Manufacturing & Machine Controls Glossary
Batch and recipe control, ISA-88/95, MES, servo and motion control, robotics, and production lines. 61 terms in this topic - each defined in plain English on its own page.
Discrete and batch manufacturing add layers that continuous process control does not have: recipes and batch records under ISA-88, the MES layer between the plant floor and the business under ISA-95, and the motion, vision, and robotics that physically make and inspect product. These definitions cover that manufacturing stack, from servo axes and encoders up to production KPIs like takt time and traceability.
61 Terms
What is an absolute encoder?
A feedback device reporting a unique code per position, retained through power cycles, so no homing is needed.
Read → GlossaryWhat is an apron feeder?
The steel-pan feeder that meters run-of-mine ore into the crusher, throttled by SCADA-trimmed drive speed.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is the Difference Between an Area-Scan and a Line-Scan Camera?
Area-scan grabs a full frame at once; line-scan builds an image line by line as product moves.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is the Difference Between Backlighting and Front Lighting in Machine Vision?
Backlight gives a silhouette for measuring outlines; front light reveals printing and surface defects.
Read → GlossaryWhat is the difference between a batch abort and a stop?
Stop is an orderly, controlled termination; abort is a fast termination to a safe state that skips shutdown.
Read → GlossaryWhat is batch exception handling?
The layer of monitored conditions and responses - hold, abort, prompt, branch - that fires when a batch deviates.
Read → GlossaryWhat is batch genealogy?
The linked record of lots, intermediates, and equipment behind a batch, enabling forward and backward trace.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a batch hold and restart?
The controlled pause of a phase into a safe held state and resumption from a known restart point.
Read → GlossaryWhat is batch scheduling?
Deciding which batches run, in what order, and on which train of units within a process cell.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a batch sequencer?
The runtime engine that walks a control recipe, issues phase commands, and coordinates branches across units.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a conveyor belt drift switch?
The edge-mounted roller switch that warns then trips a wandering belt and links into the SCADA interlock chain.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a conveyor belt rip detector?
The embedded-loop system that stops a belt within seconds of a lengthwise tear and logs the trip to SCADA.
Read → GlossaryWhat is blob analysis in machine vision?
Thresholding an image and measuring connected regions by area, count, and shape to count parts and catch defects.
Read → GlossaryWhat is the difference between a control recipe and a master recipe?
Master recipe is the approved template; control recipe is the instantiated, batch-specific copy the sequencer runs.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is a Conveyor Metal Detector?
The balanced-coil sensor that catches ferrous and non-ferrous tramp metal on a belt before it wrecks a crusher.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is Depth of Field in Machine Vision?
The range of distances where a part stays sharp, and why it trades directly against light and speed.
Read → GlossaryWhat is dual-loop feedback in a servo axis?
Motor-side feedback closes velocity while load-side feedback closes position, correcting backlash and compliance.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is an Electronic Batch Record (EBR)?
The timestamped paperless log of a batch that enables review by exception and Part 11 audit trails.
Read → GlossaryWhat is equipment arbitration in batch control?
How a batch engine acquires and releases shared equipment so two batches never seize the same resource.
Read → GlossaryWhat is following error in a servo system?
The instantaneous gap between commanded and actual position during motion, and its fault limit.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is GigE Vision?
The standard for sending camera images and control over standard Gigabit Ethernet with long reach and PoE.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is a Golden Batch?
A reference profile of the best run, overlaid on live batches to catch deviation before product goes off-spec.
Read → GlossaryHART Device ID and Manufacturer ID Explained
The identity fields command 0 returns that name a device precisely and let a host load the right DD and address it.
Read → GlossaryWhat is homing in a motion system?
The startup routine that establishes an absolute position reference on an incremental-feedback axis.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a conveyor idler bearing temperature monitor?
Acoustic, infrared, and inline methods that catch a hot idler among thousands for predictive replacement.
Read → GlossaryWhat is an incremental encoder?
A feedback device that tracks relative motion via A/B quadrature channels and a Z index pulse.
Read → GlossaryWhat is optical character recognition in an industrial setting?
Reading lot codes, date codes, and serials off product with a vision camera, and how it differs from OCV and document OCR.
Read → GlossaryISA-88 Batch Control
The S88 physical and procedural models, recipes, and phases that structure chemical, food, and treatment batches.
Read → GlossaryWhat are the elements of the ISA-88 batch model?
The physical, procedural, and recipe models and how they interlock to separate equipment capability from product action.
Read → GlossaryWhat is an ISA-88 equipment module?
A grouping of control modules that performs a finite activity, sitting below the unit and above control modules.
Read → GlossaryWhat is the ISA-88 phase state model?
The state machine of every phase - idle, running, held, restarting, stopped, aborted - and its transitions.
Read → GlossaryWhat is the ISA-88 physical model?
The seven-level equipment hierarchy from enterprise to control module, and how it aligns with ISA-95.
Read → GlossaryWhat is the ISA-88 procedural control model?
The procedure, unit procedure, operation, and phase hierarchy that separates batch logic from equipment.
Read → GlossaryWhat is an ISA-88 unit procedure?
The second tier of the batch hierarchy that runs a batch through one unit by sequencing its operations.
Read → GlossaryISA-88 vs ISA-95: which frames my requirement?
Batch control inside the process cell versus enterprise integration across the plant boundary, meeting at the schedule-to-batch handoff.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is ISA-95?
The enterprise-control standard that defines the levels and interfaces linking the plant floor to ERP and MES.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is the ISA-95 Equipment Hierarchy?
The enterprise-site-area-work-center-unit tree that structures asset naming, the UNS, and MES-to-SCADA mapping.
Read → GlossaryWhat do the ISA-95 levels look like in practice?
Real systems mapped to each level, from field sensors to ERP, and an honest look at where modern architectures blur the boundaries.
Read → GlossaryISA-95 vs the Purdue model: how do they differ?
Same numbered levels, different jobs: Purdue frames security zoning while ISA-95 frames control-to-business integration.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is Machine Vision Lighting and Why Does It Matter?
The highest-leverage part of a vision system, turning a defect into high-contrast pixels before software runs.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is a Machine Vision System?
The coordinated stack of camera, lens, lighting, capture, and software that turns a scene into a decision.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is an MES?
The Level 3 system that executes and documents production between plant-floor control and enterprise ERP.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is Metrological Traceability?
The unbroken documented chain linking a field instrument's reading back to a national or SI standard.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is MOM?
The ISA-95 Level 3 umbrella covering production, quality, inventory, and maintenance - with MES as its production core.
Read → GlossaryHow do you monitor a conveyor transfer point?
Detect chute blockage before it buries the transfer, watch for spillage and overload, monitor belt alignment under the drop, and contain dust, reading them as one system.
Read → GlossaryWhat is pattern matching in machine vision?
The algorithm that locates a taught model in a live image and reports its position, angle, scale, and match score.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is a Pick-and-Place Machine?
Grabbing parts and placing them precisely with delta, SCARA, or gantry motion, vision guidance, and part feeding.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a process cell?
The ISA-88 level holding all units needed to make a batch, and the natural boundary for a batch server.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is Product Serialization and Traceability?
Assigning unique IDs per unit and aggregating to cases and pallets to build full track-and-trace genealogy.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a conveyor pull-cord switch?
The rope emergency stop along a conveyor that latches, needs local reset, and reports its section to SCADA.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a recipe formula in ISA-88?
The ISA-88 formula: process inputs, parameters, and outputs that parameterize a recipe, not the ordering logic.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is Recipe Management in Batch Control?
The ISA-88 general, site, master, and control recipe hierarchy and why centralized recipes drive consistency.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a recipe phase?
The smallest ISA-88 element that triggers action, carrying parameters that map to equipment phase logic.
Read → GlossaryWhat is registration in a motion system?
Hardware-latched position capture on a mark sensor that corrects an axis to a feature on the fly.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is Reverse Traceability?
The recall direction of the calibration chain - tracing a failed standard to every measurement it touched.
Read → GlossaryWhat is review by exception in batch release?
Reviewing only flagged deviations at batch release instead of every data point, via an electronic batch record.
Read → GlossaryWhat is an S-curve motion profile?
A jerk-limited velocity profile that ramps acceleration smoothly to cut shock, vibration, and settling time.
Read → GlossaryWhat is a servo drive?
The amplifier that closes torque, velocity, and position loops around a motor from feedback, unlike a VFD.
Read → GlossaryWhat Is a Tramp Metal Magnet on a Conveyor?
The suspended magnet that physically lifts ferrous tramp off a belt, plus permanent vs electromagnet designs.
Read → GlossaryWhat is the velocity loop in a servo drive?
The middle of a servo's three nested loops, regulating speed from encoder-derived velocity with PI gains.
Read → GlossaryWhat Are Working Distance and Field of View in Machine Vision?
The two geometry parameters that drive sensor resolution and lens focal length in a vision layout.
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