Mechatronics is a design process that includes a combination of mechanical engineering, electrical
engineering, telecommunications engineering, control engineering and computer engineering.
Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of engineering, that is to say, it rejects
splitting engineering into separate disciplines.
Originally, mechatronics just included the combination of mechanics and electronics,
hence the word is a combination of mechanics and electronics; however, as technical systems
have become more and more complex the word has been broadened to include more technical
areas.
The word "Mechatronics" was originally "Japanese-English" word created by Mr. Tetsuro Mori, who was
an engineer of Yaskawa Electric Corporation and the word "Mechatronics" was registered
as Trademark by the company in Japan with the registration number of "46-32714" in 1971.
However afterward, the company released the right of using the word to public, and the
word "Mechatronics" didn't only stay in Japan, but also introduced as a native English word.
Nowadays, the word is translated in each language and the word is considered as an essential
term for industry.
French standard NF E 01-010 gives the following definition: “approach aiming at the synergistic
integration of mechanics, electronics, control theory, and computer science within product
design and manufacturing, in order to improve and/or optimize its functionality".
Many people treat "mechatronics" as a modern buzzword synonymous with "electromechanical
engineering".
However, other people draw a distinction between an "electromechanical component"—does not
include a computer; an electro-mechanical computer—does not include an electronic
computer; vs. a "mechatronic system"—a computer-controlled mechanical system, including both an electronic
computer and electromechanical components.
Description
A mechatronics engineer unites the principles of mechanics, electronics, and computing to
generate a simpler, more economical and reliable system.
The term "mechatronics" was coined by Tetsuro Mori, the senior engineer of the Japanese
company Yaskawa in 1969.
An industrial robot is a prime example of a mechatronics system; it includes aspects
of electronics, mechanics, and computing to do its day-to-day jobs.
Engineering cybernetics deals with the question of control engineering of mechatronic systems.
It is used to control or regulate such a system.
Through collaboration, the mechatronic modules perform the production goals and inherit flexible
and agile manufacturing properties in the production scheme.
Modern production equipment consists of mechatronic modules that are integrated according to a
control architecture.
The most known architectures involve hierarchy, polyarchy, heterarchy, and hybrid.
The methods for achieving a technical effect are described by control algorithms, which
might or might not utilize formal methods in their design.
Hybrid systems important to mechatronics include production systems, synergy drives, planetary
exploration rovers, automotive subsystems such as anti-lock braking systems and spin-assist,
and everyday equipment such as autofocus cameras, video, hard disks, and CD players.
Course structure Mechatronic students take courses in various
fields: Mechanical engineering and materials science
Electrical engineering Computer engineering
Computer science(software & hardware engineering) Systems and control engineering
Optomechanics Application
Machine vision Automation and robotics
Servo-mechanics Sensing and control systems
Automotive engineering, automotive equipment in the design of subsystems such as anti-lock
braking systems Computer-machine controls, such as computer
driven machines like IE CNC milling machines Expert systems
Industrial goods Consumer products
Mechatronics systems Medical mechatronics, medical imaging systems
Structural dynamic systems Transportation and vehicular systems
Mechatronics as the new language of the automobile Diagnostic, reliability, and control system
techniques Computer aided and integrated manufacturing
systems Computer-aided design
Engineering and manufacturing systems Packaging
Microcontrollers / PLCs Mobile apps
Physical implementations Mechanical modeling calls for modeling and
simulating physical complex phenomenon in the scope of a multi-scale and multi-physical
approach.
This implies to implement and to manage modeling and optimization methods and tools, which
are integrated in a systemic approach.
The specialty is aimed at students in mechanics who want to open their mind to systems engineering,
and able to integrate different physics or technologies, as well as students in mechatronics
who want to increase their knowledge in optimization and multidisciplinary simulation technics.
The specialty educates students in robust and/or optimized conception methods for structures
or many technological systems, and to the main modeling and simulation tools used in
R&D.
Special courses are also proposed for original applications to prepare the students to the
coming breakthrough in the domains covering the materials and the systems.
For some mechatronic systems, the main issue is no longer how to implement a control system,
but how to implement actuators.
Within the mechatronic field, mainly two technologies are used to produce movement/motion.
Variant of the field An emerging variant of this field is biomechatronics,
whose purpose is to integrate mechanical parts with a human being, usually in the form of
removable gadgets such as an exoskeleton.
Such an entity is often identified in science fiction as a cyborg.
This is the "real-life" version of cyberware.
See also
Cybernetics Control theory
Electromechanics Mechatronics journals
List of engineering topics Materials engineering
Mechanical engineering technology Robotics
Stereochemistry Supramolecular engineering
Systems engineering Further reading
Robert Munnig Schmidt, Georg Schitter, Adrian Rankers and Jan van Eijk, The Design of High
Performance Mechatronics - 2nd revised edition.
IOS Press, 2014.
Bishop, Robert H., Mechatronics: an introduction.
CRC Press, 2006.
De Silva, Clarence W., Mechatronics: an integrated approach.
CRC Press, 2005 Onwubolu, Godfrey C., Mechatronics: principles
and applications.
Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005.
Rankers, Adrian M., Machine Dynamics in Mechatronic Systems.
University Twente, 1997 References
General Bradley, Dawson et al., Mechatronics, Electronics
in products and processes, Chapman and Hall Verlag, London, 1991.
Karnopp, Dean C., Donald L. Margolis, Ronald C. Rosenberg, System Dynamics: Modeling and
Simulation of Mechatronic Systems, 4th Edition, Wiley, 2006.
ISBN 0-471-70965-4 Bestselling system dynamics book using bond graph approach.
Cetinkunt, Sabri, Mechatronics, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2007 ISBN 9780471479871
James J. Nutaro.
Building software for simulation: theory and algorithms, with applications in C++.
Wiley.
External links IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.
Mechatronics Journal - Elsevier mechatronic applications and realisation List
of publications concerning examples NF E 01-010 2008 - AFNOR
XP E 01-013 2009 – AFNOR