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The real drive for industrial automation in India started only in early 1990s. Manufacturing Today analyses how things have evolved since then both in terms of product technologies and manufacturing processes. By Niranjan Mudholkar

ridustrial Automation in India is going through an interesting stage. On the one hand we have a consistently maturing product line and on the other hand the penetration of the technologies is rather at an adolescent stage. Recently, during the 'Automotive Engineering show' organized by Automation Industry Association (AIA),Vijay Paranjape, President AIA and Director & Member Managing Board (Siemens Ltd) pointed out that the real drive for automation started only in early 1990s and India is still trying to play "catch-up"

with the more advanced economies with regards to the implementation of product technologies and manufacturing processes. Manufacturing Today interacted with some of the leading automation players in India to assess the situation.

Current scenario
AP Iayanthrarn, MD, Heidenhain Optics & Electronics India Pvt Ltd says that during the past two decades, there has been exponential growth in Indian automation scene, which covers a whole lot of areas like Control systems, Prograrnma-

ble Logic Controllers, Digital Networks, Robotics and Control components like encoders/sensors/actuators etc. "India being a largely import intensive market for machinery and other high end industrial equipment, precision automation elements from globally renowned sources have always found the way into India and opened up expectations and have defined standards for the Indian Automation industry. Still, in terms of market size, India is way behind China which is 10 times bigger. Our technology threshold in automation, unfortunately remains far

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Interesting contributions
Heidenhain: "We are well known in world markets for offering leading solutions that range from Optical to inductive or magnetic feedback and CNCcontrol systems. It is a fact that we globallytake a lead role in setting the benchmark for product technologies like incremental and absolute encoders with modern conceptual frameworks like 'Functional Safety' and 'Pure digital encoder interfaces' that deliver ultimate performance and long term reliability:' - AP Jayanthram PTC: In India we nave over 2300 manufacturing companies which are using our solutions. KirloskarBrother Ltd leveraged PTC'sPro/Engineer to design a pump engineering solution for the Narmada Dam project. The technology coupled with the design innovation helped them to overcome significant engineering and financial challenges, resulting in the successful completion of the project. - Rafiq Somani Dearborn Electronics: (Represents Softing Industrial Automation, Germany): Dearborn Electronics has been involvedactively with tile promotion of fieldbus technologies working closely with FFIC(Foundation Fieldbus India committee) with the end users. Likewisewe are actively involvedto promote FDT technology and workingclosely with other FDTmember companies to drive FDTin India which willbenefit the end users. - BK Ramesh Messung Systems: "Weintroduced first Indigenous PLCin India, to replace the traditional RelayContactor Logic(RLC)in 1981. The real growth story started in 1990. Today,we have range of products from small micro PLCto modular PLCto cater automation need from small packaging machines to big process automation. Further to this, Messung brought in the WorldClass FactoryAutomation (FA)Products from Mitsubishi Electric - Japan to India in the year - 1995:' - Sunil Mehta

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below world standards and the presence of automation leaders of the world with service and technology back up here in India, has immensely contributed to the growth of awareness," he adds. "If we talk about evolution in automation products over the last decade or so, then Factory Automation products like PLCs, VFD & Servo Drives deliver unmatched -performance in comparison with Pneumatic, electro-pneumatic or electro-mechanical components. In today's Scenario, we find technologies are upgraded almost every 2-3 years. Hence, we observe Significant improvement in specifications and performance of automation products. The products are now available with advanced features of connectivity, security, tamper proof architecture, reliable, and flexible in configuration. Phenomenal changes have been seen in industrial networking, open protocols and interoperability. Automation is increas-

"Inessence, we see evolution from proprietary systems to standardization based on Field bus technologies."
BK Ramesh, GM, Dearborn Electronics India (P) Ltd

ingly being used for energy saving and power management," says Sunil Mehta - GM (Technical), Automotive Business Unit, Messung Systems Pvt Ltd. BK Ramesh, GM, Dearborn Electronics India (P) Ltd points out the change that has occurred in the present. "The new communication standards like Foundation Fieldbus, Ethernet and Profibus, CANopen which are getting adopted by process, medical equipment industries and integration standards like FDT, EDDL, OPC etc. are allowing interoperability of different manufacturer devices with a single engineering or asset management

tool. These communication standards has made the devices intelligent and allows to get not just fieldbus output but also host of diagnostics, maintenance, status info to control room increasing the plant availability. In essence, we see evolution from proprietary systems to standardization based on Field bus technologies, integration standards and IT technologies to achieve interoperability at the Plant and enterprise level," he says. "Globalisation and the pressing demand for the best global products have compelled manufacturers to automate the production process to meet market

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ing have adopted Automation to a great extent," he adds. Jayanthram of Heidenhain says that initially automation ideas were more or less restricted to process industry, but today, automation, as a value adding element for manufacturing, is becoming popular in many other areas like motion control, machine tool engineering, automotive assembly, metrology, packaging, printing, elevator and escalator technology, electronic manufacturing, solar & wind energy; robotics etc. "If we take a typical example of the elevator industry which consumes automation elements in a big way, India has a distant second rank after China which accounts for 2,90,000 units. Compare this with India which has a production of just 50,000 units, which of course is still three times bigger than the USA,"he says. PTC's Somani points out that traditionally, aerospace, automotive and high tech companies have been on the forefront of adoption of automation and continue to do so. "In the last few years we have noticed a generational turnover in the automotive industry," he says. Mehta of Messung says that the use of automation has been seen in almost all the verticals but the automotive sector is on the forefront in implementing latest automation products and solutions. ''A leading Indian car manufacturer produces one car in 30-40 seconds! This is only possible when automation is done at every stage of car manufacturing like Press Shop, Weld shop, Paint Shop, Engine Shop and final assembly shops," he remarks.

"Precision automation elements from globally renowned sources have always found way into India."AP Jayanthram,
MD, Heidenhain Optics & Electronics India Pvt Ltd

Competitive edge
The Indian manufacturer today operates in a dynamic atmosphere. The market is becoming increasingly demanding not just in terms of quality and price but also in terms of stringent environmental as well as safety standards. So how does automation help in this scenario? Jayanthram says whether the field is general automation, electronics, packaging, robotics or complex machine movement controls, the clue is in choosing high quality base components. "As an example, Heidenhain offers absolute inductive Rotary Encoders with low profile height and large through shaft in bearing less

and operational demands. In the last two decades we have also noticed that manufacturing companies are being offered industry centric and efficient product technologies. Product technologies have become easier to use and implement, have become more scalable and collaborative in nature across geographies rather than departmental use," observes Rafiq Somani, Area VP,PTC India.

At the forefront
So which are the industrial sectors that have been at the forefront in the adoption of automation? Ramesh of Dearborn identifies sectors such as machine tool, automotive, electronics manufacturing and medical equipments to have adopted automation to a great extent. "In process industries, oil and gas, refineries, chemical, pharma, metals as well as ship build-

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design and Endat serial data interface, suitable for electric motors used in all the above fields." "Today, energy consumption in the manufacturing plants is becoming more and more a matter of concern. In order to have better environment in our planet, we need to use Energy efficient product technologies in our equipments and plants," says Mehta. "We work with various end users in the automotive industry to apply VFDs in the utility areas like Pumps and Fans so as to save energy," he adds. Ramesh points out that today performance, cost reduction, quality and safety are the basic norms for most of the manufacturing companies. ''Automation systems help companies achieve this using high performance control hardware and software driven by the innovations in Silicon, software platforms, Standardization (eg:IEC 61508)," he says. 'To compete in today's rapidly evolving global environment, manufacturers must contend with an ever-increasing number of product performance requirements, such as cost, weight, reliability, safety standards and environmental impact, as well as new government regulations and shrinking delivery timeframes," says Somani.

"Automation is increasingly being used for energy saving and power management.".
Sunil Mehta - GM (Technical), Automotive Business Unit, Messung Systems Pvt Ltd

Future outlook
Mehta of Messung says that the quality of life in India and other developing countries is going to improve further, which will accelerate the demand for quality products, ranging from consumer products, automotive, and service/hospitality sectors up to medical treatments. "This, in turn, will prove a driving factor for manufacturing industries to improve quality,

increase production rates with low manufacturing cost and enhanced equipment efficiency. This is only possible through maximizing use of advanced automation systems. And hence there is going to be a definite growth for automation Sector. In particular, Messung Group will strive further to offer latest Automation products from Mitsubishi Electric, Japan and indigenous range ofPLCs," he states. Jayanthram points out that new age industrial environment is demanding high end solutions like Ethernet based real time and IT communication for use in areas like manufacturing systems, process automation and drive applications. "In spite of global strains, Indian economy, backed by steady internal demand, is sprinting and the market is looking for products of global standards with high quality and productivity with economy. We feel we are in the appropriate position to serve this market backed by the Heidenhain legacy with 7500 employees worldwide and represented in 50 countries," he says. Ramesh says the future outlook for the automation industry is bright especially

"Product technologies have become easier to use and implement & have become .more scalable."
Rafiq Somani, Area VP, PTC India

for foundation fieldbus and FDT integration standard adaptations in the plants. "There are good installations in progress and some are large installations like Reliance Jamnagar. Wireless adaptation is looking good and the future would be to have wireless, Ethernet. Dearborn Electronics and Softing are well prepared for this to serve the opportunities that will surface in India for Foundation Fieldbus, Wireless, Realtime Ethernet, FDT solutions," he says. Somani says India, with its huge manufacturing potential, is one of our major markets. "We have noticed tremendous growth in this dynamic market. India has a huge manufacturing potential not only for domestic consumption but also exports. The country has tremendous potential for niche custom product development. This strengthens the potential for industrial automation in the country. In India we have nearly 3000 (inclusive of educational customers) customers and last year alone we won around 300 customers," he states. Indeed as Jayanthram insightfully remarks, industrial automation, apart from reflecting the advances in scientific discoveries, will become part of a social process that is linked with perfect products and changing customer preferences in our society. "To talk about the future of Indian Automation market which is growing at the rate of 20 to 25% per annum, it can be said that Companies with commitment to high quality and high standards of techno commercial integrity will play significant roles in this transformation that is taking place in virtually all types of manufacturing technologies." ~