Automating Manufacturing Systems - Process Control and ...

plc glossary - 35.6
drawings on the computer screen and print them out to a plotter or other device.
CADD (Computer Aided Design Drafting) - the earliest forms of CAD systems were simple electronic
versions of manual drafting, and thus are called CADD.
CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) - the use of computers to assist in engineering. One example is the use
of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to verify the strength of a design.
CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) - a family of methods that involves computer supported
manufacturing on the factory floor.
capacitor - a device for storing energy or mass.
capacitance - referring to the ability of a device to store energy. This is used for electrical capacitors, thermal
masses, gas cylinders, etc.
capacity - the ability to absorb something else.
carrier - a high/low frequency signal that is used to transmit another signal.
carry flag - an indication when a mathematical operator has gone past the limitations of the hardware/
software.
cascade - a method for connecting devices to increase their range, or connecting things so that they operate
in sequence. This is also called chaining.
CASE (Computer Aided Software Engineering) - software tools are used by the developer/programmer to
generate code, track changes, perform testing, and a number of other possible functions.
cassette - a holder for audio and data tapes.
CCITT (Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone) - recommended X25. A
member of the ITU of the United Nations.
CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) - originally developed for home entertainment, these have
turned out to be high density storage media available for all platforms at very low prices (< $100
at the bottom end). The storage of these drives is well over 500 MB.
CE (Concurrent Engineering) - an engineering method that involves people from all stages of a product
design, from marketing to shipping.
CE - a mark placed on products to indicate that they conform to the standards set by the European Common
Union.
Celsius - a temperature scale the uses 0 as the freezing point of water and 100 as the boiling point.
centrifugal force - the force on an orbiting object the would cause it to accelerate outwards.
centripetal force - the force that must be applied to an orbiting object so that it will not fly outwards.
channel - an independent signal pathway.
character - a single byte, that when displayed is some recognizable form, such as a letter in the alphabet, or a
punctuation mark.
checksum - when many bytes of data are transmitted, a checksum can be used to check the validity of the
data. It is commonly the numerical sum of all of the bytes transmitted.
chip - a loose term for an integrated circuit.
chromatography - gases or liquids can be analyzed by how far their constituent parts can migrate through a
porous material.
CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) - computers can be used at a higher level to track and guide
products as they move through the facility. CIM may or may not include CAD/CAM.
CL (Cutter Location) - an APT program is converted into a set of x-y-z locations stored in a CL file. In turn
these are sent to the NC machine via tapes, etc.
clear - a signal or operation to reset data and status values.
client-server - a networking model that describes network services, and user programs.
clipping - the automatic cutting of lines that project outside the viewing area on a computer screen.
clock - a signal from a digital oscillator. This is used to make all of the devices in a digital system work
synchronously.
clock speed - the rate at which a computers main time clock works at. The CPU instruction speed is usually
some multiple or fraction of this number, but true program execution speeds are loosely related at
best.
closed loop - a system that measures system performance and trims the operation. This is also known as
feedback. If there is no feedback the system is called open loop.
CMOS (Complimentary Metal Oxide Semi-conductor) - a low power microchip technology that has high