Car Manufacture How organizations use ICT

Objectives Have an understanding of how organizations use ICT. Be able to describe a number of uses, giving the hardware and software requirements. Be able to describe the applications that these uses can be put to.

Robotic arms are used extensively in car manufacture Robotic arms generally have 7 sections with 6 joints Each joint is controlled by an actuator (a stepper motor)

Stepper Motors Normal DC motors spin either forwards or backwards when current is applied A stepper motor moves in very small steps instead It makes a precise number of stepped revolutions to move the robotic arm in very small increments to the correct position.

Paint car bodies Put on wheels Drill holes in car bodies Fix rivets Tighten bolts Assemble electrical circuits Insert engines

The computer controls the movement of the arm so that a variety of jobs can be carried out. The jobs carried out depend on the end effector attached to the arm.

Types of end effector Gripper To pick up parts & put them somewhere else Grippers usually have pressure sensors built in to them These sensors tell the robot how hard it is gripping something so that the robot doesn’t drop or break it

Camera –To inspect work –Quality control purposes

Welding gun To weld parts of the car body together Welding can be hazardous to humans

Vacuum cups To pick up parts without obstructing the sides or bottom Small complex car parts Windscreens/ flat sheets of metal etc

Drills –To make holes in the car body

Screwdrivers Also spanners and riveters To place and tighten screws, nuts, bolts and rivets

Spray guns To paint the car body Paint fumes are dangerous to humans

Sanders/polishers To produce a shiny finish after painting

End effectors A robot arm can have any of the previous end effectors If the end effector is changed, the programming must also be changed

Why use robots? Designed to perform the same task/ operation over and over again For a person, this would be repetitive & boring

Greater accuracy than a human Lower running costs compared with paying a human Do not get tired Work is consistent standard Continuous process, no need for breaks or shift changes

A programmer guides the arm through each step –Either by remote control –Or by physically holding the arm with sensors attached Computer stores exact sequence of movements in its memory