A Prediction of the Future Machinery of Automation

Based on the past experience of a company engaged in this field, their own results and the results of others are assessed. Machines, past and present,~ are discussed covering the last three years. It is concluded that there are none in actual production that, can be truly called "automation systems", but that some have reached a significant level of the assembly process. Emphasized is the ,importance of component-part and packaging standardization, particularly in the direction of narrowing the range of physical sizes and configurations, and in the evolving of simpler physical forms. It is pointed out that effective packaging of parts can eliminate a great deal of complications at the assembly machine. Three methods of automatic check of machine performance are discussed from the economics point of view. Automatic set-up, approaching the true automation concept, is predicted - - again, within economic restrictions. Automatic soldering and automatic testing are treated at some length. The economic considerations of a relatively limited future market are outlined. The rate at which future refinements will be integrated is pictured as dependent primarily upon the economic Justification for their development. The author concludes with the prediction that the immediate future will not see a radical change; but that the production segment of the electronics industry must keep pace, as we stand on the threshold of a second industrial revolution.