Servomechanisms and automated processes

Another essential component in the functioning of automated processes and servomechanisms is the feedback control systems that provide self-regulation and auto-adjustment of the overall system. Feedback control systems may be pneumatic, hydraulic, mechanical, or electrical in nature. Electrical feedback may be analogue in form, although digital electronic feedback methods provide the most versatile method of output sensing for input feedback to digital electronic control systems. 

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See also Applied Physics Automated Processes and Servomechanisms Biomechanics Biophysics Chemical Engineering Huid Dynamics Heat-Exchanger Technologies Mechanical Engineering Nanotechnology Quality Control Surface and Interface Science. 

Automated Processes and Servomechanisms.. . . 156 Avionics and Aircraft Instrumentation.162... 

Automated processes, and the servomechanisms that apply to them, have had an immeasurable impact on industry. While the term mass production does not necessarily imply automation, the presence of automated systems in an operation does indicate a significant enhancement of both production and precision. Mass production revolutionized the intrinsic nature of industry in North America, beginning with the assembly-line methods made standard by Ford. This innovation enabled Ford s industry to manufacture automobiles at a rate measured in units per day rather than days per unit. 

An automated process is a series of sequential steps to be carried out automatically. Servomechanisms are systems, devices, and subassemblies that control the mechanical actions of robots by the use of feedback information from the overall system in operation. 

The applications of process automation and servomechanisms are as varied as modem industry and its products. It is perhaps more productive to think of process automation as a method that can be applied to the performance of repetitive tasks than to dwell on specific apphcations and products. The commonality of the automation process can be illustrated by examining a number of individual applications, and the products that support them. 

Automation of the process, as described above, requires the identification of a set series of actions to be carried out by industrial robots. In turn, this requires the appropriate industrial robots be designed and constructed in such a way that the actual physical movements necessary for the task can be carried out. Each robot will incorporate a number of servomechanisms that drive the specific movements of parts of the robot according to the control instruction set. They will also incorporate any number of sensors and transducers that will provide input signal information for the self-regulation of the automated process. This input data may be delivered to the control program and compared to specified standards before it is fed back into the process, or it may be delivered directly into the process for immediate use. 

Servomechanisms. Automated processes controlled by digital logic require other devices by which the function of the machine can be measured. Typically, a measurement of some output property is automatically fed back into the controlling system and used to adjust functions so that desired output parameters are maintained. The adjustment is carried out through the action of a servomechanism, a mechanical device that performs a specific action in the operation of the machine. Positions and rotational speeds are the principal properties used to gauge machine function. 

Servomechanisms used in automated systems check and monitor system parameters and adjust operating conditions to maintain the desired system output. The principles upon which they operate can range from crude mechanical levers to sophisticated and highly accurate digital electronic-measurement devices. All employ the principle of feedback to control or regulate the corresponding process that is in operation. 

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