The Possibilities Of Automation In Testing

The first quarter of 2020, demonstrated just how necessary the need for flexibility can be. While demand for certain everyday items disappeared overnight, others rose exponentially. The textile industry moved from fashion to masks and gowns, engineers from engines to ventilators and the drinks industry from alcohol to hand sanitizer. There are few times in living memory, where such change has been needed by so many so quickly.

Today, as the world poises to re-open, productions lines are facing new and unprecedented pressures. Strict guidelines on social distancing, along with potentially lower staffing numbers, will mean lines need to adapt. Uncertainty, if and when the next shut down will happen, for how long, and how often all combine to complicate future planning.

It is this uncertainty that is leading many companies to re-examine the role of automation. The EY Global Capital Confidence Barometer - based on a survey of more than 2,900 executives in 46 countries - found that 77% of global respondents have re-evaluated or taken steps to change their speed of automation

History of Automation

The drive to invent, simplify tasks, and solve complex problems has driven our very evolution. From stick and stones, we developed the tools that would make our lives safer and easier, and of course, we didn't stop there.

After millennia of gradual progression, the 18th century saw the birth of the industrial revolution. A period of rapid transition for new manufacturing processes across Europe and the United States. The late 19th century saw the second phase ushering in rapid standardization, as well as many of today's essentials; the telephone, electricity, gas, water and transport

In 1913 Henry Ford pioneered in introducing the automotive assembly line. The breakthrough for Ford enabled it to produce a car every one and a half hours, while its competitors were typically taking 12. A breakthrough that not only increased Fords production rate but also their profits. The third revolution is taking place today.

The Future of Automation

Industrial automation has very much been part of global manufacturing for more than 50 years. In 1961 General Motors installed the first industrial robot "Unimate" at their Fisher Guide Plant in New Jersey. Yet, while some industries have embraced the technology as essential, for others it has remained a nice but theoretical concept. The events of 2020 could, however, see this change.

Coincidently, for those seeking to employ or extend existing automation, the time has never been better. Collaborative robots are now capable of working directly alongside humans without the need for guards and cages. Industry 4.0 and 5G data networks can now combine to offer real-time lag-free communication, across systems and network. Speed and reliability mean that multiple sensors can now be used, to enable the completion of complex and non-repeative tasks, a previously major limiting factor. Furthermore, with more systems now employing simple "teaching" methods, as opposed to more traditional programming, access to the technology is more widely available.

Automation in Testing

In leak testing, the use of robotics has been a long-proven technology for the automation of many quality control tasks. Manual testing frequently relies on the quality of the operator to conduct, controlled but repetitive tasks, open to human error. This possibility for costly errors can be removed through automation; increasing production throughput, increasing inspection reliability and improves product quality. 

The INFICON range of leak detectors are suitable for a range of commonly employed test methods including static and dynamic testing, offering maximum flexibility for any production.

Furthermore, INFICON offers leak testing equipment suitable for not only use with Helium, but Hydrogen as well as most refrigerants

For more information and to read our detailed whitepaper on Robotic Leak Testing follow the below link

INFICON

INFICON is one of the leading companies when it comes to development, production and sales of instruments and devices for leak testing. INFICON leak testing equipment is used in demanding industrial processes in production and quality control. INFICON leak detectors cover a wide variety of leak testing applications. Main customers of INFICON are manufacturers as well as service companies for the RAC industry, the automotive industry, the semiconductor industry and manufacturers of leak testing systems. Almost all automotive manufacturers and their suppliers are INFICON customers. INFICON technology helps testing airbags, car air conditioners and their components, fuel systems and all types of fluid containers.