AUTOMATION

APQ Automation services

Have an automation project, but you don’t know how to go from concept to reality? APQ experts are here to assist you with a variety of innovative control system engineering and automation engineering solutions.

APQ specialists who have more than 20 years of experience in industrial systems automation and also through cooperating with reputable international companies such as SIMENS, WETRON, TUENKERS, and etc., have been able to promote the quality level of its activities in automation and precision instruments fields, and to have a say in this field. So our reliable team with suitable experiences in automation and motion control engineering are ready to help you properly. Whether you have automation knowledge and are seeking second opinions or are in need of expert automation engineering services, APQ can provide your requirements, if you just count on our experts to deliver best-in-class services.

Finally, it should be mentioned that APQ is able to cover the full range of automation engineering services from the field level to the Information or Enterprise levels. It goes without saying that in this field, our automation services are not limited to the automotive industry and related lines, and we are also active in other industries such as food, medicine, tiles, etc.

 

What is Automation?

The word automation means dictation or a mechanism that moves by itself. Generally, the Greek Words Auto and Matos are derived where auto means self while Matos means movement. Automation has gone one step further than mechanization, which uses a special machine mechanism that helps human operators to do a job. Manual operation mechanization is a task using powerful machines that depends on human decision making. On the other hand, automation uses logical programming commands and powerful machines to replace human intervention. In short, industrial automation can be defined as the use of automated technologies and automated control devices that lead to the automatic operation and control of industrial processes without significant human intervention and achieve superior performance over manual control. These automation devices include PLC, PC, PAC, etc., and technologies include a variety of industrial communication systems.

Today in general, automation is the use of control systems (numerical control, programmable logic control, and other industrial control systems), mechanical, electronics and computers [CAM, CAD, CAX] to monitor and control the production system, which aims to That; Reduce the need for manpower. Automation is the connection of information components of different parts of an organization in the form of a platform to transfer information, statistics and instructions in a fully integrated and easy way, so that the exchange, adjustment and correction of information within the organization is accelerated. Another name for automation can be called robotization, which means the use of control tools (such as computers) to guide and control industrial machinery and production processes.

 

Benefits of automation

  • Increasing production
  • Improving the economy: Sometimes and some types of automation, improves the economics of organizations, society, and many people.
  • Remote monitoring assistance
  • Reproducibility of activities and processes
  • Increasing the power and efficiency of industrial units
  • Reduce operator costs
  • Reduction of waste or production waste
  • More precise quality control
  • Transfer of labor to service jobs
  • Reduction of temporary warehouses
  • Improve interaction with business systems

 

Disadvantages of automation

  • Reduce labor force and increase unemployment
  • High initial costs of implementing automation

 

 

Automation or mechanization?

Automation has eliminated the human role in the process and replaced it with logical programming and intelligent devices. In industrial automation, computers and machines will think and make decisions instead of humans. Mechanization means providing human operators with tools and devices that help them do their job better. The most well-known part of automation (mechanization) are industrial robots. Automation is a step beyond mechanization. Mechanization uses a set of mechanical equipment that will need human help to perform the desired activity.

 

Hierarchy of an industrial automation system

All industrial automation systems can be very complex in nature because they have a large number of devices that work with automation technologies. The following paragraphs describes the hierarchical arrangement of the automation system consisting of different hierarchical levels.

1. Square level

    This is the lowest level of the automation hierarchy, which includes field devices such as sensors and actuators. The main task of these field devices is to transfer process and machine data to the next higher level for monitoring and analysis. It also includes controlling the process parameter through stimuli. Stimulators convert electrical signals (from controllers) into mechanical tools to control processes. Flow control valves, solenoid valves, pneumatic actuators, relays, DC motors and servo motors are examples of actuators. Sensors convert real-time parameters such as temperature, pressure, current, surface, etc. into electrical signals. This sensor data is further transmitted to the controller to monitor and analyze real-time parameters. Some sensors include thermocouple, proximity sensor, RTD, flowmeter.

 

2.Control level

   This level includes various automation machines such as CNC machines, PLCs, etc. that receive process parameters from various sensors. It consists of various modules such as CPU, analog I / O, digital I / O and communication modules. This allows the operator to schedule a control function or strategy to perform specific automated operations in the process. Automatic controllers drive actuators based on processed sensor signals and control program or technique. Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are the most widely used powerful industrial controllers that are capable of delivering automatic control functions based on sensor input.

 

3. Level of production supervision and control

   At this level, the Distribution Control System (DCS) or SCADA is mainly used. At this level, automated devices and monitoring systems facilitate control and intervention functions such as human machine interface (HMI), monitoring of various parameters, setting production targets, historical archiving, setting up and shutting down the machine, and so on.

 

4. Information or organizational level

    This is the highest level of industrial automation that manages the entire automation system. Tasks at this level include production planning, customer and market analysis, orders and sales, etc., so it focuses more on business activities and less on technical aspects. From the hierarchy it can be concluded that there is a continuous flow of information from the top level to the bottom level and vice versa. If we assume this graphic form, it is like a pyramid in which information is aggregated as it ascends, and as we descend, we obtain accurate information about the process. Automation Engineering The goal of an automation engineer is to eliminate product deficiencies and issues or develop software related to business processes or customer service processes. Industrial communication networks are more prominent in industrial automation systems that transfer information from one level to another. Therefore, they exist at all levels of the automation system to provide a continuous flow of information. This communication network can vary from one level to another. Some of these networks are RS485, CAN, Device Net, Foundation Field bus, Profibus and ...

From the above hierarchy we can conclude that there is continuous information flow from high level to low level and vice-versa. If we assume this graphical way, it is like a pyramid in which as we go up, the information gets aggregated and while going down, we get detailed information about the process.

 

What are the advantages of modern automation systems and instrumentation based on PLC?

  • Their installation and commissioning costs are low.
  • Input connections have standard output and signal levels.
  • Their programming language is simple and high level.
  • Protected against noise and environmental disturbances.
  • Remote control (for example via telephone line or other communication networks) is possible.
  • It is possible to connect many standard peripherals such as printers, barcode readers and… to PLCs.
  • It is easy to change the program while working
  • They take less time to install and set up.
  • They are small in physical size.
  • They are very easy to maintain.
  • Easily expandable.
  • Ability to perform complex operations.
  • Have a high degree of reliability in the implementation of control processes.
  • They have a modular structure that simplifies the replacement of different parts.
  • It is possible to create a network between several PLCs easily.
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