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Simulation-Centered Mechatronics

Introduction

Mechatronics is a multi-disciplinary topic that covers the intersection of electrical and mechanical design, including sensors and signal conditioning, control systems and actuator development. It is difficult to teach a well-balanced mechatronics class without favoring one discipline over the others, since most instructors are part of an electrical or mechanical engineering group. One technique for uniting the disciplines is numerical simulation of the mechatronic system [1], which allows students to focus on the system design rather than the individual components.

Mechatronics is primarily a systems design field [2], and like most complex systems, mechatronic designs can be improved through computer simulation. The simulation is used for several purposes: it ties the sensor electronics, control algorithm and actuator model together; it reinforces the mathematical concepts behind state-space models and state-space control, and it teaches the value of design by simulation, especially when the students must build the system from their numerical model as part of a lab.

The class design is novel in that the separate topics of sensors and signal conditioning, controllers and programming, and actuators are united in the simulation. The students are introduced to the individual components, their numerical models are discussed, and they are combined into a system simulation. At San Francisco State University (SFSU) the students must design and simulate a unique system as a final project, and the accompanying lab requires students to build and test the system, using their simulation as a design tool.

At SFSU the mechatronics class is comprised of a mix of electrical, computer and mechanical engineering majors. The varying backgrounds require a mix of introductory material to bring the class to a homogeneous knowledge base, and design problems that are relevant to the various disciplines represented. The prerequisites for the class are a course in classical dynamics and a linear systems class that teaches system modeling and signal conditioning, especially in the frequency domain. A feedback control course is not a prerequisite for the mechatronics class although nearly all students who take mechatronics will take control systems before they graduate, and about half the students take it before mechatronics.

The SFSU mechatronics class contains a lab, which gives hands-on experience with sensors, controllers and actuators [3]. The lab is a useful adjunct because it teaches the students practical skills, such as microcontroller applications, for their future employment; it reinforces the subject matter of the lecture; and it shows the students phenomena that are not always included in the simple linear models that are used for the numerical simulation (such as saturation, sensor noise and friction).

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Holden, M. (2006, June), Simulation Centered Mechatronics Paper presented at 2006 Annual Conference & Exposition, Chicago, Illinois. 10.18260/1-2--458