Методичка Engineering

The feedback principle is used in all automatic-control mechanisms when machines have ability to correct themselves. The feedback principle has been used for centuries. The common household thermostat is an example of a feedback device.

Using feedback devices, machines can start, stop, speed up, slow down, count, inspect, test, compare, and measure. These operations are commonly applied to a wide variety of production operations.

Computers have greatly facilitated the use of feedback in manufacturing processes. Computers gave rise to the development of numerically controlled machines. The motions of these machines are controlled by punched paper or magnetic tapes. In numerically controlled machining centres machine tools can perform several different machining operations.

More recently, the introduction of microprocessors and computers have made possible the development of computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacture (CAD and CAM) technologies. When using these systems a designer draws a part and indicates its dimensions with the help of a mouse, light pen, or other input device. After the drawing has been completed the computer automatically gives the instructions that direct a machining centre to machine the part.

Another development using automation are the flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). A computer in FMS can be used to monitor and control the operation of the whole factory.

Automation has also had an influence on the areas of the economy other than manufacturing. Small computers are used in systems called word processors, which are rapidly becoming a standard part of the modern office. They are used to edit texts, to type letters and so on.

Many industries are highly automated or use automation technology in some part of their operation. In communications and especially in the telephone industry dialling and transmission are all done automatically. Railways are also controlled by automatic signalling devices, which have sensors that detect carriages passing a particular point. In this way the movement and location of trains can be monitored.

Not all industries require the same degree of automation. Sales, agriculture, and some service industries are difficult to automate, though agriculture industry may become more mechanized, especially in the processing and packaging of foods.

The automation technology in manufacturing and assembly is widely used in car and other consumer product industries.

Nevertheless, each industry has its own concept of automation that answers its particular production needs.

Vocabulary

performing –

certain –

sequences –

to control –

highly automated system –

assembly –

complex –

to describe –

nonmanufacturing systems –

independently –

devices –

automated control system –

automated manufacturing –

mechanization –

simplification –

to resemble – ,

production efficiency –

to motorize –

dangerous –

to transfer –

to position –

work piece –

integrated system of production –

to adopt –

feedback –

ability –

steam engine –

household –

speed up –

slowdown –

numerically controlled machines –

machine tool –

machining operations –

dimensions –

mouse –

light pen –

drawing –

to machine –

flexible manufacturing systems –

to monitor –

to edit –

communication –

dialling –

transmission –

carriage –

processing –

packaging –

concept -

II Answer the following questions:

1)What is automation?

2)What is the most familiar example of a highly automated system?

3)What is the term “automation” used to?

4)What is mechanization?

5)What do industrial robots perform?

6)Where was the first automated method of production used?

7)What is feed back principle used in?

8)What is the role of computers in automation?

9)What did the introduction of microprocessors and computers lead to?

10)What are flexible manufacturing systems?

11)What influence has automation had on the different areas of economy?

manufacture assembly plant, automatic equipment, automated central systems, work piece, steam engine, household thermostat, facilitate, numerically controlled machines, motions, dimensions, light pen, input device, drawing, machining centre.

V Translate into English:

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VI Translate the sentences into English:

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VII Practise asking questions.

Ask all possible questions to the different members of the sentence.

1)The simplification of work made it possible to design and build machines that resembled the motions of the worker.

2)Automated method of production was adopted by most car manufacturers and became known as Detroit automation.

VIII Speak on the topic “Automation”

IX Rendering

1. Read the text and be ready to answer the questions:

1)What is one of the most important application area for automation technology?

2)What does fixed automation refer to?

3)Why is it suitable for products that are made in large volumes?

4)What is programmable automation?

5)Why are production rates in programmable automation generally lower than in fixed automation?

6)What do numerical-control machine-tools operate?

7)What is flexible automation?

8)What is the principle of flexible automation performance?

Text B TYPES OF AUTOMATION

Manufacturing is one of the most important application area for automation technology. There are several types of automation in manufacturing. The examples of automated systems used in manufacturing are described below.

1. Fixed automation, sometimes called «hard automation)) refers to automated machines in which the equipment configuration allows fixed sequence of processing operations. These machines are programmed by their design to make only certain processing operations. They are not easily changed over from one product style to another. This form of automation needs high initial investments and high production rates. That is why it is suitable for products that are made in large volumes. Examples

of fixed automation are machining transfer lines found in the automobile industry, automatic assembly machines and certain chemical processes.

2.Programmable automation is a form of automation for producing products in large quantities, ranging from several dozen to several thousand units at a time. For each new product the production equipment must be reprogrammed and changed over. This reprogramming and changeover take a period of non-productive time. Production rates in programmable automation are generally lower than in fixed automation, because the equipment is designed to facilitate product changeover rather than for product specialization. A numerical-control machine-tool is a good example of programmable automation. The program is coded in computer memory for each different product style and the machine-tool is controlled by the computer programme.

3.Flexible automation is a kind of programmable automation. Programmable automation requires time to re-program and change over the production equipment for each series of new product. This is lost production time, which is expensive. In flexible automation the number of products is limited so that the changeover of the equipment can be done very quickly and automatically. The reprogramming of the equipment in flexible automation is done at a computer terminal without using the production equipment itself. Flexible automation allows a mixture of different products to be produced one right after another.

2.Make a plan of the text.

3.Translate the part of the text in italics in a written form.

4.Retell the text according to your plan.

X Comprehension skills.

Remember the words:

material handling –

processing operations –

assembly and inspection –

to transfer –

loading –

utilize –

gripper – ( ) spot welding –

arc welding –

grinding –

polishing –

rotating spindle –

specifications – ( )

Listen to the text and define if the statements are True or False:

1)Material-transfer applications do not require the robot to move materials or work parts from one to another.

2)Usually the gripper must be designed specifically for the particular past geometry.

3)In robotic processing operations, the robot manipulates a tool to perform a process on the work part.

4)Different kinds of welding are not done by robots.

Listen to the text once more and answer the questions:

1)In what machining operations does a rotating spindle serve as the robot's tool?

2)What another area of factory operations are robots used in?

Unit 1

Text C Engineering as a profession.

Today the traditional fields of engineering are not nearly as distinct as they used to be.

In application, the area of specialization shown on an engineering graduate's degree is not always a sure guide to that in which he will find employment.

However, a mechanical or electrical engineer, for example, may be employed by the aerospace, chemical, or mining industries, or by many others.

Many new areas of engineering endeavour, which come across the traditional lines, are today attracting attention. Direct energy conversion calls for a combination of mechanical, electrical and often chemical engineering. The field of bioengineering involves the application of electrical and mechanical engineering principles in understanding and repairing the human body. Environmental engineering and the study of water and air resources call for knowledge in geology, oceanography, and meteorology. Computer science, information engineering, systems engineering, and operations research are among the fields of recent interest.

Engineering is often compared to medicine and law in discussions of professional status. Engineers require specialised knowledge and intensive preparation with continued study after leaving the university. The profession has a strong organizational structure, requires high standards, and operates in the public service. These attributes are commonly associated with word professional.

Most important is the fact that engineers see themselves as professionals. They have to be technically competent and operate with responsibility in conformity with accepted notions of professionalism.

The number of people involved is larger than in most other professional areas.

Unit 2

Text C Public Image of Engineering

The engineer's public image is somewhat distorted. The layman tends to view the engineer's endeavors as being somewhat mechanical. He imagines that the engineer, given a problem to solve, proceeds to the solution by the application of certain formulae, tables, and graphs; nothing more. The art of engineering is not generally appreciated, yet it is a rare problem indeed that does not give rise to a host of workable solutions. The engineer in fact synthesizes knowledge from many vastly different areas in reaching acceptable solutions.

It is recognized that technology, or its misapplication, is responsible for the various pollution threats and also for devastating weapons of war, and the public assumes that it is the engineers who have brought us to this pass. It should he realized that technology, too operates according to demand, and just as the demand for goods and comfort has led to environmental damage, so technology can also correct this. In one sense engineers with their machines are the tools of society, and it is society that ultimately determines how they are to be used.

Unit 3

Text C Public Image of Engineering

The engineer's public image is somewhat distorted. The layman tends to view the engineer's endeavors as being somewhat mechanical. He imagines that the engineer, given a problem to solve, proceeds to the solution by the application of certain formulae, tables, and graphs; nothing more. The art of engineering is not generally appreciated, yet it is a rare problem indeed that does not give rise to a host of workable solutions. The engineer in fact synthesizes knowledge from many vastly different areas in reaching acceptable solutions.

It is recognized that technology, or its misapplication, is responsible for the various pollution threats and also for devastating weapons of war, and the public assumes that it is the engineers who have brought us to this pass. It should he realized that technology, too operates according to demand, and just as the demand for goods and comfort has led to environmental damage, so technology can also correct this. In one sense engineers with their machines are the tools of society, and it is society that ultimately determines how they are to be used.

Unit 4

Text C Public Image of Engineering

The engineer's public image is somewhat distorted. The layman tends to view the engineer's endeavors as being somewhat mechanical. He imagines that the engineer, given a problem to solve, proceeds to the solution by the application of certain formulae, tables, and graphs; nothing more. The art of engineering is not generally appreciated, yet it is a rare problem indeed that does not give rise to a host of

workable solutions. The engineer in fact synthesizes knowledge from many vastly different areas in reaching acceptable solutions.

It is recognized that technology, or its misapplication, is responsible for the various pollution threats and also for devastating weapons of war, and the public assumes that it is the engineers who have brought us to this pass. It should he realized that technology, too operates according to demand, and just as the demand for goods and comfort has led to environmental damage, so technology can also correct this. In one sense engineers with their machines are the tools of society, and it is society that ultimately determines how they are to be used.

Unit 5

Text C Laptops Power Supply

Power Supply like desktops, Laptops can be plugged into the wall to receive AC power from the electric power grid through an AC adapter. But what makes the laptop unique is that it is portable; so, laptops are also powered by batteries. All laptops use some type of rechargeable battery (lithium, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride).

The battery life varies depending on the type of rechargeable battery (lithium batteries tend to hold their charge longer) and how you use your computer (frequent use of disk drives consumes a lot of battery power). In addition to the main battery, laptops have other batteries to run clocks and backup CMOS RAM.

Unit 6

Text C Laptops Power Supply

Power Supply like desktops, Laptops can be plugged into the wall to receive AC power from the electric power grid through an AC adapter. But what makes the laptop unique is that it is portable; so, laptops are also powered by batteries. All laptops use some type of rechargeable battery (lithium, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride).

The battery life varies depending on the type of rechargeable battery (lithium batteries tend to hold their charge longer) and how you use your computer (frequent use of disk drives consumes a lot of battery power). In addition to the main battery, laptops have other batteries to run clocks and backup CMOS RAM.

Unit 7

Text C Apparel Industry and computers

Digitising Systems. Digitisers put original patterns into the computer for use and storage.

These basic patterns can be manipulated with the help of a computer, for example in case of trousers, darts can be moved, pleats can be created or flair can be introduced. This way new designs can be created on screen from pre-existing patterns. Today large scanners are also used to input pattern shapes instead of tracing patterns on a digitiser.

Grading Systems. After a sample size pattern has been put, it has to be graded up and down in size.

The system will then automatically produce the pattern shapes in all the pre-specified size.

Marker Making Systems. Computerised marker making systems help in laying the pattern part together more economically than an operator could do with hands. This ensures minimal wastage of fabric.

Cutting Operations. Pattern generated by marker making systems can be directed to automated cutting machines which are operated without the help of human hands.

Unit 8

Text C Robots in Manufacturing

Today most robots are used in manufacturing operations. The applications of robots can be divided into three categories:

1.material handling

2.processing operations

3.assembly and inspection.

Material-handling is the transfer of material and loading and unloading of machines. Material-transfer applications require the robot to move materials or work parts from one to another. Machine loading and unloading operations utilize a robot to load and unload parts. This requires the robot to be equipped with a grip-per that can grasp parts. Usually the gripper must be designed specifically for the particular part geometry.

In robotic processing operations, the robot manipulates a tool to perform a process on the work part. Examples of such applications include spot welding, continuous arc welding and spray painting. Other operations in this category include grinding and polishing in which a rotating spindle serves as the robot's tool.

The third application area of industrial robots is assembly and inspection. The use of robots in assembly is expected to increase because of the high cost of manual labour. But the design of the product is an important aspect of robotic assembly.

Inspection is another area of factory operations in which the utilization of robots is growing. In a typical inspection job, the robot positions a sensor with respect to the work part and determines whether the part answers the quality specifications. In nearly all industrial robotic applications, the robot provides a substitute for human labour.

1. Read and translate the text:

The term 'semiconductor' means half-conductor that is a material whose conductivity ranges between that of conductors and non-conductors or insulators. They include great variety of elements (silicon, germanium, selenium, phosphorus and others), many chemical compounds (oxides, sulphides) as well as numerous ores and minerals.

While the conductivity of metals is very little influenced by temperature, conductivity of semiconductors sharply increases with heating and falls with cooling. This dependence has opened great prospects for employing semiconductors in measuring techniques.

Light as well as heat, increases the conductivity of semiconducting materials, this principle being used in creating photo resistances. It is also widely applied for switching on engines, for counting on conveyer belts, a well as various systems of emergency signals and for reproducing sound in cinematography. Besides reacting to light, semiconductors react to all kinds of radiations and they are therefore employing in designing electronic counters.

Engineers and physicists turned their attention to semiconductors more that fifty years ago, seeing in them the way of solving complicated engineering problems. Converting heat into electricity without using boilers or other machines was one of them. This could be done as means of metal thermocouples, but in this way impossible to convert more one per cent of the heat into electricity. The thermocouples made later of conductors more generated ten times as much electricity as the metal ones.

Sunlight like heat can feed our electric circuit. Photocells made of semiconducting materials are capable of transforming ten per cent of sunray energy into electric power. By burning wood, which has accumulated the same amount of solar energy, we obtained only heat fractions of one per cent of electric power. The electricity generated by semiconductor thermocouples can produce not only heat but also cold, this principle being used in manufacturing refrigerators. Semiconducting materials are also excellent means of maintaining a constant temperature irrespective of the surrounding temperature changes. The latter can vary over a wide range, for example, from 59C below OC to 100C above OC. Semiconductors are the youngest field of physical science. Yet even now they are determining the process of radio engineering, automation, chemistry, electrical engineering and many other fields of science and technique.

2. Read and translate the text in a written form:

Electronic devices are used in every sector of the modern economy. The industry employs over a million people in developing, manufacturing, and selling electronic equipment and devices. About 34 percent of all workers in this field work for companies that make electronic components, such as semiconductors, electronic coils, and transformers or electronic connectors. Computers, communications