外文翻译自动化的介绍.docVIP

附录A：英文资料 Introduction to Automation Automation is the technology by which a process or procedure is accomplished without human assistance. It is implemented using a program of instructions combined with a control system that executes the instructions. To automate a process, power is required, both to drive the process itself and to operate the program and control system. Although automation can be applied in a wide variety of areas, it is most closely associated with the manufacturing industries. It was in the context of manufacturing that the term was originally coined by an engineering manager at Ford Motor Company in 1946 to describe the variety of automatic transfer devices and feed mechanisms that had been installed in Ford’s production plants. It is ironic that nearly all modern applications of automation are controlled by computer technologies that were not available in 1964. We examine technologies that have been developed to automate manufacturing operations. The position of automation and control technologies in the larger production system is shown in Figure 3.1. In the present chapter, we provide an overview of automation: What are the elements of an automated system? What are some of the advanced feature beyond the basic elements? And what are the levels in an enterprise where automation can be applied? In the following two chapters, we discuss industrial control systems and the hardware components of these systems. These two chapters serve as a foundation for the remaining chapters in our coverage of automation and control technologies. These technologies are: (1) numerical control, (2) industrial robotics, and (3) programmable logic controllers. Basic elements of an automated system An automated system consists of three basic elements: (1) power to accomplish the process and operate the system, (2)a program of instructions to direct the process, and (3) a control system to actuate the instructions. The relationship amongst these element is illustrat