The invention serves to take account of the reaction time of an item of equipment to be driven which, when a travel reference value, serving as a way-mark, is reached on a travel of an item of equipment in an industrial plant, is intended to be activated or deactivated, the travel being able to be covered at different speeds. The invention has the following elements: a position transmitter to register the actual value of the travel, means for storing the reaction time of the item of equipment to be driven, means for storing a first actual value of the travel ("starting actual value"), means for storing a second actual value of the travel after a time period corresponding to the reaction time of the item of equipment to be driven has elapsed ("final actual value"), means for determining a current magnitude of a lead travel by subtracting the first stored actual value from the second, and means for reducing the travel reference value ("corrected travel reference value") or increasing the actual value of the travel ("dynamized actual value") by the current magnitude of the lead travel.

This is a processing cell of an automatic machining system having a small, lightweight and simple structure, easy to determine or change the number of process, easy in design, and low in apparatus cost. A processing cell (A) has a unit structure comprising a conveying device (10) forming a part of a work conveying route (1), a fine boring machine (5a) or honing machine (5b), (5c) as a single machine tool, and a control unit for linking them mutually and controlling, and these cells are installed, being free to increase or decrease in number, in the machining section of automatic machining system such as automatic honing system.

A processing cell of automatic machining system configured in that it is easy to decide or change the number of steps and to design, and to reduce the installation cost. The control unit of the processing cell comprises an operation data storing means for storing every position necessary data for operation at each position of the processing cell installed in the machining section of the automatic machining system, and a position designating means for designating the after-installation position. The control unit reads necessary data for operation out of the operation data storing means in accordance with the position designated by the position designating means. Thus, the operation of each cell can be switched in accordance with the position, and the processing cells can be easily changed in position and adjusted in quantity.

An automated nucleic acid compaction device for analyzing and compacting a nucleic acid complex into unimolecular nucleic acid particles. Broadly, the device includes a container support and agitation system; a measuring and testing system; and a dispensing system; all controlled by a control system. The control system controls the support and agitation system and the dispensing system based either on a predetermined formulation or by analysis of feedback data provided by the measuring and testing system. In a preferred embodiment, the device is a real-time measuring and mixing instrument operating in a closed loop system. The preferred embodiment also comprises a monitoring system including a submersible probe which is positioned in the batch solution to provide data to a controller. Once a desired level of nucleic acid compaction is reached, as detected by the monitoring system, the controller stops the dispensing and mixing agitating systems.