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A SOFTWARE PACKAGE TO FACILITATE TEACHING INTRODUCTORY LEVEL MECHATRONICS

Gokhan Bayar1, Orhan Olcucuoglu1, Bugra Koku1, and Ali Sekmen2 1 Department of Mechanical Engineering Middle East Technical University Ankara, Turkey 2 Department of Computer Science Tennessee State University Nashville, TN

Abstract

This paper describes a software package that is designed to facilitate teaching an introductory course on Mechatronics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Middle East Technical University. This course attracts students from multiple disciplines. Being offered at the third semester, rather than focusing on theoretical aspects of different disciplines, this course focuses on the system integration aspect of Mechatronics systems and emphasizes this with hands-on laboratory exercises and a semester project. The semester project requires the design and construction of a simple closed loop system. To make the programming aspect of these projects easier, it is intended to develop the necessary software on a PC rather than an embedded platform. To facilitate this, a software package is developed. With the help of this package and a microcontroller board (Basic Stamp 2), students can easily setup simple closed loop systems, interface them to the computer and design a controller in Matlab or Simulink.

1. Introduction

Mechatronics is commonly described as the synergic integration of mechanical engineering (ME), electronics, computer science (CS), and electrical engineering (EE) disciplines for development of intelligent systems. When Mechatronics is defined, the emphasis is generally not on the interdisciplinary nature of this discipline but rather on the synergetic integration of knowledge from different disciplines towards designing and manufacturing machines. Rzevski defines Mechatronics as “An Engineering discipline concerned with the integration of mechanical, electronic, computer software and other technologies with the aim of designing and manufacturing effective machines” [1]. Similarly, Histand defines Mechatronics as: “A rapidly developing, interdisciplinary field of engineering that deals with the design of products whose function relies on the synergistic integration of mechanical, electrical, and electronic components connected by control architecture” [2]. Being a product oriented discipline, Mechatronics covers a wide range of application areas such as robotics, manufacturing, system

“Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Koku, B., & Sekmen, A. (2005, June), A Software Package Developed To Facilitate Teaching Introductory Level Mechatronics Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--14951