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

Introducing actuators

An actuator is a device or component that produces an action or motion. It can be referred to as a mover because it moves to control a system. It usually requires a control signal from a controller and an energy source, which can be electric, pneumatic (air), or hydraulic (liquid). When it receives a control signal, it converts its own energy (electric, pneumatic, or hydraulic) to a form of energy or motion that can perform the required action.

One major application of an actuator in industry is the opening and closing of valves.

Manually operated valves use hand-wheels, manual gearboxes, knobs, and so on as their actuators for operation. The hand-wheel or knob can be turned clockwise or counterclockwise by humans to open or close the valve.

In situations where manual actuation of a valve to open or close it is not realistic, such as remote locations or on very large valves, a pneumatic, electric, or hydraulic actuator is required.

The actuator (pneumatic, electric...