FREE online courses on the Basics of a Computer - COMPUTER APPLICATIONS -
Industrial Applications
In industry, production may be
planned, co-ordinate and controlled with the aid of a computer. The computer may
also be used to direct the operation of individual machine tools (drills,
lathes, saws, etc.) and even to operate assembly machines which piece together
parts of equipment (e.g. electrical and mechanical appliances, sections of motor
cars and even complete vehicles). The use of numerically controlled machine
tools directed by computer-produced tapes can speed up production, ensure
greater precision and reduce scrap wastage. In certain industries (chemical, oil
refining) the computer can be used to monitor and regulate total process (i.e.
to perform process control) without human intervention, just a it can to control
air conditioning and heating systems in modern multi-story buildings.
The control of a chemical plant by
computer can be a much safer and more efficient method than by manual control,
since changes in conditions which occur during a process can be detected and
compensated for immediately. It would, however, be normal for human operators to
maintain surveillance over the total process so as to be able to intervene
should the need arise.
Oil refining, the separation of
crude oil into its many component oils, is a continuous process and it depends
on the maintenance of certain conditions throughout the process. These two
factors make refining a suitable application for computer control. Instruments
measure such variables as temperature, flow and pressure. Any deviation from the
standard is detected and regulating devices are adjusted to bring the process
back into line.
Starting up a power station
involves many complex operations which have followed a strict sequence with set
time limits between each operation. This is a laborious, time-consuming task but
one for which the computer is well suited. The computer is also used by
electricity authorities for load control. Demand for electricity is not constant
throughout the day or throughout the year. Generators have to be phased in and
out to meet changing situations. Because of the time lag required to build up
the necessary power, fluctuations in the load have to be anticipated in advance
Under computer control, past
records stored in the system, relating to changing hourly demands under various
weather conditions, are scanned and compared with the actual present loads in
different parts of the supply network. Predictions are then made and generators
are set to start and stop at certain times. This ensures that extra power is
transferred to those areas where it is most needed at peak periods. It also
insures that those generators which have to be expensively fuelled with precious
natural resources (oil, gas, coal) are not run wastefully when the demand for
power drops.
Process control applied to certain
parts of steel production has increased efficiency in the industry. One example
is in the cutting of the steel into lengths to match the firm's order book. In
the rolling mills, which run at great speed, red-hot steel billets are rolled
out into strips. The billet size is not known accurately to begin with and, as
each is rolled out, the length increases until the required thickness of sheet
or diameter of rod is reached. Before the use of computers, the mill would cut
the sheets or rods, or varying lengths, into standard sizes or a particular size
for one order. The lengths of steel left over would be scrap which would have to
be re-smelted, resulting in a lower grade steel. With the advent of computers
the amount of scrap was reduced to a minimum, for it became possible to
calculate the lengths that the billets would make whilst still red hot and being
rolled out. This information could be matched against a table of orders for the
type and quality of steel being rolled, in time for the flying shears (computer
controlled) to cut the strips in the best way.
Computers are used by the printing
trade where they are particularly useful in the production of newspapers and
magazines where strict deadlines have to be met and time is short. Article can
be transposed to magnetic (or paper) tape and then rapidly typeset, under
computer control, in several type sizes, widths, and depths as necessary.
Complete texts may be retained on tape, enabling amendments to be incorporated
easily when reprinting. Computers are also used to update the listings in
telephone directories, catalogues, parts and price lists so that they can be
quickly typeset whenever required.
In the manufacture of paper there
are continuous processes, pre-determined standards have to be maintained, and
wastage has to be minimized. Computers assist the paper mills with process
control in ways similar to those described in the chemical, oil refining and
steel industries.
