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using screws or bolts and welding. Adhesive bonding and mechanical fastening are
temporary methods, whereas welding is a permanent method of joining. The joining
of materials by welding can be accomplished with or without involving melting of
the workpieces to be joined. In the case of occurrence of melting, suitable filler material may be required for welding. The fusion welding techniques, viz. arc welding,
spot welding, laser beam welding, etc., involve heat; i.e. they heat up the metals to
be joined up to their melting points, and subsequently fuse them together. Heating
has been an integral part of welding, and this is how welding is characterized. Interestingly, other techniques do exist as well, which are popularly referred as “cold
welding” or “solid-state welding”, which do not melt the metals to be joined, rather,
deform them plastically for the joining. This helps welding applicable in manufacturing to wide range of materials. Thus, welding has been a core part in the production
process of every metal industry.
8.1.1 Need of Automation in Welding
Automation is derived from terms such as “automatic” and “mechanization”, which
indicate the use of several mechanisms for handling the systems automatically. The
major use of automation is to reduce or eliminate the intervention of human in the
manufacturing activities. The art of automation is fulfilled by the use of various
custom-designed electronic and computer-controlled devices.
An automated production line consists of a set of production processes which are
being performed automatically maintaining a sequence. For instance, an automobile
production line has various tasks which are involved in the final production: manufacturing of the chassis, assembly of the auto-components, intermittent welding,
painting, followed by enhancing the aesthetics. The production line has individual
workstations connected by transfer system to move the automobile being manufactured from one station to the other. This is an example of “fixed automation". Similarly, a computerized numerically controlled (CNC) machine is a typical example of
“programmable automation". Here, the machine tool is controlled by numbers. The
numbers represent the coordinates for defining the position of tool and are provided
to the machine with the help of a program script written with the help of a computer.
In order to ensure the position of the tool during the operation, a suitable control
system is implemented.
The examples mentioned above highlight the linkage between the mechanical and
electronic systems. In the case of automated production line, the automobile is the
product, and machineries/robots and transfer system refer to the mechanical components. The controllers, servo motors, sensors, and automation software comprise the
electronic items in the automated production line. They represent a highly integrated
system making use of microprocessors in the controllers to control the mechanical component, sensors and actuators to acquire information and provide output.
In the present scenario, machines are being designed, developed, and manufactured
by integrating various electronic devices with the mechanical systems, making it
D. Mishra et al.
using screws or bolts and welding. Adhesive bonding and mechanical fastening are
temporary methods, whereas welding is a permanent method of joining. The joining
of materials by welding can be accomplished with or without involving melting of
the workpieces to be joined. In the case of occurrence of melting, suitable filler material may be required for welding. The fusion welding techniques, viz. arc welding,
spot welding, laser beam welding, etc., involve heat; i.e. they heat up the metals to
be joined up to their melting points, and subsequently fuse them together. Heating
has been an integral part of welding, and this is how welding is characterized. Interestingly, other techniques do exist as well, which are popularly referred as “cold
welding” or “solid-state welding”, which do not melt the metals to be joined, rather,
deform them plastically for the joining. This helps welding applicable in manufacturing to wide range of materials. Thus, welding has been a core part in the production
process of every metal industry.
8.1.1 Need of Automation in Welding
Automation is derived from terms such as “automatic” and “mechanization”, which
indicate the use of several mechanisms for handling the systems automatically. The
major use of automation is to reduce or eliminate the intervention of human in the
manufacturing activities. The art of automation is fulfilled by the use of various
custom-designed electronic and computer-controlled devices.
An automated production line consists of a set of production processes which are
being performed automatically maintaining a sequence. For instance, an automobile
production line has various tasks which are involved in the final production: manufacturing of the chassis, assembly of the auto-components, intermittent welding,
painting, followed by enhancing the aesthetics. The production line has individual
workstations connected by transfer system to move the automobile being manufactured from one station to the other. This is an example of “fixed automation". Similarly, a computerized numerically controlled (CNC) machine is a typical example of
“programmable automation". Here, the machine tool is controlled by numbers. The
numbers represent the coordinates for defining the position of tool and are provided
to the machine with the help of a program script written with the help of a computer.
In order to ensure the position of the tool during the operation, a suitable control
system is implemented.
The examples mentioned above highlight the linkage between the mechanical and
electronic systems. In the case of automated production line, the automobile is the
product, and machineries/robots and transfer system refer to the mechanical components. The controllers, servo motors, sensors, and automation software comprise the
electronic items in the automated production line. They represent a highly integrated
system making use of microprocessors in the controllers to control the mechanical component, sensors and actuators to acquire information and provide output.
In the present scenario, machines are being designed, developed, and manufactured
by integrating various electronic devices with the mechanical systems, making it