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Conference on the application of electronics in an industry

Talking about the use of microprocessors in the industries in a three days Conference was held at the Ministry of Industry of Iran in Tehran in March 1978.

The speakers were fifteen electrical and electronics specialists from all over Iran.

The audience was more than one hundred government officials and university professors, and most industry owners throughout Iran.

Microprocessors in Industrial Control

Abstract

Whilst large and mid-range computers with their enormous processing power found their way in various scientific and commercial applications as general-purpose mainframes, microprocessor-based systems, on the other hand being of low cost and power consumption, compact and reliable, modular yet flexible, expandable, and easily configurable are proving to be the best choice for every type of industrial control. The impact of microprocessor-based controls on industries is being felt right from small to heavy industries, to name a few packaging industries and diesel engine control to petrochemical & steel industries, thermal power plants, etc.

The salient features apart from those stated above of microprocessor-based systems as compared to earlier electro-pneumatic and analog-digital solid-state-based systems are the reduction in several types of modules, reduced wiring costs, automatic online diagnostic capabilities, and improved man-machine interaction giving rise to easy maintenance, better reliability and efficient operation of plants and industries. Instead of putting “all the eggs in one basket,” as in the case of main-frame computers, microprocessor-based systems allow for functionally and/or geographically distributed architecture.

Microprocessors are used in monitoring various types and levels of controls and in robotics.

It is not too far when plants or industries will be controlled totally by microprocessor-based systems and operators will communicate with the system in human-like conversational language through CRTs and keyboards only, without needing to cope with a large control panel having innumerable conventional instruments excepting in emergency conditions thus relieving the operator to a great extent from trivial operational jobs so that he can take decisions and actions towards improving the efficiency of operation and optimizing the production.