Zhuhai Jiankun Precision Machinery Co., Ltd.

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Four thoughts on the intelligent upgrading of automated production lines

Publication Time:

2024-01-31

There has been much analysis on the fact that automation is not intelligent manufacturing, so I will not repeat it here. However, given the current situation where many companies are setting up or have already set up automated production lines, how to achieve intelligent upgrades is an unavoidable and necessary issue. Whether it is for the purpose of improvement or out of concern for 'better late than never', it is something that needs to be addressed directly.

Four thoughts on the intelligent upgrading of automated production lines

There has been much analysis on the fact that automation is not intelligent manufacturing; therefore, I will not elaborate further here. However, given the current situation where many companies are setting up automated production lines or have already established them, how to achieve intelligent upgrades is an unavoidable and necessary issue. Whether it's for improvement purposes or out of concern for rectifying past mistakes, it's something that needs to be addressed directly.

Below, I will share some of my thoughts on intelligent upgrades to automated production lines, based on my own experiences and insights.

Enhance the independent CPS control capabilities of the constituent devices of the automated production line
Automated production lines typically execute actions sequentially and continuously without interruption. However, the execution of these action sequences relies on constituent devices such as valves, pumps, or various integrated independent devices. These elements should be modified and upgraded to enable status feedback and command execution, providing support for subsequent intelligent and flexible control.

Support the necessary interlinked control capabilities of any constituent device
It's not about A and B necessarily being in a fixed sequential linkage, but about adding flexibility. The goal is that any constituent devices on the automated line that need to be linked can achieve interlinked control. This analysis can be approached from the perspective of the product's process flow, analyzing the sequential relationships of various constituent devices during production.

Improve the ability to accumulate and materialize process knowledge centered on performance assurance
The technological improvements for product performance assurance on production lines are endless. As needed, the mechanisms for ensuring product performance indicators can be analyzed, such as introducing machine vision or adaptive processing, enriching the intelligent content of the automated line's operational knowledge base.

Enhance the associated control and coordination capabilities of multi-product mixed-line production
Only when an automated production line can support multi-product mixed-line production and provide flexible associated control and coordination capabilities can it be considered truly intelligent. This requires the support of the above (1), (2), and (3). For example, an automated CNC machining line can automatically acquire and analyze status, and issue commands to adjust the working parameters of hardware devices; or, according to needs, transmit different CNC programs to different hardware devices; or, since different products have different process flows, flexible interlinked control can be used to achieve rapid conversion of production paths and mixed-flow cross-production of different product types on the automated line.

In essence, or in most cases, the automated production lines we refer to mainly reflect the coordination of interlinked action sequences based on logistics turnover. They can be seen as a group of discrete hardware devices operating on a production line under the constraints of a specific action sequence.

Traditional automated production lines are controlled by PLC ladder programs or specialized industrial control software. In addition to controlling normal processes, they should also have a certain degree of exception handling control capability.

If an automated production line only produces one product, all hardware elements are locked into a specific action command sequence. However, if the automated production line is a multi-variety mixed line, the action command sequence will have complex combined debugging and configuration requirements. If this combination judgment is relatively simple, it can be achieved through PLC or industrial control software. However, if this combination judgment is more complex, especially when analysis, reasoning, and decision-making, which reflect intelligence, are added, simple 0-1 or threshold-based judgments will not meet the requirements. A complex software system will be needed to meet the requirements.

Furthermore, this complex software control system, facing the complex production processes of multi-product mixed-flow production, will more have the flavor of APS control. I'm not sure if it should be called APS, perhaps the automation field itself is developing these things, but the automation field is not very familiar with them.