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78 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2019 Feature by Happy Holden I-CONNECT007 Editor's Note: Parts of this article include ex- cerpts from and expansions of Automation and Advanced Procedures in PCB Fabrication. Automation in a working context means more than just automatic machinery. Machinery im- plies mechanization. Automation also means the system information directs and controls people, materials, and machines. This concept is also known as systemization [1] . Therefore, automation is made up of two components, like a vector: mechanization (material flow) and systemization (information flow). Mechanization Classes Mechanization can be divided into six classes that indicate the amount of sophistication of ma- chines and machine interactions with humans. The classes are rated based on the percentage of the work done by machines (Chart 1). Systemization Levels Similarly, systemization can be divided into six levels that indicate the amount and sophis- tication of blueprints, information, data, sched- uling, and control that take place (Chart 2). A Working Definition of Automation Chart 1. Chart 2.