THE ROLE OF SENSORS AND ACTUATORS

IN INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION
Vania Alodia Nasution
2514 100 134
alodia.vania@gmail.com
INTRODUCTION
These days, the use of terms sensor and actuator have become really
common that people always use these words in their daily lives. Sometimes we
may question its origin, the one who invented these technologies, its mechanism
and why these advanced technologies have such a big contribution in
manufacturing world. In 1883 a lot of people consider the first thermostat which
came to market as the first modern, manmade sensor. This invention by Warren
S. Johnson was able to keep temperatures within a degree of accuracy. This
invention also triggered another sensors invention such as infrared sensors in the
late 1940s and the first motion sensors by Samuel Bagno in 1950s. Ever since the
invention of sensors continues to develop and the system of mass production was
getting even more popular since 1913, the manufacturers are able to increase
the productivity rate, increase the safety for workers as well as increase the
products quality.
Before going through a deeper explanation about sensor and actuator, it is
essential for us to understand the basic definition about sensor and actuator.
Sensor is basically a device that is used to detect and respond to signals or
differences in physical condition. It uses several types of signals including, light,
heat, motion, pressure, or any environmental phenomena. Once a sensor detects
one or more of these conditions, it converts it into an electrical (analog or digital)
signal that is readable to be further processed. It uses the same concept as the
five biological organs of human beings. Eyes detect light energy, ears detect
sound, tongues and noses detect certain chemicals, and skin detects pressures
as well as temperatures. The eyes, ears, nose, and skin receive signals and send
messages to the brain which outputs a response. For example, when we smell a
perfume, it is our brain that tells us it is fragrant, not our nose.
Sensors are classified by the type of energy they detect, there are thermal
sensors, mechanical sensors, electrical sensors, and chemical sensors. The first is
thermal sensors, temperature is the most common of all physical measurements.
It is widely used in our daily lives, for example, we have temperature
measurements-and-control units (thermostat) in our home heating system,
refrigerators, air conditioners, and ovens. There are many types of temperature
sensors: Thermocouples, RTDs (resistance temperature detectors), and
thermistors. Thermocouples are devices that are able to convert thermal energy
into electrical energy. It consists of two wires made of dissimilar metals joined at
the point of measurement. It is the most common type of sensor because it
doesnt require an excitation signal, it also has a wide temperature range (type J
can run up to 760C), low cost, and robustness. Thermocouples are often used in
industrial applications such as ovens and furnaces.
On the other hand,
resistance-temperature detectors (RTDs) have a smaller range, only a few
hundred degrees Centigrade, but it has better accuracy and resolution than
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thermocouples. It uses precision wire which made of platinum as the sense

element. RTDs are often used in food processing industries, where the
temperature ranges arent as wide as the thermocouples. Thermistors are also
resistance-based temperature sensors, but it resistance/temperature curve has a
negative slop and highly nonlinear. Compared with RTDs, thermistors produce a
higher change in resistance for a given change in temperature. It usually used
where the highest resolution is needed with narrow temperature range. The
examples of thermistors usage are in medical device, home thermostats, and
machines.
The next type of sensors is mechanical sensors. Mechanical sensors
measure the change in mechanical property of an object or system. The example
of mechanical sensors are barometers (to measure atmospheric pressure),
altimeter (to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level), liquid flow
sensor (to measure liquid flow rate), and many more.
The third type of sensors is electrical sensors. It examines the change in
electrical or magnetic signals based on an environmental input. The examples of
electrical sensors are ohmmeter (to measure resistance), voltmeter (to measure
voltage), galvanometer (to measure current), etc. A galvanometer uses two
energy conversions to sense and quantify an electric current.
The last type of sensors is chemical sensors. It measures the presence and
quantity of a specific chemical in an environment. The example of chemical
sensors are oxygen sensor (to measure the percentage of oxygen in a gas or
liquid), carbon dioxide detector (to detect the presence of carbon dioxide), etc.
Beside the four types of sensors above, there are also other types of
sensors that are commonly used such as optical sensors (photodetector, infrared, and photoresistor), acoustic sensors (seismometers), motion sensors, and
even biological sensor which can monitors human cells. Biological sensor is now
already spread on the commercial market. The device can detect and measure
the amount of glucose in ones blood, thus by knowing their level of glucose,
people who suffer from diabetes can easily control their daily food consumption.
On the other hand, actuators is hardware device that converts a controller
command signal into a change in physical parameter. The change in the physical
parameter is usually mechanical, such as position or velocity change. (Groover,
2007). In a simpler explanation, actuator is a device that actuates or moves
something. This device function based on the analyzer decision. For example,
when we touch a hot plate, we will abruptly remove our hand from the plate
because our brain tells us that it is hot and give command to our hand. In this
case, the hand acts as an actuator.
Actuators are classified into three categories according to the amplifier
used: electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic. The most common actuator is
electrical actuator, it includes various kinds of ac and dc motors, stepper motors,
and solenoids. Electrical actuator converts electrical energy into torque. It offers
the highest precision-control positioning, can be networked and reprogrammed
quickly, less environmental hazards because there are no fluids leaks, and in
term of noise they are quitter than pneumatic and hydraulic actuators. The
second actuator is pneumatic actuators. It uses compressed air as the driving
power, and it provides both linear and rotational motion. This actuator consists of
piston inside a hollow cylinder, pressure from an external compressor or even
manual pump moves the piston cylinder inside. As pressure increases, the
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cylinder moves along the axis of the piston. The piston returns to its original
position by either a spring back force or fluid being supplied to the other side of
the piston. The last actuator is hydraulic actuators. This actuators use hydraulic
fluid to amplify the controller command signal. It basically has the same
mechanism as pneumatic actuator. It is well suited for high-force applications
because it can produce forces 25 times greater than pneumatic cylinders of equal
size, but unfortunately it will leak fluid. However, hydraulic fluid leaks lead to
cleanliness problems and potential damage to surrounding components and
areas.
CONTENT
In industrial automation, sensors play a very essential role to make the
whole process even more sophisticated. Sensors are able to detect, analyze,
measure, and process various changes such as changes in position, length,
height, appearance and displacement that occur in production floor. These
sensors also play an important role in predicting and preventing many future
events such as avoiding lots of accident because of hazardous areas. The system
involves the use of sensors to track the system operation and identify conditions
and events that are unsafe or potentially unsafe. The mechanism of this safety
monitoring system depends on the system designer. If the system designer is not
familiar or not fully anticipated with the potential hazard, then the consequent
would be the system will not able to detect and recognize that hazard when it
occurs. The next is maintenance and repair diagnostics. In this function, the
sensors are able to assist the detection of potential malfunctions and failures of
the system. It basically provides the information about current failure diagnosis
and also able to forecast the data about future malfunction. With this information
about current failure diagnosis, the workers can easily repair and replace the
components with the appropriate ones. Back in the earlier days, it is really
difficult to determine which components have failed in the system. Furthermore,
the advantage of forecasting future malfunction is that the workers are able to
change the component before it finally breaks down. And the last is error
detection and recovery. In any automated system, it is really possible that
malfunctions and unexpected events occur during the operations. This usually
leads to the delay in process, resulting the loss of production. To prevent it,
computer is used not only for performing the operations, but also it can detect
the error.
Besides sensors, actuator also has the same important role in industry by
controlling, regulating, guiding and directing the flow of assorted types of liquids,
gases, steam or flowing material such as mill and grain. Actuators are often
attached to the valves to administer pressure control and flow control in the
operation process. It also can be remotely operated and can act as shutdown
mechanisms in case of an emergency situation where human interaction is either
not possible or is dangerous, such as where space or installation location inhibits
access to the valve operator. The applications of actuators can be seen ever
since the industrial revolution in the 1920s, it uses water to hydraulically actuate
valves by using pneumatic actuation. And around 1950s, high-pressure gas
actuators were created to meet high pressure demands of the pipeline industry.
Industries itself are classified into two categories: process industries and
discrete industries. In process industries, the production operations are
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conducted based on the amounts of material. This happens because the

materials tend to be liquids, gases, powders, and any similar materials. While in
discrete industries, the production operations are conducted based on the
quantities of materials. This happens because the materials tend to be discrete
part and products. The concepts of automated systems can be applied to various
level of factory operation, whether it is process or discrete. To integrate the whole
components in production plant, levels of automation is needed. There are 5
levels of automation in industry, the highest level is level 5, enterprise level. This
level consists of the corporate information system. The main concern of this level
is how to manage the company, including marketing and sales, accounting,
design, research, and master production scheduling. In the level 4 (Plant level),
the factory production system occurs. It receives instructions from the previous
information in enterprise level and translates the, into operational plans for
production such as quality control, inventory control, material requirements
planning, etc. The next level is cell or system cell. The manufacturing processes
as well as production lines occur in this level. A manufacturing cell or system is a
group of machines which are connected and supported by computer. The
functions include part dispatching and machine loading, material handling
system and so on. In the next level which is level 2 or machine level, the
hardware are assembled into individual machines. For example, CNC machine
and industrial robots. The control in this level includes performing the sequence
of steps in the correct order and making sure that each step is properly executed.
And the lowest level of automation hierarchy is the device level (level 1). It
includes actuators that drive continuous and discrete process parameters,
sensors for measuring continuous and discrete process variables, and other
hardware components in the machine level. The devices used in this level of
automation may be activated, deactivated, or modified according to the operator
command to implement process control.
Both of the industries mentioned in the previous paragraph have
differences as well as similarities in terms of level of automation. At the device
level, there are differences in the type of actuators and sensors used. These
differences occur because the processes and equipment are different. In the
process industries, the sensors and actuators are used to comprise the basic
control loops for unit operations. While on the manufacturing industries, the
sensors and actuators are used to accomplish control of machine actions. To
make the differences clearer, here is the comparison table between continuous
control and discrete control:

In continuous control, the main objective is to maintain the value of an output at

the desired level. For example in beverages industry, the factory has to produce
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beverages with the equal amount of volume. To achieve this objective, the
company uses system which consists of sensors and actuators to fill the liquid
into the bottle. Basically, the liquid is transferred from the tank to the container
(either plastic or glass bottle). Different system and different technologies may
be used in this filling system. These systems are divided into three categories:
filling by level sensing, filling by using volumetric flow meters and filling by
weight. The first category, which is filling by level sensing, is the most traditional
and commonly used type of filling machines. The level of liquid to be filled in the
bottle is determined by the length of the tube that enters the bottle. If the level
of liquid wanted to be changed, the tube must also be changed. The next
category is filling by flow meters. This type of filling machines uses sensors and
actuators that will automatically stop filling when the bottle is at the desired
volume. A flow meter is fitted in every filling nozzle to measure the volume. This
device is usually called electronic filling machine. And the last category of filling
machine is filling by weight. This machine uses sensors and actuators that will
identify the weight of the bottle first and the measures the weight of the product
entering the bottle. While in discrete control, the parameters and variables of the
system are changed at discrete moments in time. For example, counting parts
which move along a conveyor and passing an optical sensor. Each part moving
pass the sensor is an event that drives the counter.
CONCLUSION
Industrial evolution has changed the way of manufacturing into a more
sophisticated one by the invention of sensors and actuators. Sensor is basically a
device that is used to detect the surrounding conditions and respond to signals.
This device has the same concept as the human sensory organs such as eyes,
nose, skin, ears and tongue. It is classified into four main categories which are
thermal sensors, chemical sensors, mechanical sensors and electrical sensors.
While actuators are device that convert a controller command signal into a
change in physical parameter. It is divided into three categories according to the
amplifier used: electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic actuators. In the level of
automation, sensors and actuators are located in the lowest level which is level 1.
Both of them can be activated, deactivated, or modified according to the
operator command to implement process control. In industries, sensors and
actuators have its own important role. Sensors are able to predict and prevent
many future events such as avoiding lots of accident because of hazardous areas,
maintenance and repair diagnostics, and can detect the error. On the other hand,
actuators have role in controlling, regulating, guiding and directing the flow of
assorted types of liquids, gases, steam. It is usually attached to valves.
The real implementation of these devices in industry is in the beverages
industry. It uses system which consists of sensors and actuators. It can be divided
into three types of system according to the company desires: filling by level
sensing, filling by using volumetric flow meters and filling by weight. With the use
of this technology, the company can improve its productivity as well as fulfilling
the market needs.
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