
information system. It is concerned with all of the functions
necessary to manage the company marketing and sales,
accounting, design, research, aggregate planning, and master
production scheduling.
 CONTINUOS VERSUS DISCRETE
CONTROL

Industrial control systems used in the process industries have tended to

emphasize the control of continuous variables and parameters. By contrast, the
manufacturing industries produce discrete parts and products, and the controllers
used here have tended to emphasize discrete variables and parameters.

Continuous control: in which the variables and parameters

are continuous and analog.

Discrete control: In which the variables and parameters are

discrete, mostly binary discrete.
CONTINUOUS VERSUS DISCRETE CONTROL
There are several way to achieve the control objective in a
continuous process control system

Regulatory control.

Feed forward control

Steady-State Optimization.

Adaptive control
 REGULATORY CONTROL

The main objective is to maintain process performance at a given tolerance band of that
level
FEED FORWARD CONTROL
Adaptive control system
Steady-State Optimization
 COMPUTER PROCESS CONTROL

The use of digital computers to control industrial processes

had its origins in the continuous process industries in the late
1950s.
 Analog controllers were used to implement continuous
control
 Relay systems were used to implement discrete control.

computer technology was in its infancy, and the only

computers available for process control were large,
expensive mainframes.
Compared with today's technology, the digital computers
of the 1950’s were slow, unreliable, and not well suited to
process control applications.
 FORMS OF COMPUTER PROCESS CONTROL
There are various ways in which computers can be used
to control a process.
First, we can distinguish between process monitoring and
process control 1. process data 2. equipment data 3. product
data
 DIRECT DIGITAL CONTROL

The computer calculate the input parameter and set points and these values are
applied through direct link to the process, hence the name is called direct
digital control
 SUPERVISORY CONTROL

The supervisory control system are designed to allow interaction with human
operator and the responsibility for control is shared between the controller and
human.
DISTRUBUTED CONTROL SYSTEM
 Quality control
A system of maintaining standards in
manufactured products by testing a sample of the output
against the specification.
Or

It is operational technique and activities that are used to

fulfil requirement quality in a product.
 TRADITIONAL QUALITY CONTROL
 Traditional QC focused on inspection.

 In many factories, the only department responsible for QC was

the inspection department. Much attention was given to
sampling and statistical methods.

 The term statistical quality control was used to describe these

methods.

 In SQC, the study of variations occurring in the process and

minimizing them
 Two statistical sampling methods dominate the field of
statistical QC

 Control chart
 Acceptance sampling

Control chart
A control chart is a graphical technique in which
statistics on one or more process parameters of interest are
plotted over time to determine if the process is behaving
normally or abnormally. The chart has a central line that
indicates the value of the process mean under normal
operation. Abnormal process behaviour is identified when
the process parameter strays significantly from the process
mean. Control charts are widely used in statistical process
control.
The variation in the process divide in two types
1. Random variation – which are only variation present if the
process is in statistical control
2. Assignable variation –which indicates a departure from
statistical control .

ACCEPTANCE SAMPLING
Acceptance sampling is a statistical technique in
which a sample drawn from a batch of parts is
inspected, and a decision is made whether to accept
or reject the batch on the basis of the quality of the
sample.
 Modern View of Quality Control
High quality is achieved by a combination of
good management and good technology. The two
factors must be integrated to achieve an effective
quality system in an organization. The management
factor is captured in the frequently used term “total
quality managements”.

Total quality management.

[Link] customer satisfaction
2. Continuous improvement
3. Encouraging involvement of the entire work
force.
Quality is focused on customer satisfaction. Products
are designed and manufactured with this quality focus.

The quality goals of an organization are driven by top

management, which determines the overall attitude
toward quality in a company.

In manufacturing, the viewpoint is that inspecting the

product after it is made is not good enough.

Quality is the job of everyone in the organization. It

even extends outside the immediate organization to the
suppliers.
 Two types of control chart

[Link] chart for variables

It requires measurement of quality characteristics of interest
2. Control chart for attributes
It requires determination of the defect in the sample

[Link] chart for variables

A process that out of statistical control manifests this condition in the
form of significant changes in
1. Process mean
2. Process variability
Corresponding to these possibilities , there are two principle types of
control chart 1. x bar chart
2. R chart
x bar chart
It indicates how the process mean changes over time.
R chart
Monitoring and variability of the process and indicating whether
it changes over time
Procedure for construct the centre ,LCL and UCL for X bar
and R chart
1. Compute the mean X and range R for each samples.
2. Compute the grand mean X , which is from X values for
the m sample this will be centre for the x bar chart.
3. Compute the R which is the mean of R value for the m
samples : this will be the centre line of the R chart

X
4. Determine the upper and lower control limit(UCL,LCL) for the
X bar chart and R chart in following equations
For X bar chart

For R chart
Problems on x bar and R chart
1. Eight samples (m=8) of size 5 (n=5)have been collected from a
manufacturing process that is in statistical control, and
dimension of the interest has been measured for each part. It is
desired to determine the value of the centre, LCL and UCL to
construct the X bar and R charts. The calculate the values of
x and R for each sample are given here ( measured
values are in cm)

sample 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
X 2.008 1.998 1.993 2.002 2.001 1.995 2.004 1.999
R 0.027 0.011 0.017 0.009 0.014 0.020 0.024 0.018
 TAGUCHI METHOD IN QUALITY CONTROL
An important Taguchi principle is to set specification on product and
process parameters to reduced performance in face of variations.
Taguchi calls variations noise factor. A noise factor is a source of
variation that is impossible or difficult to control and that affects the
functional characteristics of the product .

Three types of noise factor

Unit to Unit noise factor:
These are inherent random variation in the process and product
caused by variability in raw material, machinery, and human
participation.
Internal noise factor:
Time dependent factor such as wear of mechanical component,
spoilage of raw materials, fatigue of metal parts.
Operational error such as improper setting on product or
machine tool
External noise factor:
A source of variation that external to the product or process
such as temperature , humidity, raw material supply and input
voltage
In this section the review of two the Taguchi method
[Link] design
[Link] losses

1. Robust design
• A robust design is one in which the function and performance
of the product or process are relatively insensitive to variations
in any of these noise factors. In product design, robustness
means that the product can maintain consistent performance
with minimal disturbance due to variations in uncontrollable
factors in its operating environment.
 Taguchi losses
• The taguchi loss function is a useful concept of tolerance design.
• The loss occurs when a product functional characteristics differs
from its nominal or target value.

where L( x) = loss function

k = constant of proportionality
x= the quality characteristics of interest
N= Nominal value
 Taguchi’s U-shaped loss Function Curve.
The curve is U-shaped, indicating that any deviation from the target value, whether
positive or negative, results in a loss.

Taguchi's loss function challenges the traditional concept that products within
specification limits are equally acceptable. Instead, it posits that any deviation
from the target value results in a loss, reflecting a more comprehensive view of
quality
Taguchi's U-shaped loss function curve illustrates that any deviation from the
target value of a quality characteristic results in an economic loss. This model
emphasizes the importance of precision and consistency in manufacturing,
encouraging continuous improvement and robust design to minimize deviations
and associated losses
 Formula to find Taguchi’s Loss Fn

Taguchi uses Quadratic Equation to determine loss

Curve
• L (x) = k (x-N)²
Where L (x) = Loss Function,
k = C/d² = Constant of proportionality,
where C – Loss associated with limit
d - Deviation of specification
from target value
x = Quality Features of selected product,
N = Nominal Value of the product and
(x-N) = Tolerance
Statistical Quality Control (SQC) tools
Statistical Quality Control (SQC) tools are essential in monitoring and controlling manufacturing
processes to ensure they meet quality standards. These tools utilize statistical methods to identify
variations in processes and help in maintaining product quality. Here’s an introduction to some
key SQC tools:
1. Control Charts
Purpose:
To monitor process stability and control over time.
Types:
X-bar and R Charts: Used for monitoring the mean and range of a process.
p-Charts: Used for monitoring the proportion of defective items in a sample.
c-Charts: Used for monitoring the count of defects per unit.
How They Work:
Control charts plot data points over time and include control limits (upper and lower)
that signify the threshold for process variation.
If data points fall within the control limits, the process is considered in control.
Points outside the control limits indicate a potential issue that needs investigation.
2. Pareto Analysis
Purpose:
To identify and prioritize the most significant factors in a process.
How It Works:
Pareto charts are bar charts that show the frequency or impact of problems in
descending order.
The principle behind Pareto analysis is the 80/20 rule, which states that roughly 80%
of problems are caused by 20% of the causes.
Helps focus on the most critical issues for improvement.
3. Histogram
Purpose:
To visualize the distribution of data and understand the
frequency of different outcomes.
How It Works:
Histograms are bar charts that show the distribution of data
points in different ranges or bins.
They help in identifying patterns, such as whether data follows
a normal distribution or has outliers.
4. Cause-and-Effect Diagram (Fishbone Diagram or Ishikawa
Diagram)
Purpose:
To identify potential causes of a problem or defect.
How It Works:
The diagram starts with a central problem statement and
branches out into major categories of potential causes (e.g.,
Methods, Materials, Machines, Manpower, Measurement, and
Environment).
Sub-causes are then identified for each major category, helping
to systematically explore all possible causes of a problem.
5. Check Sheets
Purpose:
To collect and organize data in a structured manner.
How It Works:
Check sheets are simple forms used to record the
occurrence of specific events or defects.
They help in gathering real-time data for analysis and
identifying patterns over time.
6. Scatter Diagrams
Purpose:
To identify relationships between two variables.
How It Works:
Scatter diagrams plot data points on a two-dimensional
graph, with each axis representing one variable.
They help in visualizing correlations and determining if
changes in one variable might be related to changes in
another.
7. Flowcharts
Purpose:
To visualize and analyze the steps in a process.
How It Works:
Flowcharts use symbols and arrows to represent the sequence of steps in
a process.
They help in understanding the workflow, identifying bottlenecks, and
finding opportunities for improvement.
8. Control Limits and Specification Limits
Purpose:
To differentiate between process variation and specification limits.
How They Work:
Control Limits: Statistical limits derived from process data to determine
if the process is in control.
Specification Limits: Defined by customer requirements or industry
standards, representing acceptable limits for product characteristics.
It’s crucial to understand that control limits are about process control,
while specification limits are about meeting customer expectations.

SQC tools are invaluable in ensuring product quality and process stability in
manufacturing. By using these tools, organizations can identify and address issues
proactively, leading to improved efficiency, reduced waste, and higher customer
satisfaction.