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Flashcards in Robotics and Automation Deck (105)
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1
Q

What areas of utilities is it used in ?

A

Water and wastewater, electric power, telecommunications

2
Q

How is automation used in defence ?

A

Production, transportation, strike, target

3
Q

How does automation increase productivity ?

A

Increases productivity per unit labour

4
Q

How does automation improve job design ?

A

Introduces flexibility of design

5
Q

What areas of manufacturing is automation used in ?

A

Food & Pharmaceutical, Chemical and petroleum, pulp and paper

6
Q

What are the two broad categories in which robots can be applied ?

A

General and Industry

7
Q

What are the kind of hazardous conditions robots can brave ?

A

Toxicity, Heat, Radiation

8
Q

Where does a robot win over manual labour ?

A

In Repetitive Work

9
Q

Why ?

A

It does not get fatigued or bored

10
Q

How do robots carry out inspection ?

A

Mechanical probes, optical sensors, measuring devices

11
Q

How many samples can robots inspect ?

A

100%

12
Q

In industries, where do robots perform material transfer ?

A

From point to point or conveyor to machine

13
Q

After transfering material, what are some processing operations robotics finds application in ?

A

Welding, riveting, drilling, spray painting

14
Q

Why are robots highly efficient for assembly work ?

A

It is repetitive work

15
Q

How do robots help ?

A

They improve product quality and reliability

16
Q

Where is automation used in the manufacturing sector ?

A

Food and pharmaceutical, Chemical and Petroleum, Paper and pulp

17
Q

Where is automation used in transportation ?

A

Marine, railways, aerospace, automotive

18
Q

Where is automation used in utilities sector ?

A

Water and waste water, electric power, telecommunication

19
Q

Where is automation used in defense ?

A

Production, Transportation and Strikes

20
Q

What facility operation sectors are automation used in ?

A

Security, Energy Management, Environmental Control

21
Q

What are the three categories of automation ?

A

Fixed, Programmable, Flexible

22
Q

Which automation has the least initial cost ?

A

Fixed, for regular jobs

23
Q

Why ?

A

The instruments are generally fixed and do not have much variety

24
Q

What is the production volume Fixed Automation generally handles ?

A

Mass Production. When there is a high demand for high volume.

25
Q

What are some general applications of fixed automation ?

A

Bottling plants, Packaging Plants

26
Q

Which automation has the highest initial cost ?

A

Flexible

27
Q

What is the general production volume handled by programmable automation ?

A

Batch Production in low- to- medium

28
Q

How often can programmable automation change the sequence of operation ?

A

It can change from batch to batch.

29
Q

How is this achieved ?

A

By new program commands, tool changes and fixture modification.

30
Q

Why does Programmable automation take the highest set up time ?

A

The system has to be completely set before each batch.

31
Q

How much variety can flexible automation offer in sequence modification ?

A

Different products can be produced in the same batch

32
Q

Does it require a greater set up time than programmable automation ?

A

No. The changes happen with minimum loss of time.

33
Q

How does it achieve this in terms of the programming ?

A

Part programming can be developed offline and transfered through electronic media

34
Q

How is the physical set up changed quickly ?

A

Using transfer Pallets

35
Q

Which is the highest hardware and software cost ?

A

Flexible automation

36
Q

How does automation affect productivity ?

A

It increases the volume and reduces the cost

37
Q

Why ?

A

Output per unit labour is greater

38
Q

Where does automation win over labour ?

A

Does not suffer fatigue, boredom or

39
Q

How does automation affect product quality ?

A

Improves

40
Q

Why ?

A

There is greater accuracy

41
Q

How does automation provide flexibility in job design ?

A

It handles complex designs easily

42
Q

How does automation affect lead time ?

A

It reduces

43
Q

What is lead time ?

A

A lead time is the latency between the initiation and execution of a process

44
Q

How does automation improve shop efficiency ?

A

Various activities are evenly distributed

45
Q

How does automation makes up for the initial and running cost ?

A

It compensates for both initial and running cost with high productivity

46
Q

How does automation improve safety of worker ?

A

The workers now perform greater supervision work.

47
Q

How does automation affect job openings ?

A

It reduces

48
Q

How does automation affect employment ?

A

Causes unemployment

49
Q

How does automation bring down human skill ?

A

Most of the skilled work is performed by the machine

50
Q

What are some basic strategies employed by automation in industry ?

A

Specialised, Multiple, Simultaneous, Integrated Operation

51
Q

How does automation perform operations simultaneously ?

A

Several tools are used to perform operations simultaneously

52
Q

How are integrated operations performed ?

A

Several work stations are linked to one work station to improve shop efficiency

53
Q

What are some benefits of multiple operations ?

A

Saves setting-up time and routing time of object.

54
Q

What is routing ?

A

Selecting the minimum cost/time path for an object to reach it’s destination

55
Q

How is the process optimized in automation ?

A

Monitoring is done online and corrective action is taken immediately

56
Q

What are the three main components of NC System ?

A

Program of instructions, MCU, Machine tools and tooling

57
Q

What instructions are contained in the program of instructions ?

A

Step by step instructions for positioning the fabrication tool, controlling the spindle speed and other tools

58
Q

How was input fed in the olden days ?

A

Through punched papers and tapes

59
Q

What is the modern method ?

A

CD or main disc drive

60
Q

How is offline work done ?

A

Seperate CD drives are used

61
Q

What does the MCU mainly consist of ?

A

It consists of electronics and hardware that read and interpret the program and convert it to command signals for actuating system

62
Q

What is an actuator ?

A

An actuator is a type of motor that is responsible for moving or controlling a mechanism or system

63
Q

What are the things that MCU controls ?

A

Path of the tool, cutting speed, feed rate, tool changes

64
Q

What do modern machines use in the MCU ?

A

Microprocessors

65
Q

What does a machine tool generally consist of ?

A

Spindle, motor control unit. Cutting tools, Work fixtures and auxiliary units

66
Q

What is an auxiliary unit ?

A

It is a unit that produces additional help or support to the system

67
Q

What is a spindle ?

A

It is the rotating axis of the machine.

68
Q

What are the two types of tooling

A

Qualified and Preset tooling

69
Q

What is a qualified tool ?

A

It is rough machining which has more tolerance between cutting edges and tool locating faces

70
Q

What is a preset tool ?

A

It is preset to closer tolerances and needs adjustment for each batch of production

71
Q

Why are NC machines prefered for expensive workpieces ?

A

Rejection is costly

72
Q

What kind of operations are NC machines prefered for ?

A

100% inspection, complex part geometry, large number of operations

73
Q

Why do NC machines require lesser down time ?

A

Setup and handling time reduce

74
Q

What is handling time ?

A

The handling time is the number of business days the seller will take to ship the item after receiving the cleared payment.

75
Q

What is down time ?

A

The time during which a machine, especially a computer, is out of action or unavailable for use.

76
Q

How does NC Machine reduce lead time ?

A

Job is done in batches

77
Q

How does NC machine provide flexibility ?

A

Job design, work schedule

78
Q

How do part programming errors affect NC machines ?

A

They lead to poor job configuration.

79
Q

Why do NC machines take a long time to update ?

A

It is difficult to change hardware

80
Q

What is a major drawback of conventional NC in terms of optimization ?

A

It cannot optimize feed rate and material removal rate on it’s own

81
Q

Why is it difficult to reduce non productive time immediately in NC machines ?

A

Online information is not available to management to take timely decisions.

82
Q

What kind of environment do NC machines require ?

A

Air-conditioned

83
Q

How does the NC MCU utilise the part program ?

A

It is executed block by block.

84
Q

What happens to the program in CNC ?

A

It is fed to memory and then execution instructions are given.

85
Q

How does it do this ?

A

A pulse is generated for each movement of machine tool.

86
Q

What are the four basic functions of CNC ?

A

Machine tool control, In process compensation, operational features, diagnostics

87
Q

What is in process compensation ?

A

It involves dynamic correction of machine tool motion for changes or errors during processing

88
Q

What are the other reasons adjustment may be needed ?

A

Due to in process inspection after controller gets feedback, tool life

89
Q

What are some major operational features ?

A

Online editing, Various interpolation, Graphical display of tool path, Support of various units

90
Q

What is the first step in diagnostics ?

A

Identify reasons for downtime occurence

91
Q

What is the next step ?

A

Alert to indicate the failure and have a replacement for less reliable components

92
Q

Why is CNC preferred for material removal ?

A

It optimizes it and does complex configurations

93
Q

How is metal shaped ?

A

CNC plasma or laser cutters

94
Q

How are holes punched ?

A

CNC turret passes

95
Q

How are metal plates bent ?

A

CNC press brakes are used

96
Q

What is interpolation ?

A

In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a discrete set of known data points

97
Q

What interpolations does NC offer ?

A

Straight and circular

98
Q

What interpolations does CNC offer

A

Helical, parabolic and cubical curves also

99
Q

How does digitizing software help ?

A

The CNC can use optical probes to copy the required shape and then generate a program to fabricate it.

100
Q

How does CNC reduce waste dramatically ?

A

It optimizes use of material

101
Q

Why does CNC require costlier personnel ?

A

Higher skill and program literacy required

102
Q

Why do CNC systems require support facility ?

A

To perform offline programming and data monitoring

103
Q

Why is CNC uneconomical for a singular job ?

A

The extra time and special personnel are required even for a singular job.

104
Q

How is material removal done using EDM ?

A

Material is removed from the workpiece by a series of rapidly recurring current discharges between two electrodes, separated by a dielectric liquid and subject to an electric voltage

105
Q

What is a dielectric ?

A

It is an electrical insulator that can be polarised by the application of an electric field.