chapter 1 Introduction

This is a book about production automation. New terms have been developed to describe various aspects of this technology, Many of these terms, such as robotics, CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing), flexible manufacturing systems, and machine vision, were unknown 30 years ago. Old words, such as mechanization, have virtually disappeared from the technical vocabulary. Automation is a dynamic technology that represents a continuous evolutionary process that began many decades ago. Some might even argue that the process began with the industrial revolution (circa l770), when machines began to take over the work previously performed by manual labor. Automation is a process of technological development that will proceed into the foreseeable future.

ln this first chapter, we define automation, describe the various types of automation, provide reasons why companies install automated systems, and present the social arguments for and against this technology.