Chapter 2 of 12: show all chapters
Chapter 2 of 12Part 1: What is automation? · 3 min
How factory automation makes the things you buy
Almost everything in your shopping bag was made by machines that notice, decide and act. Follow a can of fizzy drink to see how.
A factory is lots of small jobs
A drinks factory does not have one giant machine. It has a line of smaller machines, each doing one job, one after the other. This is called a production line.
Each machine notices, decides and acts, just like the automatic door. Together they can make thousands of cans an hour.
A few people, lots of machines
The machines run day and night. A few people watch over them and sort out problems. Nobody stands there pressing a button for every can.
The same idea makes bread, medicines, cars and clean tap water. It also sorts the parcels that arrive at your door.
Try it
Click through the line. At each machine, spot what it notices and what it does.
1. Mix
Water and syrup flow into a big mixing tank through valves. A mixer stirs them into one batch.
- Notices
- A level sensor notices when the tank holds enough.
- Does
- The valves close and the mixer starts.
Step 1 of 6: Mix. Water and syrup flow into a big mixing tank through valves. A mixer stirs them into one batch.
New words
- Production line
- A row of machines that each do one job, one after the other.
- Conveyor
- A moving belt that carries things from one machine to the next.
- Valve
- A tap that a machine can open and close by itself.
Quick check
On the filling machine, what does the noticing?