Book Image

Industrial Automation from Scratch

By : Olushola Akande
Book Image

Industrial Automation from Scratch

By: Olushola Akande

Overview of this book

Industrial automation has become a popular solution for various industries looking to reduce manual labor inputs and costs by automating processes. This book helps you discover the abilities necessary for excelling in this field. The book starts with the basics of industrial automation before progressing to the application of switches, sensors, actuators, and motors, and a direct on-line (DOL) starter and its components, such as circuit breakers, contactors, and overload relay. Next, you'll explore VFDs, their parameter settings, and how they can be wired and programmed for induction motor control. As you advance, you'll learn the wiring and programming of major industrial automation tools – PLCs, HMIs, and SCADA. You’ll also get to grips with process control and measurements (temperature, pressure, level, and flow), along with analog signal processing with hands-on experience in connecting a 4–20 mA transmitter to a PLC. The concluding chapters will help you grasp various industrial network protocols such as FOUNDATION Fieldbus, Modbus, PROFIBUS, PROFINET, and HART, as well as emerging trends in manufacturing (Industry 4.0) and its empowering technologies (such as IoT, AI, and robotics). By the end of this book, you’ll have gained a practical understanding of industrial automation concepts for machine automation and control.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
1
Part 1: Learning the Concepts and Skills Required to Get Started
8
Part 2: Understanding PLC, HMI, and SCADA
14
Part 3: Process Control, Industrial Network, and Smart Factory

Introduction to Industrial Automation

Manufacturing involves using raw materials or parts to create goods or products that will be sold to customers. Creating products from raw materials can be done by using hand tools that are operated by humans or by machines such as motors, pumps, and drills, which are also operated by humans. Before machines, items/products were made by hand using tools, and lots of time and effort was spent producing a single item. The development of manufacturing resulted in hand tools being replaced by machines operated by humans, which made production faster with minimum effort. Nowadays, human involvement in terms of operating machines in manufacturing is being reduced or replaced via industrial automation.

By completing this chapter, you should be able to understand what industrial automation is and identify the various types of industrial automation that exist. You will also be able to describe the basic levels of industrial automation and identify the benefits of industrial automation in industries. Finally, you will be able to identify the cons of industrial automation in society.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

  • Introducing industrial automation
  • Exploring the types of industrial automation
  • Understanding the levels of industrial automation
  • Discovering the advantages and disadvantages of industrial automation