Preface

This book is designed to provide what you need to know as an industrial automation engineer, from basic to advanced – beneficial for both beginners and professionals in the field of industrial automation. It is an indispensable book for industrial automation engineers or anyone that wants to start or build a career in industrial automation. This book is a valuable resource for both undergraduates and graduates in the engineering, physics, and computer departments of tertiary institutions as well as staff in electrical, mechanical, production, process control, and instrumentation engineering departments in the manufacturing, food processing, chemical, oil and gas, and other industries where automated machines are used. You will learn about and be able to use sensors, actuators, and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) for industrial automation. The book is loaded with hands-on step-by-step guides on PLC wiring and programming, HMI design and development, SCADA system setup, and process control.

The book is organized into three parts. Each part contains several chapters on important topics.

Part 1 is devoted to the concepts and skills required to get started in industrial automation. This is an introductory part where you will learn what industrial automation is all about and how to identify electrical control components and wire them for basic industrial control operations. You will also learn how to draw a schematic/wiring diagram using CAD software.

Part 2 will take you through the major tools in industrial automation (PLC, HMI, and SCADA). You will learn by doing by following the step-by-step guide provided. Simulation is also possible in some of the steps, which makes it easy for those without the actual device to have an understanding of how it works. What seems complex is made simple using a hands-on approach.

Part 3 is devoted to process control, industrial networks, and smart factories, which you will gain fundamental knowledge about.