Industrial automation uses systems and technology instead of manual processes. The initial benefits of automation were to increase productivity and reduce costs. Today that focus has shifted to improving quality and flexibility. For example, in the automobile industry, industrial automation has reduced the rate of error from 1% to 0.00001%.
What is Industrial Automation?
Industrial automation has dozens of benefits, including lower operating costs. Automation has a fixed cost upfront and then very low operating costs (scheduled maintenance, occasional upgrades). Manual manufacturing processes have high operating costs.
Other benefits of industrial automation include higher productivity, quality, flexibility, information accuracy, and safety. Machinery can run for 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They can also withstand a rigorous output, be programmed for new tasks, collect accurate data, and handle hazardous conditions.
The four industrial automation systems are fixed automation systems, programmable automation systems, flexible automation systems, and integrated automation systems. Fixed automation systems have a fixed set of tasks that are rarely changed. Programmable automation systems can be changed using electronic controls but can require a significant amount of time to reprogram.
Flexible automation systems are almost always controlled by computers and are implemented when the product created varies frequently. Lastly, integrated automation systems are machines that work smoothly under the command of a single control system.
Industrial automation is heavily present in our everyday lives. Actuators are present in almost all of these devices, from devices as small as cell phones to as large as airplanes, but they are not all created equally.
If you are looking for an actuator that is quiet and can achieve fast and smooth actuation with muscle-like performance, then HASEL actuators may be right for your project. They can be integrated wherever you use electric actuators and even customized to fit the specific needs of your use case.