4B group 3

Group Members: Poh Quan Xin

                            Choong Yan May

                            Teo Yi Ling

                            Tan Hong Ye

                            Goh Ming En    

Topic: Usage of ICT in industry

  Computers are used to facilitate production planning and control systems, to support chain management and to help in product design in the industrial sector .In the industrial sector , workers, researchers and administrator benefits from the usage of ICT.

Workers	Workers use machines that are connected to computers to operate. In some productions, robots are used to take over jobs that are dangerous to the workers.
Researchers	Researchers use computers to analyse and collect research data for future reference.
Adminstrators	Adminstrators use computers to oversee the entire operations in the plant or factory to detect specific errors or defects that occurred in the process.

There are three main areas:

• Computer Aided Design (CAD)
• Computer Aided Manufacture (CAM)
• Robotics

There are many computer aided design (CAD) packages that enable the designer to work out the designs.  Drawing with a mouse is difficult, so the computer system may have:

• a light pen;
• a graphics tablet

CAD packages use vector graphics, which means that the coordinates at each end of a line are plotted.  It results in smaller file sizes and changes of size can be accommodated without the distortion caused by pixilation (where lines appear to be stepped).  The advantages of CAD are many:

• no special drawing skills are needed;
• designs can be easily changed.
• the design can be tested using computer modeling .  Complex mathematical calculations are used to predict the item's  behaviour under normal and extreme conditions.  This makes more sense than destructive testing on prototypes, which can be highly expensive or even dangerous.
• plans can be stored.

Such machines are massively expensive, but pay for themselves in:

• greater productivity;
• better precision, leading to greater reliability of the finished product.
• complex shapes can be machined.

 

Many assembly lines are now operated by robots controlled by computers.  Robots are complex machines that rely on feedback to ensure that the various machine heads are positioned in exactly the right place.  Although very expensive, robot assembly line machines have the advantage that:

• they need no breaks for lunch, or going to the lavatory;
• they don't get bored, leading to mistakes;
• they don't go on strike;
• they work 24 hours a day.

References: http://aazizmy.blogspot.com/2009/01/form4-1121-usage-of-ict-in-everyday.html

http://www.antonine-education.co.uk/ict_as/ict_module_1/topic_2/computers_in_industry.htm