Automation: The act of implementing the control of equipment with advanced automation; usually involving electronic hardware is what

is usually known as automation. It has both advantages and disadvantages. Automation- The beginning of a new era: Automation is the result of evolution. It has been 25000 years since the Neanderthals have died out. Man cant just live the life the way it was. He tried to simplify everything that was within his capacity to simplify. In the beginning, automation was in form of simple machines. He was tired of swimming and so he made the boat, and he was tired of rowing and so he made the motor boat. This is just a simple example of automation in a specific field. Seeing automation as a science, it is purely necessary. It is what is every science is about. Impacts: Automation has had a notable impact in a wide range of highly visible industries beyond manufacturing. Once-ubiquitous telephone operators have been replaced largely by automated telephone switchboards and answering machines. Medical processes such as primary screening in electrocardiography or radiography and laboratory analysis of human genes, sera, cells, and tissues are carried out at much greater speed and accuracy by automated systems. Automated teller machines have reduced the need for bank visits to obtain cash and carry out transactions. In general, automation has been responsible for the shift in the world economy from agrarian to industrial in the 19th century and from industrial to services in the 20th century.[3] The widespread impact of industrial automation raises social issues, among them its impact on employment. Historical concerns about the effects of automation date back to the beginning of the industrial revolution, when a social movement of English textile machine operators in the early 1800s known as the Luddites protested against Jacquard's automated weaving looms[4] often by destroying such textile machines that they felt threatened their jobs. One author made the following case. When automation was first introduced, it caused widespread fear. It was thought that the displacement of human operators by computerized systems would lead to severe unemployment.

Critics of automation contend that increased industrial automation causes increased unemployment; this was a pressing concern during the 1980s. One argument claims that this has happened invisibly in recent years, as the fact that many manufacturing jobs left the United States during the early 1990s was offset by a one-time massive increase in IT jobs at the same time. Some authors argue that the opposite has often been true, and that automation has led to higher employment. Under this point of view, the freeing up of the labour force has allowed more people to enter higher skilled managerial as well as specialised consultant/contractor jobs (like cryptographers), which are typically higher paying. One odd side effect of this shift is that "unskilled labor" is in higher demand in many first-world nations, because fewer people are available to fill such jobs. At first glance, automation might appear to devalue labor through its replacement with lessexpensive machines; however, the overall effect of this on the workforce as a whole remains unclear. Today automation of the workforce is quite advanced, and continues to advance increasingly more rapidly throughout the world and is encroaching on ever more skilled jobs, yet during the same period the general well-being and quality of life of most people in the world (where political factors have not muddied the picture) have improved dramatically. What role automation has played in these changes has not been well studied. Advantages: The main advantages of automation are:

Replacing human operators in tasks that involve hard physical or monotonous work[5]. Replacing humans in tasks that should be done in dangerous environments (i.e. fire, space, volcanoes, nuclear facilities, underwater, etc) Making tasks that are beyond the human capabilities such as handling too heavy loads, too large objects, too hot or too cold substances or the requirement to make things too fast or too slow.

Economy improvement. Sometimes and some kinds of automation implies improves in economy of enterprises, society or most of humankind. Other technical advantages are,

Successful automation can improve part quality, increase throughput, and reduce costs. It also increases the likelihood of success, but not all parts or processes can be automated. A capable integrator recognizes what to automate and what not to automate and makes sure the simple parts meet necessary tolerances for automation.

Production efficiency and a speedy return on investment are some of the benefits you can receive from planning early and planning well Using a robotics integrator fits with the recent trend toward outsourcing; you get the best an integrator has to offer without adding to your payroll. There are many factors critical to making the final choice. Consider the expertise of the integrator organization, its process development capabilities, available product offering, application engineering resources, safety equipment and training and service support.

The most successful robotic welding system integrators offer their customers the following personnel resources: Sales engineers to serve as the first point of contact. They are familiar with the latest and most innovative solutions available. Project managers who have backgrounds in manufacturing and understand manufacturing processes and how the robotic system plays a part in those processes. They provide the concept for the robotic solution to the manufacturer and offer direction in choosing the equipment mix that best matches production goals.

Application engineers who understand the welding process and how the robotic work cell's components interact with one another. They are responsible for tying the hardware components together so they work as one, such as robot programming, process development and PLC programming.

Competent technical service engineers help customers deal with any hardware and software problems that arise. Robotic welding systems integrators must maintain a staff able to anticipate customer needs. A systems integrator can be a key partner that provides engineering resources to provide wide-range support from lead engineering to process development.

Not every welding process is a good candidate for automation. An experienced integrator can assist with evaluating the process.

Provide the primary goals you want to accomplish with automation (reducing costs, increasing throughput, improving quality and consistency, etc.). The integrator's goal is to gain as much automation as possible about quantities needed, number of shifts worked, inches of weld per part, expected ROI and the quality and repeatability of parts entering the weld cell.

A robotic systems integrator can provide insight into the manufacturability issues of parts, particularly for robotic automation. Reviewing part designs is yet another role integrators can play. They can help you understand how the design affects your manufacturing process. The integrator can be an extension of your engineering department and work with your project managers to look at long- and short-term production goals to maximize benefits from the new equipment.

Flexible, modifiable robotic work cells can lead to increased productivity. A Versa 4 work cell from Genesis features a Ferris-wheel-style positioner, fast indexing time and servo tooling that helped customer Herman Miller weld 6 of its 50 standard frames. These 6 frame styles, however, comprise 50% of the company's product.

An asset a systems integrator can offer is access to multiple equipment options and configurations that ultimately lead to better productivity . Some integrators offer preengineered or standard work cells. These systems provide out-of-the-box affordability, but are not always the right solution when customization is required. Integrators with flexible, modifiable work cells can provide a cost-effective solution tailored to the application.

Following are some equipment suggestions for productive robotic welding. Positioners. The positioner determines how the part is presented to the robot for welding. Typical positioner types include stationary tables, turntables, headstocks, tailstocks and Ferris wheel types.

Fixtures. These hold the part to proper tolerances for welding. Unique to each automation project, fixtures are only as good as the quality and innovation the systems integrator puts into them. When selecting a robot, the integrator considers accuracy, speed, reach, operator interface and the various options available with each robot.

Base Platform. A common base platform, which the systems integrator designs and constructs, connects all components. It is also a base for controls, flash screens, barriers and safety components.

Operator Interface. This is the final component of the work cell. Simple push buttons, or a touch-screen panel, are often recommended interfaces. Safety should lead the priority list of any systems integrators. Robotic welding systems integrators most concerned about reducing the risk of injuries have adopted the Robotic Industries Association's (RIA) Code for Robotic Safety, a guideline widely accepted as the industry standard.

You should expect systems integrators to conduct a risk analysis and then design and adjust systems for the safest operation that meets or exceeds all plant, federal, state and local codes.

One of the best methods for worker safety is adequate training conducted by the systems integrator. A hands-on, mentoring approach works well with employees in the welding industry who are comfortable working with their hands.

Service and support can make or break the relationship between you and your systems integrator. The high capital costs of robotic welding systems mean you have the right to demand efficient, fast service when something goes wrong. And just-in-time (JIT) inventories no longer allow you the luxury of downtime.

Service and support begins with the integrator's warranty. Technical phone support handled by experienced service engineers is the next contact. If the equipment is a recent installation, the project manager who handled it for the systems integrator may be the best resource for pinpointing solutions to problems.

Robotic equipment can break down after normal business hours. Customer-sensitive systems integrators have 24-h hotline telephone service and require technical staff to be on call to avoid delays in responding to worried customers.

A competent robotic systems integrator is one of the best investments you can make when it's time to improve the production process and productivity. Checking references and visiting other plants where the systems integrator has handled an automation changeover can help you choose the best systems integrator for fulfilling your requirements

Automation is all around us. When youre at a set of traffic lights, there isnt a traffic light operator that decides when to change the light from red to green. It is done automatically. The street lights come on at night automatically. There are no lamplighters running around turning each light on anymore. We can apply this same idea to our own life. Granted, most of us cant create complex control systems, so we will have to do our best with what is available, but having the most mundane tasks automated will help free up some time. The advantages are clear. If every time you checked your e-mails, all the messages had been sorted into folders before you logged on, you save time that you would have previously spent. If your Twitter account posts a message every time you update your website, you save time because you dont need to do it yourself. If you spend an hour a day doing small tasks like these, youre wasting a considerable amount of time. Automating these tasks will allow you to be able to work on what you consider is important. All you have to worry about is the automation working. Disadvantages: The main disadvantages of automation are:

Automation limits. Current automation is unable to automate all the desired tasks. Unpredictable development costs. The research and development cost of automating a process is difficult to predict accurately beforehand. Since this cost can have a large impact on profitability, it's possible to finish automating a process only to discover that there's no economic advantage in doing so.

Initial costs are relatively high. The automation of a new product required a huge initial investment in comparison with the unit cost of the product, although the cost of automation is spread in many product batches. The automation of a plant required a great initial investment too, although this cost is spread in the products to be produced.

Unemployment. It is commonly thought that automation implies unemployment because the work of a human being is replaced in part or completely by a machine. Nevertheless, the unemployment is caused by the economical politics of the administration like dismissing the workers instead of changing their tasks. Since the general economical policies of most of the industrial plants are to dismiss people, nowadays automation implies unemployment. In different scenarios without workers, automation implies more free time instead of unemployment like the case with the automatic washing machine at home. Automation does not imply unemployment when it makes tasks unimaginable without automation such as exploring mars with the Sojourner or when the economy is fully adapted to an automated automation as with the Telephone switchboard.

Environment. The costs of automation to the environment are different depending on the automation, product or engine automated. There are automated engines that consume more energy resources from the Earth in comparison with previous engines and those that do the opposite too.

Human being replacement. In the future there is a possibility that the Artificial intelligence could replace and improve a human brain and the robots would become not only fully automated but fully autonomous from the human beings (Technological singularity)

Expense: The initial investment of robots is significant, especially when business owners are limiting their purchases to new robotic equipment. The cost of automation should be calculated in light of a business' greater financial budget. Regular maintenance needs can have a financial toll as well.

ROI: Incorporating industrial robots does not guarantee results. Without planning, companies can have difficulty achieving their goals.

Expertise: Employees will require training in programming and interacting with the new robotic equipment. This normally takestime and financial output.

Safety: Robots may protect workers from some hazards, but in the meantime, their very presence can create other safety problems. These new dangers must be taken into consideration.

As there are so many advantages from highly developed automation, there also is a great deal of disadvantages from them. One disadvantage is that as automation develops, robots and machines will take over many jobs and people will loose their jobs by contrast. As people loose their jobs, they will have hard time getting money which would make it hard for them to continue to meet living expenses. Moreover, as people use less money the economy would be difficult to control and especially if it is a country as large as the United States, the problem will influence the world greatly.

Another disadvantage of highly developed automation is that machines and robots are complex. It is hard to activate all the machines you have unless you can multitask. Think about it, if most people have trouble on computers and almost all of us dont know the actual limit of computers abilities, how will us, normal people, work with all the robots and machines? Moreover, just like computers, robots and machines will easily break and most time you wont know how to fix them and one will have to call someone to fix them. People will loose their temper over this and it will create a large expense to repair them.

Even as there are as many advantages ad disadvantages of automation, I personally wish a more advanced world with great technologies. It would be so cool to work out all the complicated machines and robots. Dont you think it will be awesome to press just a few complicated buttons than do the labor yourself? In the future it would be more about using your brain and being intelligent than doing the hard labor yourself. I hope these days come within my lifetime.

Today the use of automation is tremendous. Almost every home has a computer and a way of communication like the telephone. Every home has stoves and microwaves. Most have cable television. Well to some people automation is the only way for them to depend on for survival. I have learned that automation plays a huge role in every persons life. For better or worse for the good or bad automation has always been there for us. And its true that automation has helped us in lots of ways.

Another thing is that automation has created diversity in employment. Today without a degree or certificate young people cannot have or get their dram job. This is a problem for those who dont go to school, uneducated, and unqualified.

People who cannot afford to buy this kind of automation live a stressful life. They have to do everything the old fashioned way, which is time consuming. They have to wash their dishes by hand. And those who dont have a computer have either go to a library which is time consuming or have to type a letter or report with a typewriter which is also time consuming since there is no spell check and if there is an error it is

going to be difficult to correct.

The only job theyll be able to get is in a fast food restaurant or in a warehouse or a very low paying job. Most qualified people who have good education and degree of some sort live a very happy life with good

salary. For example, doctors and lawyers.

Theres lots of incident where there is malfunction in automation. For

example, if there is a problem with a car than the car wont be able to run, or if there is a technical mistake in a train computer system than the train would probably dysfunction and this could lead to a crash. Many people dislike the production of automation.

It can be argued that modern automation makes life easier and more dignified for most of people. The first and the major advantage is that medical science is very progressive and vastly available. Without the needed automation a lot of people would struggle with their health. In addition it saves many innocent lives. The point is to spread it and reach with medicine help to the poor nations of the Third World. Secondly, the advanced automation improves industry by making it more effective and, what is vital today, safer for environment. Moreover when we look at TV, personal computer, mobile phone or internet for instance is quite obvious that all this inventions have been made in the last 20 years. Thus the speed of improvement is huge and unpredictable. On the minus side there is weaponry which is the inseparable issue of the new technologies. Hence the main problem is the proper use of this knowledge. Nevertheless, weapon engineering propels and provides a huge advance. Also, the industry despite highly developed machinery pollutes the globe. On the other hand while many people live in horrible conditions and famine governments spend a lot of money on developing weapon industry. Is it the right way? Maybe the modern automation should either stop or prevent social disproportions. Lastly, do new technologies make us happier? It is not an easy question and each person should consider it. While automation technology may have streamlined the business process it has also crated job redundancies, downsizing and outsourcing. This means that a lot of lower and middle level jobs have been done away with causing more people to become unemployed. Privacy - Though automation technology may have made communication quicker, easier and more convenient, it has also bought along privacy issues. From cell phone signal interceptions to email hacking, people are now worried about their once private automation becoming public

knowledge. Lack of job security - Industry experts believe that the internet has made job security a big issue as since technology keeps on changing with each day. This means that one has to be in a constant learning mode, if he or she wishes for their job to be secure. Conclusion Exploring a new dimension: Automation is a thing which cannot be stopped, but can be controlled. It is necessary, but not too much. Semi-automation is a thing which allows us to use our ideas, but ease our work, like typing instead of writing. The human civilization cannot be idle without creating new ideas for more than 25,000 years. They developed, are developing and will continue to raise the levels of automation, till apocalypse. The ultimate goal of every science is to raise the levels of automation in all fields. The main use of automation is that, humans are not content with their capacity of brain, and they developed things for remembering things. It was how everything in automation started. Automation has never been unnecessary and never will be. If there comes a time like that, it is the dawn of a new era, and everything will go back to the beginning, survival of the fittest will prevail, due to expansion of population and the human civilization will be thoroughly razed due to the masses adaptations to automated lives, and higher levels of living. So, automation is nothing unnecessary, and is a normal part of human evolution .