AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY:PHYSICAL AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY

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PHYSICAL AUTOMATION TECHNOLOGY

Since MIT demonstrated the first numerically controlled machine tool in 1952, information technol- ogies have revolutionized and automated the manufacturing processes. See Chapter 12 for physical automation techniques such as robots. In general, physical automation technology can be applied in three areas: processing, transportation / storage, and inspection. Representative examples of automated equipment are:

1. Automated processing equipment: CNC machine tools, computer-controlled plastic-injection machines, etc.

2. Automated transportation / storage equipment: Industrial robots, automatic guided vehicles (AGV), an automatic storage / retrieval systems (AS / RS), etc.

3. Automated inspection equipment: Coordination measuring machines (CMM), machine vision systems, etc.

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