Page 81 - Sensors and Control Systems in Manufacturing

CHAPTER 2

Classification and

Types of Sensors

2.0 Introduction
Workstations, work cells, and work centers represent a coordinated
cluster of a production system. A production machine with several
processes is considered a workstation. A machine tool is also consid-
ered a workstation. Integrated workstations form a work cell. Several
complementary workstations may be grouped together to construct a
work cell. Similarly, integrated work cells may form a work center.
This structure is the basic concept in modeling a flexible manufactur-
ing system. The flexible manufacturing system is also the cornerstone
of the computer-integrated manufacturing strategy (Fig. 2.1).
The goal is to provide the management and project development
team with an overview of major tasks to be solved during the plan-
ning, design, implementation, and operation phases of computer-
integrated machining, inspection, and assembly systems. Financial
and technical disasters can be avoided if a clear understanding of the
role of sensors and control systems in the computer-integrated manu-
facturing strategy is asserted.
Sensors are largely applied within the workstations and are the
only practical means of operating a manufacturing system and track-
ing its performance continuously.
Sensors and control systems in manufacturing provide the means
of integrating different, properly defined processes as input to create
the expected output. Input may be raw material and/or data that
have to be processed by various auxiliary components such as tools,
fixtures, and clamping devices. Sensors provide the feedback data to
describe the status of each process. The output may also be data and/
or materials that can be processed by further cells of the manufactur-
ing system. A flexible manufacturing system, which contains work-
stations, work cells, and work centers and is equipped with appropri-
ate sensors and control systems, is a distributed management

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