ABSTRACT
In this space age, when society regards everything as possible, there are many misconceptions about automation. Automated technology has been prescribed as the ultimate cure-all for all technical and social problems. The disinclination of workers to perform dull, repetitive tasks, considerations of worker health and safety, dramatic increases in labor rates and fringe benefits, and the increased ability of tool engineers to devise sophisticated machinery have combined to create a dramatic increase in automated equipment during the past several decades. Computer-controlled machine tools now make complex machined parts, electronic components are installed automatically in circuit boards, machines inspect detail parts on a 100% basis, and parts are positioned, assembled, and checked out automatically in the creation of assemblies-untouched by human hands. Robots of all descriptions have become part of the industrial scene.
