Lesson 7

 Refresh the words in Ex. I (Lesson 6) and get ready to have a dic-

tation. Do the crosswords of your groupmates. Share your PowerPoint presentations and be ready to answer the questions of your groupmates.

II. Find the words in the text andДtranslate the word combinations with these words.

III. Work in pairs. Think of 2 or 3 questions using the words from Ex. I. Answer the questions of your partner. Study the prompts in italics.

What has been done by labour leaders?(Present Perfect, Passive)

Why have workers lost their jobs?(Present Perfect, Active)

* Find the verbs in the Present Perfect Tense in the text “Automation and Society” and translate them.

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IV. Choose one word from the box and try to create a cinquain. Follow the rules:

1st line: 1 word which is the title of the poem, a noun;

2nd line: 2 words which are adjectives that describe the title;

3d line: 3 words that tell the reader more about the subject of the poem or Сshows action (they are verbs or often gerunds);

4th line: 4 words that show emotions about the subject of the poem and may be individual words or a phrase;

5th line: 1 word that is a synonym of the title or is very similar to it.

иCar

бExpensive, Vintage

automation workers robot machine society system

Example:

Parking, Speeding Up, Pulling Up The child of progress

Comfort

V. Read the informationАabout interrelations between automation and society and think over the questions below and share your ideas.

1. Is automation a blessing or a curse for the society?

2. What are the effects of automationДon workforce in your country?

AUTOMATION AND SOCIETY

Over the years, the social merits of automation have been argued by labour leaders, business executives, governmentИofficials, and college pro-

fessors. The biggest controversy has focused on how automation affects employment. There are other important aspects of automation, including its effect on productivity, economic competition, education, and quality of life.

Nearly all industrial installations of automation, and in particular robotics, involve a replacement of human labour by an automated system. Therefore, one of the direct effects of automation in factory operations is the dislocation of human labour from the workplace. The long-term effects of automation on employment and unemployment rates are debatable. Most studies in this area have been controversial and inconclusive. Workers have indeed lost jobs through automation, but population increases and

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consumer demand for the products of automation have compensated for these losses. Labour unions have argued, and many companies have adopted the policy, that workers displaced by automation should be retrained for other positions, perhaps increasing their skill levels in the process. This argument succeeds so long as the company and the economy in general are

Сgrowing at a rate fast enough to create new positions as the jobs replaced by automation are lost.

Of particular concern for many labour specialists is the impact of industrial robots on the work force, since robot installations involve a direct substitution of machines for humans, sometimes at a ratio of two to three humans per robot. The opposing argument within the United States is that robots can increase productivity in American factories, thereby making

100 years …

1000 years …

due to scientific-technical progress. Write five sentences as minimum.

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VII. Do you agree or disagree with this opinion? Why?

The new technological revolution will create tremendous societal benefits – the creation of new goods, services, markets and jobs, greater productivity, etc.

СThe traditional approach of helping workers upgrade by “up-skilling” will not necessarily reduce a worker’s susceptibility to being displaced by the new wave of automation. Workers will need to develop new skills to

will affect workers across the employment spectrum. Thus, governments need to work with stakeholders to rethink the kind of pre-employment and post-employment training institutions should offer to enable professionals to keep pace with these developments.

take on very different kinds of jobs, possibly in different industries. Presently, most governments dedicate resources towards helping low-skilled workersиsecure better jobs through training and education. Yet this shift

VIII*. Think over advantages and disadvantages of automation. Are you an optimist or pessimist? Fix your ideas in the table. Discuss the results.

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С Pic. 11

B.иRead about some automation advances, choose the one you like and advertise it to your group. Make five sentences as minimum.

Decide whose advertising is the most effective? Why?

б1. Cloud storage for wireless data

One of the greatestАadvances in automation is one that stands to benefit every industry is cloud storage. Cloud storage allows you to store all data wirelessly. All data from almost every machine can be automatically uploaded, ensuring that all information is backed up over a wireless net-

work. Additionally, in case of any computer crashes, all of your data is completely safe, accessible from anyДcomputer and waiting to be recovered from the cloud.

2. Diode lasers for creating “invisible” seams

Diode lasers are adding greater efficiency in assembly processes in the automotive industry. Audi, the German car Иmanufacturer, recently implemented robot controlled 13-kW diode lasers in their Ingolstadt factory. This allowed the company to create an “invisible” weld on the car shell, providing additional structural security throughout the car. By programming these diode lasers, Audi is coupling automation with a host of other advanced processes, such as welding and bonding. As a result, the manufacturer is reducing car weight, production time, and energy costs due to regenerative braking in conveyor and lift systems.

3. 3D Printing in manufacturing for finished components

3D printing is one of the biggest recent advances in manufacturing and automation. Although the technology has been around since the 1980s, machines were previously too large and the process was too slow for wide-

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spread adoption. Today, however, 3D printers have become so developed that these machines are used to produce finished parts. These machines now have the capability for improved accuracy and capacities for increased sizes and production runs. As a result, they are being adopted into processes throughout industries. The military, for example, conjectures that it may

Сbe able to print replacement parts in the battlefield. The advantages of automated 3D printing are many. It allows much more affordable manufacture of complex, highly customized, and efficient designs – 3D printed products can be lighter, stronger, and require less assembly. One machine can be responsible for a number of product lines, with production lines of asиmany or as few units as needed. 3D printers additionally allow for point- of-assembly or point-of-consumption printing. They present a lower barrier of entry to manufacturing, and open up a number of new supply chain or retail opportunities.

б4. Extremely small machines for nonmanufacturing

Nanomanufacturing – the manufacture of material on a molecular or even atomic level – has been recently gaining steam. It is expected to play a future role in the production of items such as high-efficiency solar cells and batteries. NanomanufacturingАis most promising for nonmanufacturing purposes such as biosystem-based medical applications. A sensor inside your body, for instance, could help your doctor monitor cancer levels. Future generations of electronics and computing devices may also heavily rely on nonmanufacturing. Д

5. 24-Hour manufacturing operations

Continuous, 24-hour manufacturing operations have come a long way in current years. Industrial robots can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, performing repeatable processes. The greatest advance in today’s automated 24-hour machines the increasinglyИfine precision they can achieve. These machines can now be accurate to hundredths of a second and in less space than is detectable by the human eye. The expense associated with industrial robots has also fallen as much as 50% compared with human labor since 1990. This allows manufacturers to achieve higher productivity and efficiency without additional labor costs.

6. Sensing, measurement, and process control

Automation has not only become more widespread in recent years, it has also become finer and more sophisticated. Industrial robots are now outfitted with additional sensing, measurement, and process control transmitters that help to guide increasingly nimble machines. These transmitters provide the information necessary to manage the operation of the factory

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as a whole. Products can be tracked from inception all the way to the point of delivery. Sensing, measurement, and process control transmitters further make it easier and more reliable to allow machines to operate without per-

- purpose, - functions,

- service life.

Be ready to discuss the results and give recommendations to the designers.

TEST YOURSELF

Over the years, the 1) ___ merits of automation have been argued by labour 2) ___, business executives, 3) ___ officials, and college professors. The biggest controversy has focused on how automation 4) ___ employment. There are other 5) ___ aspects of automation, including its effect on productivity, economic competition, education, and 6) ___ of life.

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III. Work in pairs. Study the prompts in italicsИ. Make up 4 sentences using the words from Ex. I and the Infinitive constructions.

Manufacturing is considered to be a system which integrates different processes.

They consider the FMS to be the future of the automated factory.

* Find sentences with the Infinitive constructions in the text below and translate them.

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IV. Study the picture (pic. 12) and try to describe it. What units are depicted? What processes are presented?

Си бPic. 12

V. Look at the picturesА(pic. 13 – 14), read the information about a

Flexible Manufacturing System and find the components mentioned. Discuss the results with your partner and make corrections if

necessary. Д И

Pic. 13

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Си бPic. 14

FLEXIBLEАMANUFACTURING SYSTEM

(FMS)

ing with high level distributed data Дprocessing and automated material flow using computer-controlled machines, cells, industrial robots, inspection machines and so on, together with computer integrated materials handling and storage systems.

A Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) is the current level of automation in the field of manufacturing. The application of FMS requires

advanced technical know-how.

A Flexible Manufacturing System may be defined as a system deal-

И

Here manufacturing is considered to be a system which integrates different processes and requires a properly defined input to create the expected output.

Input may be raw material and/or data which have to be processed using various auxiliary components of the system, such as tools, fixtures and clamping devices, sensors and their feedback data. The output may also be data and/or material which can be processed on further units (often called cells) of the manufacturing system.

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An FMS can also be defined as a computer-controlled configuration of semi-independent work stations and a material handling system designed to efficiently manufacture more than one kind of part number at low to medium volumes. The definition highlights the three essential physical

components of an FMS:

СThe number of machines in a system typically ranges from 2 to 20 or more. The conveyance system may consist of carousels, conveyors, carts,

a) standard numerically controlled machine (NCM) tools;

b) a conveyance network to move parts and perhaps tools between

machines and fixturing stations;

c) an overall control system that coordinates the machine tools, the

parts and the workpieces.

иThe FMS can be thought of as a distributed management information system linkingбtogether intelligent subsystems of machining, welding, painting, flame cutting, sheet metal manufacturing, inspection, assembly, etc. and material handling and storage processes.

robots, automated guided vehicles (AGV), etc.

Flexible manufacturing systems are regarded by many experts as being the best way to meetАthe demands of industry. They consider the FMS to be the future of the automated factory, or at least the minimally manned factory. And perhaps most significant that FMS is clearly the most obvious manifestation of computer-integrated manufacturing on the factory floor.

So it is possible to say that the FMS is of interest to manufacturers who produce more than one kind of part number at low to medium volumes. The FMSs provide a direct hardware/software solution to many economical and technical problems. The important aspect of these systems is

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VII. Answer the questions in the chart using the information from the text.

Koskinen (Department of Physiology, Institute of Occupational

б VIII*. Study the dataАobtained by P. Seppälä, E. Tuominen and P.

Health, Finland) in the 90s of the XX century. What conclusions can be drawn?

Д И

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FMS? Write them down (five as minimum) and give your arguments.

TEST YOURSELF

A Flexible Manufacturing System is the current level of automation in the field of manufacturing. The application of FMS requires 1) technical know-how.

A Flexible Manufacturing System may be defined as a system dealing with high level distributed data 2) ___ and automated material 3) ___

using computer-controlled machines, cells, industrial robots, inspection machines and so on, together with computer integrated materials 4) ___

and 5) ___ systems.

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Here manufacturing is considered to be a 6) ___ which integrates different 7) ___ and requires a properly defined 8) ___ to create the expected 9) ___.

called cells) of the manufacturing system.

An FMS can also be defined as a computer-controlled configuration of semi-independent work 14) ___ and a material handling 15) ___ de-

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