Deep within the pulse of a modern factory, industrial automation systems act as invisible conductors,
precisely coordinating thousands of devices and processes. Understanding its diverse types is the
cornerstone of a company's journey toward efficient, flexible, and intelligent production. Far from being
a single model, industrial automation is a layered, evolving ecosystem. This article will provide you with a
clear understanding of its core categories, revealing the technical connotations and application scenarios
of each type.
Divided by the degree of automation: a stepwise jump
Fixed automation (rigid automation):
Core characteristics: Designed for single, high-volume products. Equipment configurations are fixed and logic
controls are solidified (e.g., cams, gears, hard-wired relay logic). Once set, it is extremely difficult to change
the production process or product type.
Typical Applications: Automotive assembly lines (welding, painting of specific models), specialized machine
tools (e.g., cam lathes for one part only), high-speed packaging lines (single-size products).
Strengths: High speed, ultra-high efficiency, very low unit cost (product-specific), high reliability.
Limitations: Lack of flexibility, high cost to change products, long time to retrofit or even replace equipment;
large initial investment.
Programmable Automation (Flexible Automation):
Core feature: The core breakthrough is the introduction of programmable logic controllers. Production equipment
and processes are controlled by a program of instructions stored in the computer's memory. By modifying the
program (rather than physically reorganizing the equipment), it can be adapted to different products or production
processes.
Typical applications: CNC machine tools, industrial robotic workstations, flexible manufacturing cells, PLC-controlled
assembly lines (handling different model variants).
Advantages: Excellent flexibility to economically handle small to medium-sized batches with multiple varieties;
relatively fast and low cost product changeover; can handle complex tasks.
Limitations: Stand-alone efficiency is usually lower than fixed automation systems of equivalent functionality; higher
initial investment; requires programming and maintenance skills.
Integrated Automation/Computer Integrated Manufacturing:
Core Characteristics: This is a higher level of automation that encompasses not only the automated control of equipment
and production lines, but also emphasizes the vertical integration of information flow at all levels of the plant (equipment,
control, operations, management) and the horizontal integration across departments (design, production, planning,
logistics, quality, maintenance). Computer networks (e.g., industrial Ethernet) and database technology are utilized to
achieve data sharing and collaborative decision-making.
Typical systems: Deep integration of manufacturing execution systems, enterprise resource planning systems, product
lifecycle management systems, data acquisition and monitoring systems, and advanced planning and scheduling systems.
Advantages: global optimization of production resources (people, machines, materials, methods and environment);
real-time transparent production management; significantly improve the efficiency and quality of decision-making;
and lay the data foundation for intelligence (e.g. big data analysis, AI).
Limitations: High implementation complexity, long cycle, huge investment; extremely high requirements for
management processes, data standardization, and personnel skills.
Intelligent automation (cognitive automation):
Core features: The current frontier of automation development. On the basis of integrated automation, the deep integration
of artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analysis, Internet of Things, digital twin and other technologies.
The system has the ability to sense, analyze, learn, make decisions, optimize, and realize autonomous or semi-autonomous
operation.
Typical applications: intelligent quality inspection and guidance based on machine vision, adaptive process control
(real-time optimization of process parameters), predictive maintenance, autonomous mobile robot scheduling,
AI-driven production scheduling and optimization, digital twin-driven simulation and decision-making.
Strengths: Achieve unprecedented efficiency, quality, flexibility, resilience and resource utilization; ability to handle
highly complex and uncertain scenarios; continuous self-learning and optimization.
Limitations: Extremely high technical threshold; demanding data quality and arithmetic; uncertain return on
investment cycle; requires cutting-edge talent across multiple domains.
Breakdown by major application areas: differences between
process and discrete
Process automation:
Distributed Control System (DCS): The core brain, responsible for loop control, logic control, data acquisition,
and human-computer interaction.
Safety Instrumented Systems: Independent of DCS, dedicated to critical safety interlock protection to meet
safety integrity level requirements.
Programmable Logic Controller: Used for discrete logic control or as a supplement to DCS.
Data Acquisition and Monitoring Systems: For large scale, long distance process monitoring (e.g., pipelines, power grids).
Advanced Process Control: Multivariable, model prediction and other optimized control on top of basic control.
Core objective: Control continuous or semi-continuous physical/chemical processes (e.g. temperature, pressure,
flow, level, composition, reaction rate, etc.) to ensure product consistency, safety, quality and efficiency.
Typical Industries: Petrochemical, pharmaceutical, power generation (thermal/nuclear/hydropower), water
treatment, food and beverage, paper, metallurgy.
Core systems and technologies:
Characteristics: Emphasis on stability, reliability, and safety of loop control; large and continuous amount
of data; very high requirements for real-time and determinism.
Discrete automation:
Programmable Logic Controller: absolute core, performs sequence control, logic control, motion
control (basic), equipment interlocking.
Industrial robots: perform repetitive, high-precision tasks such as welding, painting, handling,
assembly, palletizing, etc.
CNC systems: Drive machine tools for precision machining.
Servo drive and motion control: to realize accurate position, speed, torque control (multi-axis linkage).
Machine vision: for guidance, identification, measurement, defect detection.
Human Machine Interface: Operator monitoring and interaction interface.
Core Objective: To control the manufacturing, assembly, testing and packaging of individual, countable
parts or products. Actions are typically switching, starting and stopping, positioning, gripping, assembling, etc.
Typical Industries: Automotive manufacturing, electrical and electronics, machining, aerospace,
consumer goods manufacturing.
Core Systems and Technologies:
Characteristics: Emphasis on sequential control, logic control, and precision motion control; event-driven;
high flexibility requirements; involves a large number of discrete I/O signals.
Hybrid Automation:
Core Objective: Combines the characteristics of process automation and discrete automation for
industries that include both continuous processes and discrete manufacturing segments.
Typical Industries: Food & Beverage (e.g., filling is discrete, fermentation is process), Pharmaceuticals
(raw material handling is process, packaging is discrete), Semiconductors (wafer fabrication is process,
package testing is discrete).
Characteristics: Need to handle continuous variable control (temperature, pressure) and discrete event
control (equipment start/stop, product counting) at the same time, high requirements for system integration.
Divided by control scope and level
Device-level automation:
Scope: Control of a single device or workstation (e.g., a CNC machine, a robot cell, a packaging machine).
Core: PLCs, specialized controllers, drives, sensors, actuators.
Line/Cell Level Automation:
Scope: Coordinated control and monitoring of a complete production line or a manufacturing cell (containing multiple devices).
Core: PLC (master), SCADA, industrial networks (e.g. industrial Ethernet, fieldbus), HMI.
Shop floor level automation:
Scope: Scheduling, monitoring, data acquisition and management of multiple production lines or areas within a shop.
Core: SCADA, Manufacturing Execution Systems, Data Acquisition and Monitoring Systems.
Factory/Enterprise Automation:
Scope: Plant-wide or even cross-plant production planning, resource scheduling, quality management, equipment
maintenance, energy management, integration with enterprise management systems (e.g., ERP).
Core: Manufacturing execution systems, ERP systems, advanced planning and scheduling systems, industrial IoT
platforms, data analytics platforms.
Choice and integration: the key to moving towards the future of
smart manufacturing
Types of industrial automation do not exist in isolation, but are interrelated, cascading and continuously integrated.
Enterprises need to carefully select and plan automation paths based on their product characteristics, production scale,
process complexity, market demand, investment budget and strategic goals:
Large quantities of standardized products: fixed automation or highly optimized programmable automation is still an
efficient choice.
Multi-species, small and medium batch: Programmable automation (flexible manufacturing) is the foundation, and the
evolution to integrated automation/intelligent automation is the key to enhance competitiveness.
Process industry: process automation is the core, the continued pursuit of advanced process control and safety level,
and the integration of intelligent applications.
Discrete Manufacturing: On the basis of PLC, robots, machine vision and other equipment-level/line-level automation,
we focus on breaking through information silos (integrated automation) and actively explore intelligent applications
(e.g., predictive maintenance, visual AI quality inspection).