Automated applicators dedicated systems

Customized, dedicated systems are analogous to fixed automation the system becomes obsolete when the application disappears. Only the individual components may be reused. 

There are two principal types of automation available to the user these are the dedicated systems designed specifically for one panel or assembly (Fig. 4.6) and the now familiar robot based systems (Fig. 4.7). Both types are in use in both Europe and Japan. The choice between them is influenced by the quantities of component to be processed during the model life, the expected frequency of styling changes, complexity of the component and the cycle times required of the process. Typical uses for dedicated automation adhesive/sealant application include liquid gaskets applied to two-dimensional or simple three-dimensional shapes. 

The character and the degree of automation in chemical control may have been covered in the above treatment of semi-automatic or completely automatic, and of discontinuous or continuous analysis, but something more should be said about the means by which automation proper has been performed in recent times. Whereas in the past automated analysis involved the use of merely, mechanical robots, to-day s automation is preferably based on computerization in a way which can best be explained with a few specific examples. Adjustment knobs have been increasingly replaced with push-buttons that activate an enclosed fully dedicated microcomputer or microprocessor in line with the measuring instrument the term microcomputer is applicable if, apart from the microprocessor as the central processing unit (CPU), it contains additional, albeit limited, memory (e.g., 4K), control logics and input and output lines, by means of which it can act as satellite of a larger computer system (e.g., in laboratory computerization) if not enclosed, the microcomputer is called on-line. 

A recent development in this context is the Liberty system introduced by CEM in 2004 (see Fig. 3.25). This instrument is an automated microwave peptide synthesizer, equipped with special vessels, applicable for the unattended synthesis of up to 12 peptides employing 25 different amino acids. This tool offers the first commercially available dedicated reaction vessels for carrying out microwave-assisted solid-phase peptide synthesis. At the time of writing, no published work accomplished with this instrument was available. 

Other automated systems may be purchased for a specific purpose and are called dedicated instruments, e.g. glucose analyser. Others have fairly restricted applications, an example being the reaction rate analysers which are specifically designed for the kinetic measurements of enzyme activity. Some of the more recently developed instruments employ individual pre-prepared disposable test packs or strip devices which contain all the reagents for each particular assay in a dry form. 

When is it really recommend able to use a robot station in the laboratory This question is very important in considering the renewal of laboratory instrumentation and when changing the working philosophy, as it involves quite a different concept. Adressing such a compromising question requires A distinction to be made between flexible automation, characterized by its great versatility and adaptability to different situations and needs, and dedicated automation, namely the design of a specific system for a particular application. 

Dedicated Analyzers. A wide choice of such systems, with varying degrees of automation, are available for clinical applications. One of the most prevalent is an atomic-emission spectrometer that generates both Na and K concentrations simultaneously on separate readouts a matter of seconds after a sample is aspirated. Automatic dilutors are commonly built in. Auto samplers and printers are generally available as optional attachments. Some of these systems are readily converted to Li assays when needed. 

The following are sources dedicated primarily to industrial vision applications and robotics International Journal of Robotics Research, IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, IEEE s International Conference on Robotics and Automation, and IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics. 

Figure 7 Scheme of an automated Curie-point Py-MS system with a dedicated minicomputer. Samples are selected by a pickup arm from the turntable and positioned inside the high frequency coil. The pyrolysate diffuses via a buffer volume into the mass spectrometer where the molecules are ionized and mass-analysed. Reproduced by permission of Plenum Press from Wieten G, Meuzelaar HLC and Haverkamp J (1984). Analytical pyrolysis in clinical and pharmaceutical microbiology. In Odham G, Larsson L and Mardh P-A (eds) Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Applications in Microbiology. New York Plenum Press. 

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