Functional diagram of automation. What is it for?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In recent years, automation processes in production have become incredibly relevant with more and more new methods, devices and systems being introduced to reduce the burden on a person by shifting it to technology. In many factories, automatic machines are appearing that perform the same functions, only with much greater accuracy and with less time. Moreover, it is worth noting separately that automation reduces the risk for people who previously had to work in incredibly difficult and dangerous conditions for he alth. Now they do not need to be in the very epicenter of what is happening - the operators of the machines control them from a distance from a safe room.

Thus, we can safely say that automation is a movement into the future, an incredible progress that only benefits humanity. However, in this article we will not talk about automation in general, but about what an automation scheme is, how it is compiled and how it is used. For many people, this concept may seem strange. Almost no one can just take it and guess what it is for or what it is in general. About all thiswill be discussed in detail later, but first you should understand that the automation scheme is a very important thing, without which the automation process itself would not be possible.

What is a functional diagram?

Before dealing with the main concept of this article, which is the automation scheme, it is worth paying attention to the fact that most often the adjective “functional” is also added to this name. But this does not clarify anything - everything only becomes more confusing. What is a functional diagram? This is the name of a document that was created in order to explain and describe in detail certain processes occurring in a single block or in a specific area. Thus, we can safely conclude that the automation scheme in this case will be an explanation (partially even visual) for the automation process at a particular enterprise. Naturally, this is a fairly general definition, so you should go deeper into this article, as it will describe in much more detail everything related to this concept, its implementation and application in practice.

Changes in recent years

It goes without saying that everything has its own standard. There is also such a thing as an automation scheme: GOST. But it should be understood that standards do not stand still, and this is especially true for such high-tech processes. Over the past decade, the set of technical tools used in the automation process has changed a lot, so the standards have changed a lot.

Automated systems are now based on state-of-the-art super-powerful computers capable of demonstrating much more impressive computing power than they did ten years ago. That is why now much more extensive functions for automated systems have become available, including saving results for any period of time, displaying information at any time in a convenient form, creating special detailed mnemonic diagrams that would allow using any parameters for incredibly precise control of almost all possible systems.

Now controllers have become much more capacious, they can be placed both in specialized rooms in close proximity to the automated system, and at a remote distance, which allows you to use a much more flexible control system. Thus, you can easily imagine how different a modern automation scheme will be from a decade-old document. GOST 2006 will no longer be absolutely relevant today, in fact, like the automated systems themselves, which can now be replaced by much more efficient ones.

What does the automation scheme look like?

It's no secret that such a scheme is one of the most important documents for designing automation of an enterprise, workshop or any other unit of production. It describes in the smallest detail absolutely everything that will include automation, including technological equipment, organscontrol of this equipment, communication and communication between elements and so on.

It is also very important to remember how important the symbols on the automation diagrams are - they turn an ordinary document into a capacious and clear diagram. One look at it is enough to generally evaluate the entire automation process and understand what and how will be implemented. The designations on the automation diagrams should be as clear as possible, because on the basis of such a drawing, other relevant documents will be developed that will be used in the future. Thus, this scheme, as you already understood, is one of the most important elements of the entire automation process, and its execution must be at the highest level - down to the smallest detail.

What is shown in the diagram?

A functional diagram of automation is not a detailed representation of all elements of production and communication between them. Firstly, it is worth noting that absolutely all elements are displayed conditionally on the diagram, that is, they do not correspond to how they look in reality. Secondly, the scale is not respected, so the diagram has nothing to do with how all the equipment is located in real proportions and ratios. To understand this diagram, you need to understand that this is only a conditional sketch that gives the viewer an idea of how exactly the elements of the production process function, as well as how they will interact with the automation system.

The automation function diagram is, in principle, in a generally accepted format, so that most of the designations are standardized. For example, according to GOST, it is necessary to depict equipment and communications with thin lines, while technological flows are indicated with bolder ones. There are a large number of different designations, and? to find out all of them, you will have to familiarize yourself with GOST.

Similar devices

Process automation schemes can be very numerous. Depending on how much equipment is included in the plan, how many workshops and departments make up a single whole, it is worth thinking about optimizing the planning process. And the very first rule concerns the same type of devices. The fact is that usually the scheme includes a large number of elements, since different departments require a different approach. However, if it happens that there are devices or elements of the same type, then they can be described by one scheme, giving a link to it in other sources.

Let's say you have five identical fixtures that you need to display in an explanatory document. If they are indeed the same, use the same automation principle. That is, you can create a schema for the first of these fixtures, and then specify that the same schema applies to the other four fixtures. As you can see, automation control schemes have a lot of interesting and important points that are worth learning, as they will make your life much easier and make the process much more efficient.convenient and efficient.

Tables with symbols

It would seem that such a trifle as symbols of automation schemes should be performed in a relatively free order, but in reality everything is far from being the case, and this is very tightly controlled. You need to create a separate table for symbols, which will have two columns - one will contain the name of a particular device, a certain communication, and so on, and the other will display the symbol itself. At the same time, all the conditions are quite strict - even the specific width of the columns in this table is set, so you are not given room for imagination.

Of course, you can come up with your own conventions, but here, again, there are rules that everyone usually adheres to. That is, there are no specific designations, for example, for connecting pipelines or their intersection, however, in most cases it is customary to depict them as lines that coincide with each other, as well as using one solid and another intermittent or using two lines, one of which makes a semicircular bend at the intersection. But you should remember that even if you use a common symbol, you still need to mark it in the symbol table. Only in this way are functional diagrams of automation tools executed.

Letter symbols

One of the most important points in matters of automation schemes, regardless ofwhether it is a functional table or an automation circuit diagram, are letter designations. They play a very important role and carry an impressive amount of semantic load, so you should definitely study what this or that letter can mean, which will be written in certain conditions. First of all, pay attention to the fact that the same letter can have several meanings. For example, it can be used to designate a measured quantity and at the same time a functional feature of the device. Yes, most letters have one of the two designations described above. For example, "A" indicates an alarm, and "E" indicates an electrical quantity. But there are also letters that can describe both one and the other section. For example, "H" can be both manual action and the upper limit of the measured value.

Moreover, some letters indicate only the measured value, but at the same time they can still take on two meanings - the main and the additional. More precisely, it can be the main designation of the measured value and an additional one that specifies the measured value. To make it clearer, you can give an example with the letter "D". The main value that it denotes in such drawings is density. But at the same time, it can also have an additional designation for another quantity. In this form, it will indicate the difference or difference. In general, letters should be given special attention, especially since they are also used bythe circuit diagram mentioned above, as well as the block diagram of automation.

Two methods for creating circuits

Schemes of automation systems can have two methods of designation, and this is a very important point. They greatly influence how exactly the whole scheme will be drawn up in the future. So, the method can be simplified and expanded. In the first case, the scheme is simplified to a minimum. Specifically, this is expressed in the fact that all automation tools included in the plan are depicted in the same way, that is, there are no specific symbols for them. As for the second method, everything is already much more complicated and diverse. Each automation tool is applied to the diagram with its own designation, which, of course, is recorded in a separate table, which was already discussed above.

Both approaches are widely used, just each of them is used depending on the situation. In some cases, it is much more convenient to make an outline that will label all the automations as one element. This will give you an idea of the system as a whole. But sometimes a deep understanding of the automation process is much more important, so each detail of the circuit appears separately. However, it is worth recalling that even in this case the scale is not respected. For each type of scheme, full-fledged automation can be carried out. There can be a lot of technological schemes, but they do not have any average form. Each looks a little different, even though a lot of it has to match.accepted standards.

Graphics of automation tools

A process automation flow chart can include a huge number of symbols, but there are some that you will see there quite often. We are talking about designations that are tied to specific means and automation devices that are widely used in modern systems. Naturally, there are simply a huge number of their species, and now it makes no sense to list them all. But you can imagine a few basic ones, such as a primary measuring transducer, which is depicted in an extremely simple way - using a circle. But if you see a circle that is divided in half by a line, then it will be a completely different device - a device that is installed on the control panel.

If you see a circle from which a straight line goes down, then this means that you have an actuator in front of you - but this is just a general designation. There are several types of actuators, and for each of them the symbol is transformed by additional elements, for example, an arrow at the end of a straight line with one of the sides, two short straight lines crossing one long straight line perpendicularly, a letter in the center of the circle, and so on. The regulatory body is designated as a kind of "bow" - two triangles that touch one of the vertices. It is also worth noting the selective device, which does not have a device permanently connected to it. It is indicated by a semicircle with a straight upward line extending from it.

Numbers onpattern

So far, we have only talked about the graphic symbols that you can find on the automation functional diagram, and we also talked about the letters that can and should be used on these diagrams. However, do not forget that the numbers can also be used in drawing up such a drawing. You should understand that absolutely everything should be marked on the functional diagram, and the more ways of designation there are, the better and the more understandable the diagram will be. Therefore, you should definitely use numbers, since their advantage is the fact that they do not have any values assigned to them. You will need to create a complete table in which you describe what value is attached to a particular figure. At the same time, it must be remembered that it is best to give such symbols similar, related meanings.

An example is a pipeline automation scheme. The numbers on it can indicate all the substances that flow through certain sections of pipes. Number 1 is water, number 2 is steam, number 3 is air, and so on. Naturally, each scheme has its own specialization, so these designations are only an example. You can freely choose how to designate this or that element of your scheme using numbers.

As a result, we can say that automation is a very important and widespread process today, which plays a very serious role in the development of industry, in production and in general in any field of activity. So drawing up a competent and accurate functional diagram of automation is also a very useful skill, because thanks to such documents, the automation process is carried out much faster and more efficiently. A detailed and clear automation scheme is the key to the high-quality implementation of the plan and the further functioning of automated production. Therefore, such close attention is being paid to this issue today.