LCHA, the future of Indian automation industry
By Bhalchandra Chorghade
The three-day workshop on Low Cost Hi-Tech Automation (LCHA), organised by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Gandhinagar in association with CNCTimes, concluded recently. In all 32 practicing as well as future engineers from varied industries across the country took part in the workshop organised as part of continuous education programme (CEP) of IIT, Gandhinagar.
The main speaker at the workshop was Prof N Ramakrishnan from the mechanical engineering department of the prestigious institute. He was assisted by Dr Joycee M, the assistant professor in the electrical engineering department of IIT, Gandhinagar. Before IIT, Gandhinagar, Prof Ramakrishnan was with IIT, Bombay for more than 30 years and has been involved in many projects for companies such as L&T, Godrej & Boyce, Bajaj Auto, Cadilla Labs etc.
Introduction
Under the present regime of globalisation and liberalisation apart from quality enhancement, cost and time reduction are two major steps to increase productivity when many factors such as economic recession, uncertainty in demand risk, and lack of funds with long gestation period make heavy investment not pragmatic. One of the very practical, safe, economical and rewarding strategies is the application of Low Cost Automation. LCA has been widely practiced during the last four decades for many simple applications.
According to Prof Ramakrishnan, India is poised to be a major global power in manufacturing and the industries here have opportunities which were never there in the past. LCHA is probably one of the best tool/ technique that can help in tapping fully this opportunity. “It is believed that manufacturing sector will be highly encouraged and has a bright future since it is an apt time for Industries to understand the potential of this technology,” he said.
What is LCHA?
Low Cost Hi-Tech Automation is a technology that creates some degree of automation around the existing equipment, tools, methods and people, using mostly standard components available in the market. Using microelectronics and information technology can enhance the system capability significantly. India has the right mix of low cost and high technology with adequate skilled manpower.
The advantages of LCHA include, low investment, technology used is simple to understand besides being easy to maintain and upgrade, the hardware components are programmable, reusable and very adaptable to changes in product, labour resistance will be minimal since fatigue and drudgery of work get eliminated, development cost will be a fraction of what it will be and it is beneficial to any type and size of industry.
The Scope
The course aimed at developing the right perspective and understanding of this attractive aid to competitiveness. Apart from clarifying the basics, various case studies from different types of industries were explained to highlight the applications potential. It provided a systematic approach to LCHA with gradually increasing sophistication.
The course content included four modules of one-and-half-hour per day which is a mix of theory and hands-on sessions. The modules include Introduction to LCA & LCHA fields of application, Technologies for LCHA, System synthesis using different technologies, Illustrative examples of industrial applications, Sensors and Actuators, Basics of Micro-Controllers etc.