1

b. TECH. SEMINAR
A STUDY OF MECHATRONICS & ITS
APPLICATIONS

Mechanical Engineering
(Machine Design)

Submitted by

SHASHANK AWASTHI

Happy Srivastava & Gaurav Raghav

(Supervisor)

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Institute of Technology & Management
Aligarh- 202001

CONTENTS:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
3. KEY ELEMENTS OF MECHATRONICS
4. GOALS & SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
5. THE MECHATRONIC SYSTEM
6. APPLICATIONS
7. ADVANTAGES
8. DISADVANTAGES
9. CONCLUSION
10. REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION:
The word, mechatronics, is composed of mecha from mechanism and the
tronics from electronics.
In other words, technologies and developed products will be incorporating
electronics more and more into mechanisms, intimately and organically, and
making it impossible to tell where one ends and the other begins.
In their words, mechatronics is defined as, The synergistic integration of
mechanical engineering, with electronics and intelligent computer control
in the design and manufacturing of industrial products and processes.
Another definition was suggested by Auslander and Kempf .
Mechatronics is the application of complex decision making to the operation
of physical systems.
Another definition due to Shetty and Kolk appeared in 1997 :
Mechatronics is a methodology used for the optimal design of
electromechanical products.
More recently, we find the suggestion by W. Bolton :
A mechatronic system is not just a marriage of electrical and mechanical
systems and is more than just a control system; it is a complete integration of
all of them.

1. Review of literature:
. Mechatronics was born in Japan about 25 years ago which is an
interdisciplinary area relating to the mechanical engineering, electrical
engineering/electronics and computer science. This technology has produced
many new products and provided powerful ways of improving the efficiency of

the products we use in our daily life. Currently, there is no doubt about the
importance of mechatronics as an area in science and technology
In the late 1970s, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Machine Industry
(JSPMI) classified mechatronics
products into four categories [1]:
1.Class I :Primarily mechanical products with electronics incorporated to
enhance functionality. Examples include numerically controlled machine tools
and variable speed drives in manufacturing
machines.
2. Class II: Traditional mechanical systems with significantly updated internal
devices incorporating electronics. The external user interfaces are unaltered.
Examples include the modern sewing machine and automated manufacturing
systems.
3.Class III: Systems that retain the functionality of the traditional mechanical
system, but the internal mechanisms are replaced by electronics. An example
is the digital watch.
4.Class IV: Products designed with mechanical and electronic technologies
through synergistic integration. Examples include photocopiers, intelligent
washers and dryers, rice cookers, and automatic ovens.

2. Key Elements of Mechatronics:

The study of mechatronic systems can be divided into the following areas of
specialty:
1. Physical Systems Modeling
2. Sensors and Actuators
3. Signals and Systems

4. Computers and Logic Systems

5. Software and Data Acquisition

Fig1: Elemental Structure of Mechatronics

3. Goals And Specifics Objective:
The principal goal of the mechatronics curriculum are summarized below:
To develop an innovative curriculum in Electro Mechanical system
design that will serve as a national model.
To use this innovative curriculum as a means of integrating electrical ,
electronics , mechanical , and computational engineering education in
to a capstone design sequence.
To introduce the use of video and computers in the classroom and
Laboratory.
To emphasize the use of a variety of CAD tools in engineering design and
analysis.

4. The Mechatronic System:

Figure shows a typical mechatronic system with mechanical, electrical, and
computer components. The process of system data acquisition begins with the
measurement of a physical value by a sensor. The sensor is able to generate
some form of signal, generally an analog signal in the form of a voltage level
or waveform. This analog signal is sent to an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
Commonly using a process of successive approximation, the ADC maps the
analog input signal to a digital output. This digital value is composed of a set of
binary values called bits (often represented by 0s and 1s). The set of bits
represents a decimal or hexadecimal number that can be used by the
microcontroller. The microcontroller consists of a microprocessor plus memory
and other attached devices. The program in the microprocessor uses this
digital value along with other inputs and preloaded values called calibrations to
determine output commands. Like the input to the microprocessor, these
outputs are in digital form and can be represented by a set of bits. A digital-toanalog converter (DAC) is then often used to convert the digital value into an
analog signal. The analog signal is used by an actuator to control a physical
device or affect the physical environment. The sensor then takes new
measurements and the process repeated, thus completing a feedback control
loop. Timing for this entire operation is synchronized by the use of a clock.

Fig2 :Microprocessor control system.

5.Application:
Automation and robotics
Servo-mechanics
Sensing and control systems
Automotive engineering, Automotive equipment in the design of
subsystems such as anti-lock braking system
Computer-machine controls, such as computer driven machines like CNC
machines

5.1. Automation:

Automation is the use of control system (such as numerical control,

programmable logic controller, and other INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEM), in
concert with other applications of I.T. (such as computer aided technologies
[CAD, CAM, CAx]), to control industry machinery and industrial process,
reducing the need for human intervention. In the scope of industrialization,
automation is a step beyond mechanization. Whereas mechanization provided
human operators with machinery to assist them with the muscular
requirements of work, automation greatly reduces the need for human sensory
and mental requirements as well. Processes and systems can also be
automated.
Automation plays an increasingly important role in the global economy and in
daily experience. Engineers strive to combine automated devices with
mathematical and organizational tools to create complex systems for a rapidly
expanding range of applications and human activities.
Many roles for humans in industrial processes presently lie beyond the scope
of automation. Human-level pattern recognition, language recognition, and
language production ability are well beyond the capabilities of modern
mechanical and computer systems. Specialized hardened computers, referred
to as programmable logic controller (PLCs), are frequently used to synchronize
the flow of inputs from (physical) sensor and events with the flow of outputs to
actuators and events. This leads to precisely controlled actions that permit a
tight control of almost any industrial process.
Human-computer interaction(HMI) or user computing (CHI), formerly known as
man-machine interfaces, are usually employed to communicate with PLCs and

other computers, such as entering and monitoring temperature control or

pressures for further automated control or emergency response. Service
personnel who monitor & controls these interfaces are often referred to as
stationary engineers.

Fig3 : KUKA Industrial Robots being used at a bakery for food

production
5.2.

Servomechanism:

A servomechanism, or servo is an automatic device that uses error-sensing

feedback to correct the performance of a mechanism. The term correctly
applies only to systems where the feedback or error-correction signals help
control mechanical position or other parameters.

10

Servomechanism may or may not use a servomotor. For example, a household

furnace controlled by thermostat is a servomechanism, yet there is no motor
being controlled directly by the servomechanism.
Many autofocus cameras also use a servomechanism to accurately move the
lens, and thus adjust the focus. A modern hard disk drive has a magnetic servo
system with sub-micrometer positioning accuracy.
Typical servos give a rotary (angular) output. Linear types are common as well,
using a simple machine or a linear motors to give linear motion.
Another device commonly referred to as a servo is used in automobiles to
amplify the power steering or brake force applied by the driver. However,
these devices are not true servos, but rather mechanical amplifier.

11

Fig4 : Industrial servomotor

6.3 Sensor:
A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a
signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a
thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and
contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated glass tube. A
thermocouple converts temperature to an output voltage which can be read
by a voltmeter. For accuracy, all sensors need to be calibration against known
standards.

12

Fig5 : Thermocouple sensor for high temperature measurement

6.4 . Control system:
A control system is a device or set of devices to manage, command, direct or
regulate the behavior of other devices or systems.
There are two common classes of control systems, with many variations and
combinations: logic controls, and feedback or linear controls. There is also
fuzzy logic, which attempts to combine some of the design simplicity of logic
with the utility of linear control. Some devices or systems are inherently
controllability.
The term "control system" may be applied to the essentially manual controls
that allow an operator to, for example, close and open a hydraulic press,
where the logic requires that it cannot be moved unless safety guards are in
place.
An automatic sequential control system may trigger a series of mechanical
actuators in the correct sequence to perform a task. For example various

13

electric and pneumatic transducers may fold and glue a cardboard box, fill it
with product and then seal it in an automatic packaging machine.
In the case of linear feedback systems, a control loop, including sensors,
control algorithms and actuators, is arranged in such a fashion as to try to
regulate a variable at a setpoint or reference value. An example of this may
increase the fuel supply to a furnace when a measured temperature drops. PID
Controller are common and effective in cases such as this. Control systems that
include some sensing of the results they are trying to achieve are making use
of feedback and so can, to some extent, adapt to varying circumstances. Open
loop controller do not directly make use of feedback, but run only in prearranged ways.

6.5. Antilock Braking System (ABS):

A second example is the Antilock Braking System (ABS) found in many vehicles.
The entire purpose of this type of system is to prevent a wheel from locking up
and thus having the driver loose directional control of the vehicle due to
skidding. In this case, sensors attached to each wheel determine the rotational
speed of the wheels. These data, probably in a waveform or time-varied
electrical voltage, is sent to the microcontroller along with the data from
sensors reporting inputs such as brake pedal position, vehicle speed, and yaw.
After conversion by the ADC or input capture routine into a digital value, the
program in the microprocessor then determines the necessary action. This is
where the aspect of human computer interface (HCI) or human machine
interface (HMI) comes into play by taking account of the feel of the system
to the user. System calibration can adjust the response to the driver while, of
course, stopping the vehicle by controlling the brakes with the actuators. There

14

are two important things to note in this example. The first is that, in the end,
the vehicle is being stopped because of hydraulic forces pressing the brake pad
against a drum or rotora purely mechanical function. The other is that the
ABS, while an intelligent product, is not a stand-alone device. It is part of a
larger system, the vehicle, with multiple microcontrollers working together
through the data network of the vehicle.

6. Advantages of Mechatronic Systems:

simplified mechanical design
rapid machine setup
cost-effectiveness
rapid development trials
possibilities for adaptation during commissioning
optimized performance, productivity, reliability

7. Disadvantages of Mechatronic Systems:

different expertise required
more complex safety issues
increase in component failures
increased power requirements
lifetimes change/vary
real-time calculations/mathematical models

Conclusion:
The purpose of this interdisciplinary engineering field is the study of automota
from an engineering perspective and serves. The purpose of controlling
advanced hybrid system important to mechatronics include production system,

15

synergy drives, planetry exploration rovers, automotive subsystem such as

antilock braking system, spin assist and every day equipment such as auto
focus cameras, video, hard disk, cd-players.

REFERENCES:
Kyura, N. and Oho, H., Mechatronicsan industrial perspective,
IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics,Vol. 1, No. 1, 1996, pp. 1015
Shetty, D. and Kolk, R. A.,

Mechatronic System Design,PWS Publishing

Company, Boston, MA, 1997.

Bolton, W., Mechatronics: Electrical Control Systems in Mechanical and
Electrical Engineering, 2nd Ed., Addison-Wesley Longman, Harlow, England.
Karnopp, Dean C., Donald L. Margolis, Ronald C. Rosenberg, System
Dynamics: Modeling and Simulation of Mechatronic Systems, 4th Edition,
Wiley, 2006. Bestselling system dynamics book using bond graph approach.
C. A. Grimes, E. C. Dickey, and M. V. Pishko (2006), Encyclopedia of Sensors
(10-Volume Set), American Scientific Publishers.

16