Automatic Production Line

An automatic production line is a system that automatically performs all or some of the manufacturing process of a product through the use of a workpiece transfer system and a control system. This system consists of a set of automatic machine tools and auxiliary equipment arranged in a specific sequence, and is referred to as an automatic line.

Development

In the 1920s, the development of automobiles, rolling bearings, small motors, and sewing machines in the industrial sector led to the emergence of automatic production lines in machinery manufacturing.

The earliest type of automatic line to appear was the combination automatic line. Before the 1920s, the automotive industry was the first to develop production lines and semi-automatic production lines, which eventually evolved into automatic lines.

After World War II, the number of automatic lines in the machinery manufacturing industry in industrialized countries rapidly increased.

Advantage

Products manufactured using automatic production lines should have adequate output. The product design and process should be advanced, stable, reliable, and remain largely unchanged over a long period of time.

The utilization of automatic production lines in large quantities and mass production can increase labor productivity, stabilize and improve product quality, enhance working conditions, reduce floor space, lower production costs, shorten the production cycle, ensure production consistency, and provide significant economic benefits.

Automatic operation or control is the process of automatically executing a production line without human intervention, according to predetermined procedures or instructions, with the goal of being “stable, accurate, and fast.”

Automation technology is widely applied in industries such as agriculture, military, scientific research, transportation, commerce, medicine, services, and even in the home.

The use of automated production lines not only relieves people from heavy manual labor, partial mental work, and harsh and dangerous working conditions, but also expands human capability, significantly improves labor productivity, and enhances human understanding and transformation of the world.

Application range

The mechanical manufacturing industry has various types of automatic production lines, including casting, forging, stamping, heat treatment, welding, cutting, and mechanical assembly lines. There are also integrated automatic lines that incorporate processes of varying nature, such as blank production, processing, assembly, inspection, and packaging.

Among these automatic lines, the automatic cutting line is the fastest growing and the most widely used in the machinery manufacturing industry.

There are several types of automatic production lines in the mechanical manufacturing industry, including:

• An automatic machine line for processing machine parts, housings, and miscellaneous components.
• An automatic line that consists of general-purpose, specialized, or specialized automatic machine tools for machining parts such as shafts and rings.
• A rotating body machining automatic line.
• A rotor automatic line for simple and small parts during the machining process.

Determining the Beat Time

Regardless of the product type, it must be manufactured and completed within the specified time frame.

Unit Flow

The handling, assembly, processing, and collection of materials for one unit of a product.

Pilot Project

Develop a device that can accurately measure the beat time through visual inspection.

U-Shaped Production Line

The equipment is arranged in a counterclockwise manner, following the engineering process. One person is responsible for monitoring the entry and exit points.

AB Control

The project will only be executed if there is a product in the previous project and no product in the subsequent project.

Light Indicator

A device that signals any irregularities in the production process.

Post-Project Collection

The products from the production line should meet the requirements of post-engineering.

Device connection

There are two types of connections in an automatic line device: rigid connections and flexible connections.

Rigid Connection

In a rigid connection automatic line, there is no storage device between processes. The processing and conveying of the workpiece must follow a strict rhythm. If one device fails and stops, it will cause a full line shutdown. As a result, the reliability of all devices in a rigid connection automatic line must be high.

Flexible Connection

In a flexible connection automatic line, there is a storage device between each process or section, and the rhythm of each process does not need to be strictly consistent. If a certain equipment temporarily stops, it can be adjusted by the storage device within a certain time period, preventing it from affecting the normal operation of other equipment. The integrated automatic line, assembly automatic line, and longer combined machine automatic lines often use flexible connections.