Introductory Course on Automation Technology

Fundamentals

INTRODUCTORY COURSE

ON

AUTOMATION FUNDAMENTALS

Page 1 of 9
 Introductory Course on Automation Technology
Fundamentals

Contents
EVOLUTION OF CONTROL SYSTEM ............................................................................................. 3
CONTROL AND AUTOMATION BASICS ........................................................................................ 4
CONTROL SYSTEMS USED IN INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION...................................................... 4
WHAT IS PROGRAMMABLE (LOGIC) CONTROLLER .............................................................. 5
HOW IS PLC DIFFERENT FROM COMMON COMPUTERS ....................................................... 6
REAL TIME SYSTEM ................................................................................................................ 6
LEVELS OF AUTOMATION ............................................................................................................. 7

Page 2 of 9
 Introductory Course on Automation Technology
Fundamentals

EVOLUTION OF CONTROL SYSTEM

WHAT IS INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

Industrial Automation is the use of Control Systems to control Industrial Machinery and
Processes, reducing the need for human intervention.
If we compare a job being done by human and by Automation, the physical part of the job is
replaced by use of a Machine, whereas the mental capabilities of the human are replaced with
the Automation.
The human sensory organs are replaced with electrical, mechanical or electronic Sensors to
enable the Automation systems to perform the job.
For example, a grinding wheel driven by a human can be replaced by a motor (which is a
machine). But starting and stopping the grinding, which were done by the human by ‘looking
at’ the output, will be replaced by the control of the motor by Automation.
Higher level of human intelligence like planning, analysis, prediction and intuitive decision
making is not done by this Level of Automation.

SENSORY LIMBS TO DO
ORGANS HUMAN BRAIN THE WORK

SENSORS CONTROL OF
IN FIELD AUTOMATION MACHINES & DEVICES

Figure 1: Automation compared to human activity

Page 3 of 9
 Introductory Course on Automation Technology
Fundamentals

CONTROL AND AUTOMATION BASICS

CONTROL SYSTEMS USED IN INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
• Micro-controllers
• Programmable (Logic) Controllers or PLC
• Distributed Control System or DCS
• Computers, etc.

The objective of this training is to learn about PLC in detail.

Page 4 of 9
 Introductory Course on Automation Technology
Fundamentals

WHAT IS PROGRAMMABLE (LOGIC) CONTROLLER

Programmable Logic Controller or PLC is a type of computer commonly used in commercial
and industrial control applications.
The prominent manufacturers of PLC are Allen-Bradley (Rockwell), Siemens, GE Fanuc,
Schneider Electric, Mitsubishi, etc.

Some of the PLCs from reputed manufacturers, used in modern industrial automation, are
shown in the next page.

Allen-Bradley (Rockwell )

Siemens

GE Fanuc

Schneider Electric

Mitsubishi

Page 5 of 9
 Introductory Course on Automation Technology
Fundamentals

HOW IS PLC DIFFERENT FROM COMMON COMPUTERS

The PLC and computers are different in their hardware and software as their target application
and solution areas are different. While the computer is required to do many activities
simultaneously or compute and handle huge amount of data, the PLC is required to interact
with the process and focus on controlling a physical process reliably, which means, common
PC syndromes like hang, crash or reboot can not be tolerated for a PLC.

Hence, the difference can be summarized as follows:

 The number of simultaneous processes handled by PC is more than PLC

 PC is faster in terms of processor speed and data handling capacity
 PLC has higher capability of handling external input output signals, specially discreet
input and outputs
 The PLC is more reliable, repetitive and precise for a particular job
 PLCs are very rugged and designed to work under harsh ambient conditions
 PLC hardware is generally modular and expandable
 PLC is essentially a Real Time System

REAL TIME SYSTEM

A system is a Real Time System when it can respond to an external event within a specified
window of time.
Responses can be periodic, time-initiated, input driven or interrupt driven.
The time is determined by the time constant of the dynamic process.

Example of time constants for external processes:

• Milliseconds for machining or electric power systems
• Seconds for flow / pressure processes
• Minutes for temperature controlled processes
• Weeks/months/years for social / economic processes

Page 6 of 9
 Introductory Course on Automation Technology
Fundamentals

LEVELS OF AUTOMATION
Automation can be categorized in various levels based on the required intelligence level. In
relation to the human capabilities, both physical and mental, each level relates to a particular
capability.

The definition of levels is not unique and is available in 3 Level, 4 Level, 5 level models. One
of the commonly used models is described below.

FOCUS ON
MANAGEMENT
& INFORMATION

Level 4
ERP

Level 3
MES

Process Automation Level 2

PLC, DCS, Level 1

HMI, SCADA

Sensors
Drives Level 0

FOCUS ON
PROCESS &
CONTROL

Figure 2: Levels of Automation

Page 7 of 9
 Introductory Course on Automation Technology
Fundamentals

Level 0 – The level 0 devices are those which are directly connected to the process. In some
models, this is not considered as a level of automation but called Machine Level.
Devices like drives and sensors are part of this level.

Level 1 – The level 1 Automation is also known as the Basic Automation and accordingly
serves to achieve automate discreet parts of the process or the sequence. Level 1
acquires feedback (inputs) from the Level 0 from the sensors and passes on
commands (outputs) to Level 0 devices to control the process. The control is done
as per a set of previously fed sequence or batch or recipe. Commonly, human
intervention is required for choices, options or decision for a plant with Level 1
automation only. PLC, DCS, micro controllers are examples of Level 1 automation.

SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) and HMI (Human Machine
Interface) systems, primarily used for Operator Control and Monitoring purpose,
are also part of Level 1 Automation. However, the modern HMI and SCADA
systems are intelligent enough to be placed a little higher than Level 1.

Level 2 – With a plant with Level 2 Automation, it is possible to reduce the human
intervention to minimum and control the process in optimum way. This Level is
also called the Process Automation. The focus of this level is the process and it
does not control the input/outputs directly. Mathematical models of the process are
made and instructions for control are passed on to the Level 1 for control. Typical
Level 2 models are Temperature Model, Material Tracking (end-to-end), Profile
Model, etc.

Level 3 – Level 3, as per the 4 level model, is responsible for the management of the entire
production process. This level is generally known as Manufacturing Execution
System or MES. At this level production planning is done and the production
requirement is passed on to Level 2 to decide the parameters and set points for the
Level 1 automation.

Page 8 of 9
 Introductory Course on Automation Technology
Fundamentals

Level 4 – This level is the highest of the Integrated Automation in a process plant. This level is
used to organize the entire plant in terms of production, HR, Finance and other
relevant aspects. ERP is a typical example of Level 4 system.

Name Description
Level 0 Sensor Level (Measuring Devices):
Pressure, Temperature, Speed, Accelerometer, Force, Position, Shape, Thickness,
...

Level 1 Controller Level (Feed-back Closed Loop Control):

Speed Regulator, Tension Regulator, Sequence Control, Position Control,
Temperature Control, SCADA

Level 2 Machine Level (Set-up Models):

Temperature model (e.g., EAF, LMF), Shape Control, Mill Set-Up Control, Coil
Tracking, Run out Table Cooling Control…..

Level 3 Operation Unit Level:

Blast Furnace, Electric Arc Furnace, LMF, Caster, Reheating, Hot Mill, Cold Mill,
Anneal Line, Pickle Line, ...

Level 4 Plant Level MES, MRP:

Scheduling, Material Flow, Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Material
requirements planning (MRP)….
Level 5 Corporate Level CRM,
Order Process, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Quality control, Customer
relationship management (CRM)….
...

The level 1 hardware and software are proprietary and not interchangeable
across different manufacturers.

For controlling a process through automation, Level 1 is the only mandatory

level and the higher levels of automation are optional.

Page 9 of 9