Jiuju Automation: The Transformation Towards Automation in China's Manufacturing Industry is Imperat
I. Background of Transformation – Technology Driving Manufacturing Revolution
The gathering of laborers with specialized manual tools formed the prototype of factories. The invention of the steam engine resolved the power source for factories, giving rise to machinedriven manufacturing. Technology has continuously propelled changes in manufacturing. Today, the rapid development of information technologies such as computer technology, sensor technology, and network technology is inevitably bringing comprehensive and ongoing transformations to factory production.
If we were to predict the ultimate outcome of today's advancements in information technology, almost everyone would agree that machines will inevitably be capable of performing all tasks within the realm of physical labor. The replacement of human workers by robots, such as six-axis robotic arms taking over traditional assembly line roles, is merely the beginning.
II. The Need for Smart Manufacturing in Factories
Reasons why China's manufacturing factories urgently require intelligent transformation:
1. Rising Labor Costs
With the advancement of automation technology, not only can equipment perform more tasks, but there has even emerged the concept of "dark factories"—fully unmanned workshops. Moreover, the cost of acquiring equipment to perform the same tasks as before is continuously decreasing. Some media outlets are already touting "robots becoming as cheap as cabbage."
It is undeniable that machines produce components with greater consistency than manual labor. Since product consistency is a key indicator of quality, automated manufacturing inherently leads to improved quality.
Automated manufacturing enhances production efficiency, accelerates time-to-market, and enables faster responses to market changes.
III. Construction Process of Automated Production Workshops
The general steps for building an automated workshop:
Phase 1: Finalization of Technical Agreements
The process department, familiar with product manufacturing techniques, must provide documented current factory conditions, workshop layout plans, and functional requirements for automated production equipment. These documents, after undergoing the factory’s approval process, serve as the formal technical agreement for the equipment.
Phase 2: Bidding and Contract Signing
The procurement department, responsible for equipment acquisition, prepares commercial bidding documents. Together with the technical department, they combine commercial and technical agreements to form the bidding document for production equipment—a common practice. This bidding process differs from formal project tendering and is often referred to as a "negotiated bidding" process. During this phase, suppliers are allowed extensive communication with the technical department, and even revisions to the technical agreement are permitted. This is because technical personnel in typical manufacturing plants may not possess deep expertise in both processes and automation equipment, whereas equipment suppliers, immersed in the industry, often have broader experience. Any revisions to the technical agreement will undergo the factory’s re-approval process.
Alternatively, consulting firms in the industry can be engaged to provide technical agreements and conduct formal bidding.
Phase 3: Implementation and Handover
The general steps include: manufacturing of automated equipment, factory acceptance testing, on-site single-machine debugging, integrated system debugging, personnel training, trial production handover, and final evaluation and acceptance.
IV. Main Components of Factory Automation
1. Current State of Factory Automation
Automation control systems vary significantly across industries.
Depending on the industry, factories differ greatly in product types and production process organization. They are generally categorized into process industries and discrete manufacturing industries.
Typical process industries include pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, power generation, steel manufacturing, energy, and cement. These enterprises primarily engage in continuous production through physical or chemical methods such as mixing, separation, crushing, and heating. With mature production processes, their automation systems widely adopt SPC (Statistical Process Control) using HMI+PLC or DCS systems.
Typical discrete manufacturing industries mainly encompass machinery manufacturing, electronics and appliances, aerospace manufacturing, and automotive manufacturing. Automation in these enterprises is often at the unit level, such as CNC machine tools, conveyor lines, and robotic arms (automotive assembly plants exhibit higher automation levels). The characteristic of their control systems lies in the diversity of controllers across automated units—including CNC systems, PLC systems, embedded controllers, and industrial computers. A single workshop may host multiple types of controllers, with several brands coexisting even for the same controller type.
2. Key Components of Automation Control Systems in the Automotive Industry
Production Line Control Systems: The automotive industry is widely recognized as having one of the highest levels of automation among all sectors. Numerous automated manufacturing, assembly, painting, and welding lines exist. These production lines typically use large-scale PLCs to connect various control unit PLCs.
Test Equipment Control Systems: Although fewer in number, test equipment involves relatively complex automation control, characterized by high specialization, numerous brands, diverse controller types, and a significant proportion of imported systems.
Assembly Equipment:
- Standard equipment such as tightening, pressing, and dispensing systems generally feature self-developed control systems by the manufacturers.
- Custom-built assembly equipment like riveting, spinning, cleaning, and pressing systems are primarily PLC-controlled.
- Hoisting equipment: Mainly PLC-controlled.
- Ultrasonic welding/laser welding equipment and laser marking systems predominantly use proprietary embedded controllers.
- Machining equipment: Various machine tools, machining centers, and punch-riveting systems mostly rely on proprietary embedded controls.
- Robotic arms: Also primarily use proprietary embedded controllers.
HVAC Equipment:
- Chilled water systems and air handling units are mainly controlled by BAS (Building Automation Systems) and PLCs.
- Chiller equipment operates on manufacturers' proprietary embedded controllers.
Plastic Component Production Equipment:
- Injection molding machines and automated material handling and recycling systems (including equipment for material heat preservation, drying, storage, proportioning, conveying, and crushing). Injection molding machines largely use the manufacturers' embedded controllers, while material conveying equipment is mostly PLC-controlled.
Other Equipment:
- Air compressors utilize proprietary embedded controllers.
- Water and electricity monitoring systems: Power systems generally include communication-enabled electricity monitoring devices. Water and steam monitoring are sometimes integrated into HVAC systems.
3. Integration of MES and Automation Systems in the Automotive Industry
Based on the above, automation interfaces in automotive factories can be categorized into two main types:
(1) Equipment with Embedded Controllers
Networking for such equipment depends on the device and falls into two categories: those supporting bus communication (the majority) and those that do not.
- Among those supporting bus communication, some require additional hardware/software while others do not. Some devices only come with communication port slots and need expanded communication capabilities to enable connectivity.
- For devices without bus communication support, collecting relevant data requires minor modifications, such as adding sensors to directly monitor the information required by the MES.
(2) PLC-Controlled Equipment
PLC scenarios can be further divided:
- PLCs released in recent years or older medium/large models generally support mainstream communication protocol buses, enabling relatively straightforward communication interfaces.
- Older and smaller PLCs may have corresponding bus communication interfaces, but often require expanded communication cards. The protocols they support might be less compatible, necessitating additional protocol conversion devices—which can impact communication stability.