Fundamentals of Mechatronics

A three-day short course on Fundamentals of Mechatronics. Mechatronics is a multidisciplinary field of study concerned with the design, selection, analysis, and control of systems that combine mechanical elements with electronics components, including computers and or/microcontrollers. The course focuses on essential topics in mechatronics including electronics, microcontrollers, data acquisition and interfacing, control software, sensors and actuators, and feedback control. The course covers PIC microcontrollers as well as the interfacing of microcontrollers/PCs with mechatronics components. The course also discusses the details of designing several mechatronics systems. This course is suitable for individuals who: would like to get exposure to the field of mechatronics systems design; or conduct/supervise projects in the area of mechatronics.

Detailed Course Outline:

Day 1 of 3 Introduction to Mechatronics Objective: Introduce the subject of mechatronics and the topics covered in the course Introduction to mechatronics Examples of mechatronics systems Course outline and outcomes Electronics Objective: Discuss basic electronics topics and illustrate how semiconductor electronic devices are used in many circuits and devices for switching or amplification purposes. Microcontrollers -1 Semi-conductor switching elements Bipolar junction and MOSFET transistors Digital circuits Circuit Families H-bridge driver circuit

Objective: Explain the function and operation of the basic components of a microcontroller. Explain the process of performing digital I/O and A/D Introduction to embedded systems and PIC microcontrollers MCU terms Numbering systems Digital I/O Analog input

Microcontrollers- 2

Objective: Explain timers, PWM actuation, power management and interrupts Timing PWM actuation Power management Interrupts 1

Day 2 of 3 Data Acquisition and Serial Interfacing Objective: Explain data acquisition on a PC and the serial interfacing of a microcontroller or a PC to other devices PC Timing and Control Software Structures Data acquisition on a PC A/D, D/A, and digital I/O RS232 interfacing SPI Interfacing I2C Interfacing

Objective: Describe PC timing functions and state transition diagrams to organize control tasks Timing needs and modes Timer implementation Tasks/states State transition diagrams

Control Software Structures/Sensors

Objective: Describe the control software structures to perform measurement and control and discuss sensors performance specifications and displacement sensors Implementation of state transition diagrams Discrete event and feedback control applications Cooperative and preemptive control modes Sensor performance specification Potentiometers and encoders

Sensors

Objective: Explain the different types of sensors, their characteristics and interface Displacement, proximity, speed, torque, temperature, and vibration sensors Bridge circuits to process output of resistance-type sensors Sensors with 4-20mA output Filtering

Day 3 of 3 Electric Actuators Objective: Provides overview of commonly used electrically powered actuators, their drive circuits and interface Brush and Brushless DC actuators Stepper motors and drive techniques Drive methods and amplifiers

Feedback Control

Objective: Explain control systems concepts, the PID control algorithm, and implementation of feedback controllers. Open and closed-loop control systems PID control algorithm Implementation of control algorithms Effect of nonlinearities on control system behavior

Mechatronics Systems

Objective: Describe details of several mechatronics systems applications that integrate many of the topics covered Automated laser cutting system Paper dispensing system Gear changer system Portable measurement and control system Mobile robot controller

Conclusion

Objective: Summarize the main topics covered, find resources for further training, and evaluate the course Summary Resources Evaluations

Note: A copy of the textbook Fundamentals of Mechatronics (authored by M. Jouaneh and published by Cengage Learning, 2013) will be provided to course participants.

Instructor: The course will be taught by Professor Musa Jouaneh from the University of Rhode Island (URI), USA who has been teaching courses in the mechatronics area for more than 20 years, and is the director of the Mechatronics Lab at URI. Dr. Jouaneh received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1984 from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and his Master and Doctorate degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986 and 1989 respectively. His research interests include mechatronics and robotics. He has served as a consultant to many companies in the Northeast and has received two College of Engineering Faculty Excellence Awards and the URI Foundation Teaching Excellence Award. He is the author or coauthor of over 65 publications including two US patents. He is also the author of two recently published textbooks on Mechatronics. Dr. Jouaneh is a Fellow member of ASME, a senior member of IEEE, and a member of ASEE.