There are three types of automation: industrial, fixed, and flexible.
Industrial automation types have progressed from static assembly lines to flexible and intelligent integrated systems.
Fixed automation is a type of industrial automation used for very high-volume production. Making production changes to fixed automation is expensive and time-consuming. Programmable automation works best for batch production and offers electronic controls that can change certain operations with significant effort.
Flexible automation, such as CNC machines, is used for batch production and on-demand manufacturing, where the product varies. It has precise controls and can customize production with little downtime. Integrated automation is the most modern and advanced type, where a single control system monitors and manages an entire connected factory from IIoT devices and cloud data analysis.