Automation is the science of control without human intervention

The desire of a person to shift heavy monotonous labor onto the shoulders of machines and mechanisms is directly connected with such, at first glance, deplorable property of psychology as laziness. However, any device should be controlled, which, of course, is easier than working alone, but it is also not easy.

So there was a science, the name of which comes from two Greek words meaning "self" and "acting." So, automation is a system of knowledge that allows you to make machines work without human intervention. This discipline is studied in technical universities and is known among students as complex as the notorious "termeh". And no wonder, it is impossible to master the theory of automatic control (TAU) without a very good level of training in higher mathematics and physics.

Automation of production is partial, complex or complete, differing in the degree of detachment from the process control process. The main reason for its wide spread is economic feasibility, since the maintenance of technical means is cheaper than the personnel. However, as practice has shown, the quality of finished products is also higher in those cases when the human factor is minimized.

If we consider this theory in a simplified form, then it will not be so complicated, the main thing is to master its basic concepts. The main term TAU is a control object, that is, a certain device for production or household use, some of the parameters of which should be regulated by automation. This can be, for example, a tank in which the liquid level or its temperature must be maintained with a given accuracy. In the block diagram it is indicated by the letter "A".

The second device necessary to create a control loop is the sensor. Without it, it is impossible to judge the state of the system, that is, the magnitude of the output parameter (in our case, the level or temperature). It is indicated by a blue circle.

The third device, without which automation is impossible, is the regulator (β). It can be extremely simple (two-position), as in an iron for example, or complex, representing an electronic unit with settings that provides a special algorithm (proportional, proportional-integral or proportional-integral-differential). The task of the automatic regulator is to generate a control signal arriving at the fourth and last element of the circuit - the actuator (MI). Whatever the sophisticated scheme of the entire system, if its solutions are not implemented, it will not work. MI is indicated by a white circle, and the signs "+" and "-" symbolize the negative nature of the feedback, that is, the opposite of its action to the direction of the change in the output parameter.

Under this scheme, virtually all automation of processes in any production process. Despite its apparent simplicity, it is effective, although it requires careful study of all the features of control objects. The fact is that they, like people, react differently to disturbing influences (so automation specialists call different destabilizing factors). First, they all have time delays. Secondly, the transmission coefficient, that is, the effectiveness of the impact, also varies for different objects. And the speed of "acceleration" for each control channel is different.

After removing the characteristics and mounting of the elements of control and management, the most important stage begins, with which automation is completed. This is setup and configuration.