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Automation by the Numbers [InTech]
[August 22, 2014]

Automation by the Numbers [InTech]


(InTech Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) 80,000 New data dispels the myth that automation negatively affects jobs. Robots are credited with sustaining job growth in the flourishing electronics industry despite the Great Recession. According to a report by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), from 2008 to 2011 robotics created up to 80,000 jobs in the electronics sector.



The IFR report is based on an updated 2013 study by research firm Metra Martech. The study concluded that for every robot deployed, 3.6 jobs are created. By 2016 robotics is expected to account for an additional 110,000 electronics jobs across the globe.

"This encouraging growth trend is evidence that robots do indeed create jobs," says IFR president Arturo Baroncelli. "In the electronics industry in particular, robots are lauded for their superhuman speed and precision when faced with often dull, repetitive tasks. There is simply no other way to achieve these production levels. The worldwide consumer demand for smartphones, computers, video game consoles, and a new generation of high-tech electronics depends on robotic automation." The report notes that robotics is critical to the production process when the product cannot be made to satisfactory precision, consistency, or cost without flexible automation. This demand for uniform high quality and affordability accounts for the highest employment increase in the electronics sector through 2011. It is expected to continue to grow in importance as technology advances.


Job growth is attributed to electronics manufacturers and their suppliers gearing up to meet the increased demand. Manufacturers are adding more facilities, recruiting automation specialists and technicians, and hiring support personnel. The local economies and infrastructure benefit from the ripple effect of this investment.

Around the world, at least 2.1 million jobs in this sector depend on robotics, as noted in the report. Countries with a traditional stronghold in low-cost electronics assembly, such as China, will need to deploy more robotics to remain competitive. Robotic automation is already enabling companies located in North America and Europe to "reshore" manufacturing operations and reduce host countries' trade deficits. * 150 CAROM Onesti improved mass balance, increased boiler efficiency, and reduced tanker turnaround times at its petrochemical production and distribution facility in Romania. Vortex and Coriolis flow measurement technologies from Emerson Process Management enabled more accurate and reliable measurements that reduced product loss in the plant by 150 metric tons per month, improved boiler efficiency by 3 percent, and eliminated the need to rework tankerfilling operations in its distribution terminal. These improvements together have saved euro1 million per year.

Mass balance is vital for complex processes within reactors and distillation columns, and achieving that balance requires accurate and reliable flow measurement. However, the differential pressure flowmeters CAROM used previously required frequent maintenance. Process fluids sometimes polymerized inside the meter-clogging impulse lines and leading to bad measurements. To solve this problem, CAROM installed Micro Motion Coriolis flowmeters, which enable the required mass balance to be achieved. In addition, because Micro Motion flowmeters have no moving parts, they reduce maintenance costs. * A F Fv Kol I morgen supplied a complete automation solution to IMA PG for their PG i Express machine, which packages blisters. A blister is a pack used to hold a tablet. The machine has three axes that index, feed, and punch the blisters. The major flow of machine operation is forming the blister, dropping the actual tablet, sealing the blister, and finally cutting the blister. The machine can now produce up to 450 blisters per minute, making production much faster.

However, the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) started having trouble controlling the temperature. This is a critical aspect of the machine, because sealing is dependent on effective temperature control. If the temperature is not controlled properly, then the quality of the final blister is bad. To solve this problem, an inbuilt function for temperature control was installed; it is about 15 times faster than the external controllers. This saves additional PID controller costs. To make the machine user friendly for the OEM, software development was done using the pipe network. With the pipe network, it is possible to get rid of mechanical components (e.g., gear and cam) in the machine by defining equivalent motion blocks in the software. The user simply draws the scheme and connects to the machine axes per requirements. All necessary interconnections are done automatically. B 73 percent HAWE Hydraulics supplied leakage-free seated valves, two-way pressure-reducing valves, and a higher efficiency radial piston pump to Schwaebische Werkzeugmaschinen, which achieved energy savings of 73 percent on its BA 400 machining centers.

The compact hydraulic power packs used to revamp the BA 400 save energy in three ways. They use the leak-free seated valves to eliminate permanent leakage. The two-way pressure-reducing valves control the different pressures for different functions required by the machine tool, while also limiting the leakage rate. Also, they use a radial piston pump, which is more efficient than a gear pump.

The BA 400 series machining center is used for smallto medium-sized work pieces, as well as ferrous metal machining.B (c) 2014 International Society of Automation

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