Text d Automation in Industry

Many industries are highly automated or use automation technology in some part of their operation. In communications and especially in the telephone industry, dialing, transmission, and billing are all done automatically. Railroads too are controlled by automatic signaling devices, which have sensors that detect cars passing a particular point. In this way the movement and location of trains can be monitored. Not all industries require the same degree of automation. Agriculture, sales, and some service industries are difficult to automate. The agriculture industry may become more mechanized, especially in the processing and packaging of foods; however, in many service industries such as supermarkets, for example, a checkout counter may be automated and the shelves or supply bins must still be stocked by hand. Similarly, doctors may consult a computer to assist in diagnosis, but they must make the final decision and prescribe therapy.

The concept of automation is evolving(developing; growing) rapidly, partly because the applications of automation techniques vary both within a plant or industry and also between industries. The oil and chemical industries, for example, have developed the continuous-flow method of production, owing to the nature of the raw materials used. In a refinery, crude oil enters at one point and flows continuously through pipes in cracking, distillation, and reaction devices as it is being processed into such products as gasoline and fuel oil. An array (range, group, selection) of automatic-control devices governed by microprocessors and coordinated by a central computer is used to control valves, heaters, and other equipment, thereby regulating both the flow and reaction rates.

In the steel, beverage, and canned food industries, on the other hand, some of the products are produced in batches. For example, a steel furnace is charged (loaded with the ingredients), brought up to heat, and a batch of steel ingots produced. In this phase very little automation is evident. These ingots, however, may then be processed automatically into sheet or structural shapes by being squeezed through a series of rollers until the desired shape is achieved.

The automobile and other consumer product industries use the mass production techniques of step-by-step manufacture and assembly. This technique approximates the continuous-flow concept but involves transfer machines; thus, from the point of view of the auto industry, transfer machines are essential to the definition of automation.

Each of these industries uses automated machines in all or part of its manufacturing processes. As a result, each industry has a concept of automation that fits its particular production needs. More examples can be found in almost every phase of commerce. The widespread use of automation and its influence on daily life provides the basis for the concern expressed by many about the influence of automation on society and the individual.

Words and expressions

dialing - набор номера

billing - составление счетов

checkout counter - касса (the person who performs the

check-out; also cashier)

to evolve - развиваться (to develop; to grow)

cracking - крекинг (однопроходный выход

бензина)

distillation - перегонка; ректификация

an array - ряд (range; group; selection)

to coordinate - координировать; согласовывать;

устанавливать правильные

пропорции

valve - клапан; вентиль; задвижка; заслонка;

золотник; распределительный кран

heater - нагревательный прибор; нагреватель

подогреватель; калорифер

batch - партия; производственная серия

to be charged - быть загруженным (to be loaded with

the ingredients)

ingot - слиток; болванка

evident - очевидный (obvious)

step-by-step manufacture - постепенное, ступенчатое

производство

Exercise 1

Ответьте на вопросы:

1. Are many industries use automation technology in their production process and to what extend this technology is used?

2. What operations are automated in communications and telephone industry?

3. By means of what automatic signaling devices railroads are controlled?

4. What industries require less degree of automation?

5. Can we state that the concept of automation is developing rapidly?

6. How can you explain the continuous-flow method of production, and in what fields of industry this method is used?

7. Can valves, heaters and similar equipment be operated automatically? If yes, how?

8. How automation is used in certain stages of steel industry?

9. How do you understand step-by-step manufacture and assembly?

10. What is the main principle of the continuous-flow concept in industry?

11. What industries use automated machines in all or part of their manufacturing processes?

12. Do you think that each industry has a concept of automation that fits its particular production needs? Give examples of full automated and semi-automated productions.

13. Can you give examples of automation technologies used in commerce?

14. Do you think that the widespread use of automation influences on individual’s and society’s daily life?

15. Does automation provide the basis for the concern of society and the individual?

Exercise 2

Заполните пропуски недостающими по смыслу словами, используя текст:

1. Railroads too are controlled by … signaling devices.

2. The … industry may become more mechanized, especially in the processing and packaging of foods.

3. In beverage and canned food industries some of the products are produced in … .

4. When a steel furnace is charged and brought up to heat a very little …. is needed.

5. The ingots are processed … into sheet or structural shapes.

6. The automobile and other consumer product industries use the mass production … of step-by-step manufacture and assembly.

7. Most of the modern industries use … machines in all or parts of their manufacturing processes.

8. Each industry has a concept of … that fits its particular production needs.

9. More examples of … can be found in almost every phase of commerce.

10. The widespread use of automation and its … on daily life provides the concern expressed by many about the influence of automation on society and the individual.

Exercise 3

Соответствуют ли данные предложения содержанию текста:

1. All industries are highly automated or use automation technology in some part of their operation.

2. In communications and especially in the telephone industry, dialing, transmission, and billing are all done manually.

3. Railroads are controlled by automatic signaling devices.

4. Agriculture, sales, and some service industries are easy to automate.

5. Doctors consult a computer to assist in diagnosis and computer also make the final decision and prescribe therapy.

6. The concept of automation is growing rapidly.

7. In petrochemical industry an array of automatic-control devices are used to control valves, heaters, and other equipment.

8. The automobile industry uses the mass production techniques of step-by-step manufacture and assembly.

9. In auto industry the volume of power consumed is essential to the definition of automation.

10. The widespread use of automation doesn’t influence our daily life.

Exercise 4

Используя текст, составьте высказывания с данными словами и выражениями:

Automation technology – to be done automatically - automatic signaling device - degree of automation – to be difficult to automate – to consult a computer - concept of automation - automation techniques - canned food industry - the mass production technique - step-by-step manufacture - the continuous-flow concept - production need - influence of automation.

Exercise 5

Кратко передайте содержание каждого абзаца.

Exercise 6

Выделите пять основных идей текста.

Exercise 7

Составьте предложения, используя данные выражения:

The increased use of automatic devices - mechanized production line - programmed command - automatic feedback control - to operate without human intervention - the development of technology - automation technology - principles and theory of operation.

Exercise 8

Переведите на русский язык следующие предложения:

1. Mechanization is often used to refer to the simple replacement of human labor by machines.

2. Automation generally implies the integration of machines into a self-governing system.

3. Automation has revolutionized those areas in which it has been introduced.

4. There is scarcely an aspect of modern life that has been unaffected by automation.

5. The term automation was coined in the automobile industry about 1946 to describe the increased use of automatic devices and controls in mechanized production lines.

6. The origin of the word is attributed to D.S. Harder, an engineering manager at the Ford Motor Company.

7. In general usage, automation can be defined as a technology concerned with performing a process by means of programmed commands combined with automatic feedback control to ensure proper execution of the instructions.

8. The automatic system is capable of operating without human intervention.

9. Advanced systems represent a level of capability and performance that surpass in many ways the abilities of humans to accomplish the same activities.

Exercise 9

Текст на самостоятельный перевод:

Automation and society

Over the years, the social merits of automation have been argued by labour leaders, business executives, government officials, and college professors. 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. These issues are explored here.

Impact on the individual

Nearly all industrial installations of automation, and in particular robotics, involve a replacement of human labor by an automated system. Therefore, one of the direct effects of automation in factory operations is the dislocation of human labor 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 consumer demand for the products of automation have compensated for these losses. Labor 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 growing at a rate fast enough to create new positions as the jobs replaced by automation are lost.

Of particular concern for many labor 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 these firms more competitive and ensuring that jobs are not lost to overseas companies. The effect of robotics on labor has been relatively minor, because the number of robots in the United States is small compared with the number of human workers. As of the early 1990s, there were fewer than 100,000 robots installed in American factories, compared with a total work force of more than 100 million persons, about 20 million of whom work in factories.

Automation affects not only the number of workers in factories but also the type of work that is done. The automated factory is oriented toward the use of computer systems and sophisticated programmable machines rather than manual labor. Greater emphasis is placed on knowledge-based work and technical skill rather than physical work. The types of jobs found in modern factories include more machine maintenance, improved scheduling and process optimization, systems analysis, and computer programming and operation. Consequently, workers in automated facilities must be technologically proficient to perform these jobs. Professional and semiprofessional positions, as well as traditional labor jobs, are affected by this shift in emphasis toward factory automation.

Unit 2

Text A

Automobile Industry

Automobile industry is the industry and area of commerce in which automobile models are planned, designed, manufactured, and marketed. The automobile industry is concerned with profits and competition; with consumer demands for styling, safety, and efficiency; and with labor relations and manufacturing efficiency.

History

After the steam engine was invented in the early 17th century, various attempts were made to apply this source of power to self-propelled road vehicles. Early efforts were unsuccessful, except for those that produced interesting toys such as the machine developed about 1680 by the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton, which was propelled by the back pressure of a jet of steam directed to the rear. The first successful self-propelled road vehicle was a steam automobile invented in 1770 by the French engineer Nicolas Joseph Cugnot. It was designed to transport artillery, and it ran on three wheels. In Great Britain the inventors William Murdock and James Watt constructed another form of automobile in 1781, and in 1784 they produced a model of a wagon that used the power of a high-pressure, noncondensing steam engine. The British inventor William Symington in 1786 built a working model of a so-called steam carriage.

The 19th Century

The first automobile to carry passengers was built by the British inventor Richard Trevithick in 1801 In December of that year, Trevithick conducted a successful road test of his vehicle, which carried several passengers, on an open road near his native town, Illogan. His success was due to the greater efficiency and smaller size of his power unit, which was the first to have the piston moved by steam at high pressure. Earlier power units had pistons that moved as a result of atmospheric pressure against the vacuum produced by the condensation of steam. The quantity of water required for this condensation necessarily precluded the use of these earlier engines for vehicles. Their bulk and weight relative to the power developed, moreover, were such that they could not have moved themselves if mounted on a vehicle. Later, Trevithick successfully embodied his power plant in a locomotive for rails. He is considered the founder of both road and rail automotive transportation. In the United States, the inventor Oliver Evans obtained the first patent on a steam carriage in 1789. In 1803 he built a self-propelled steam dredge, which is regarded as the first self-propelled vehicle to operate over American roads. Improvement in the steam engine and in vehicles continued, especially in England, and by 1830 steam coaches were in regular daily use to transport passengers over English roads. Starting in 1831, however, restrictive legislation in England forced the steam coaches off the roads, and by 1860 development of self-propelled vehicles virtually ceased. In France and Germany, meanwhile, attention turned to the development of the internal-combustion engine.

Words and expressions

self-propelled road vehicles - самодвижущиеся дорожные

машины

carriage - тележка; вагонетка

to preclude - исключать

to embody - материализовать

steam dredge - землесосный снаряд

internal-combustion engine - двигатель внутреннего

сгорания

Exercise 1

Ответьте на вопросы:

1. How do you understand the term “Automobile industry”?

2. When was the steam engine invented?

3. Did inventors in the early 17th century try to apply power of steam engine to self-propelled road vehicles?

4. When and by whom was the first successful self-propelled road vehicle invented?

5. What can you say about the automobile of British inventors William Murdock and James Watt constructed in 1781?

6. When was the working model of a so-called steam carriage of the British inventor William Symington built?

7. Who was the inventor of the first automobile to carry passengers?

8. What was the difference of Trevithicks’ power unit from earlier power units?

9. Who is considered the founder of both road and rail automotive transportation?

10. When did the development of self-propelled vehicles practically stop?

11. What countries turned their attention to the development of the internal-combustion engine?

Exercise 2

Заполните пропуски недостающими по смыслу словами, используя текст:

1. The steam engine was … in the early 17th century.

2. The machine, which was propelled by the back pressure of a jet of steam directed to the rear was developed about 1680 by … .

3. The French engineer Nicolas Joseph Cugnot invented the first successful self-propelled … … in 1770.

4. The British inventor William Symington in 1786 built a working model of a … … .

5. The British inventor Richard Trevithick in 1801 built the first automobile to carry … .

6. … … is considered the founder of both road and rail automotive transportation.

7. In the United States, the first patent on a steam carriage in 1789 was obtained by … … .

8. In 1803 the inventor Oliver Evans … a self-propelled steam dredge which is regarded as the first self-propelled vehicle to operate over American roads.

9. By 1830 steam … were in regular daily use to transport passengers over English roads.

Exercise 3

Соответствуют ли данные предложения содержанию текста:

1. Automobile industry is the service industry aimed at providing transportation facilities to the clients.

2. Before the invention of the steam engine in the early 17th century a lot of attempts were made to motorize self-propelled road vehicles.

3. The machine developed by the English scientist James Watt was propelled by the back pressure of a jet of steam directed to the rear.

4. The first successful self-propelled road vehicle was a steam automobile invented in 1770 by Sir Isaac Newton.

5. In Great Britain the inventors William Murdock and James Watt produced a model of a wagon that used the power of a high-pressure steam engine.

6. The first automobile to carry passengers was built by the British inventor William Murdock.

7. In December 1801 Trevithick conducted a successful road test of his vehicle, which carried several passengers.

8. The success of Trevithick was due to the greater efficiency and smaller size of his power unit.

9. By 1830 steam coaches were in regular daily use to transport passengers over Russian roads.

Exercise 4

Используя текст, составьте высказывания с данными словами и выражениями:

Area of commerce - profits and competition - labor relations - manufacturing efficiency - source of power - road test - greater efficiency - bulk and weight - to obtain the patent - to be in regular use - to transport passengers - restrictive legislation.

Exercise 5

Кратко передайте содержание каждого абзаца/

Exercise 6

Выделите пять основных идей текста.

Exercise 7

Составьте предложения, используя данные выражения:

Commercial transportation - manufacture and use - to be capable of carrying ssix persons - the most successful era - to have little future - widespread enthusiasm - speed record - to be in running order.

Exercise 8

Переведите на русский язык следующие предложения:

1. The invention of the steam engine had a potential application for individual and commercial transportation.

2. The problem in steam vehicle development was to reduce sufficiently the size of the engine.

3. Steam buses were running in Paris about 1800.

4. Oliver Evans of Philadelphia ran an amphibious steam dredge through the streets of that city in 1805.

5. English inventors were active, and by the 1830s the manufacture and use of steam road carriages was flourishing.

6. Sir Goldsworthy Gurney based his design upon an unusually efficient boiler.

7. He made trips as long as 84 miles in a running time of 9 hours 30 minutes and once recorded a speed of 17 miles per hour.

8. Gurney equipment was used on a regularly scheduled Gloucester-Cheltenham service of four round-trips daily.

9. The equipment was noisy, smoky, destructive of roadways, and admittedly dangerous.

10. Many passengers had been carried by steam carriage before the railways had accepted their first paying passenger.

11. The most successful era of the steam coaches in Britain was the 1830s.

12. By 1840 it was clear that the steam carriages had little future.

13. Some of the steam automobiles could carry as few as two people and were capable of speeds of 20 miles per hour.

14. The public climate over steam automobiles remained unfriendly.

Exercise 9

Переведите на английский язык:

1. Автомобильная промышленность занимается разработкой, изготовлением и реализацией автомобилей.

2. Автомобильная промышленность направлена на получение прибыли и находится в постоянной конкурентной борьбе.

3. Потребительский спрос на автомобили связан с модельным рядом, безопасностью и эффективностью предлагаемого автомобиля.

4. Данное транспортное средство было разработано для транспортировки пассажиров на дальние расстояния.

5. В конце 18-го века в Великобритании был изобретен автомобиль, который использовал энергию пара под высоким давлением.

6. Ученые проектного института провели успешное дорожное испытание нового транспортного средства.

7. Эффективность двигателя и его небольшие габариты явились решающими факторами в успехе продаж данного автомобиля.

8. Поршень данного двигателя приводится в движение паром высокого давления.

9. Применение паровых двигателей в транспортных средствах является по ряду причин не эффективным.

10. Усовершенствование двигателя внутреннего сгорания продолжается и на сегодняшний день.

Exercise 10

Текст на самостоятельный перевод:

Machine-powered transportation

The rise of the automobile

The invention of the steam engine had a potential application for individual, as well as commercial, transportation. In 1769 Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot designed a small steam engine light enough to be borne on a land vehicle, a tricycle that he intended as a prime mover for French artillery pieces. The problem in steam vehicle development was to reduce sufficiently the size of the engine so its power could be used in transporting something other than itself.

The age of steam

Before any internal-combustion engine had run, Cugnot's successors were at work, notably in England, although the first post-Cugnot steam carriage appears to have been that built in Amiens, Fr., in 1790. Steam buses were running in Paris about 1800. Oliver Evans of Philadelphia ran an amphibious steam dredge through the streets of that city in 1805. Less well known were Nathan Read of Salem, Mass., and Apollo Kinsley of Hartford, Conn., both of whom ran steam vehicles during the period 1790–1800.

English inventors were active, and by the 1830s the manufacture and use of steam road carriages was flourishing. James Watt's foreman, William Murdock, ran a model steam carriage on the roads of Cornwall in 1784, and Robert Fourness showed a working three-cylinder tractor in 1788. Watt was opposed to the use of steam engines for such purposes; his low-pressure steam engine would have been too bulky for road use in any case, and all the British efforts in steam derived from the earlier researches of Thomas Savery and Thomas Newcomen.

Richard Trevithick developed Murdock's ideas, and at least one of his carriages, with driving wheels 10 feet in diameter, ran in London. Sir Goldsworthy Gurney, the first commercially successful steam carriage builder, based his design upon an unusually efficient boiler. He was not, however, convinced that smooth wheels could grip a roadway, and so he arranged propulsion on his first vehicle by iron legs digging into the road surface. His second vehicle weighed only 3,000 pounds and was said to be capable of carrying six persons. He made trips as long as 84 miles in a running time of 9 hours 30 minutes and once recorded a speed of 17 miles per hour.

Gurney equipment was used on a regularly scheduled Gloucester-Cheltenham service of four round-trips daily thatat times did the nine miles in 45 minutes. Between February 27 and June 22, 1831, steam coaches ran 4,000 miles on this route, carrying some 3,000 passengers. The equipment was noisy, smoky, destructive of roadways, and admittedly dangerous; hostility arose, and it was common for drivers to find the way blocked with heaps of stones or felled trees. Nevertheless, many passengers had been carried by steam carriage before the railways had accepted their first paying passenger.

The most successful era of the steam coaches in Britain was the 1830s. Ambitious routes were run, including one from London to Cambridge. But by 1840 it was clear that the steam carriages had little future. The decline of the steam carriage did not prevent continued effort in the field, and much attention was given to the steam tractor for use as a prime mover. Beginning about 1868 Britain was the scene of a vogue for light steam-powered personal carriages; if the popularity of these vehicles had not been legally hindered, itwould certainly have resulted in widespread enthusiasm for motoring in the 1860s rather than in the 1890s. Some of the steamers could carry as few as two people and were capable of speeds of 20 miles per hour. The public climate remained unfriendly, however.

Light steam cars were being built in the United States, France, Germany, and Denmark during the same period, and it is possible to argue that the line from Cugnot's lumbering vehicle runs unbroken to the 20th-century steam automobiles made as late as 1926. The grip of the steam automobile on the American imagination has been strong ever since the era of the Stanley brothers (one of whose “steamers” took the world speed record at 127.66 miles per hour in 1906), and in the 1960s it was estimated that there were still 7,000 steam cars in the United States, about 1,000 of them in running order.