TM 62251

MEKATRONIKA
(MECHATRONICS)

INTRODUCTION TO
MECHATRONICS

Rieza Zulrian Aldio, B.Eng M.Sc

 Introduction
• The word mechatronics was originated from Japan (Yasakawa Electric Company) in the late
1960s, spread through Europe, and is now commonly used round the globe.
• “The word, mechatronics, is composed of ‘mecha’ from mechanism and the ‘tronics’ from
electronics.
• Mechatronics solves technological problems using interdisciplinary knowledge consisting of
mechanical engineering, electronics, and computer technology.
• In 1996, Harashima, Tomizuka, and Fukuda defined mechatronics as being “the synergistic
integration of mechanical engineering, with electronics and intelligent computer control in the
design and manufacturing of industrial products and processes.”
• Bolton presented yet another definition by saying “a mechatronic system is not just a marriage of
electrical and mechanical systems and is more than just a control system; the mechatronic system
is a complete integration of them all.”
• Mechatronics is the field of study concerned with the design, selection, analysis, and control of
systems that combine mechanical elements with electronic components, including computers
and/or microcontrollers.
 Evolution of Mechatronics
• Technological advances in design, manufacturing, and operation of engineered products/devices/processes
can be traced through:
Industrial revolution
Semiconductor revolution
Information revolution
Industrial Revolution
• Allowed design of products and processes for energy conversion and transmission thus allowing the use of
energy to do useful work.
• Engineering designs of this era were largely mechanical e.g., operations of motion transmission, sensing,
actuation, and computation were performed using mechanical components such as cams, gears, levers, and
linkages).
• Purely mechanical systems suffer from

– Power amplification inability.

– Energy losses due to tolerances, inertia, and friction.
 Importance of Mechatronics in Automation
• Today’s customers are demanding more variety and higher levels of flexibility
in the products.
• Due to these demands and competition in the market, manufacturers launch
new/modified products to survive.
• It is reducing the product life as well as lead-time to manufacture a product.

• It is therefore essential to automate the manufacturing and assembly

operations of a product.
• There are various activities involved in the product manufacturing process.
Example of Predominantly Mechanical Designs
 Semiconductors
• Led to the creation of integrated circuit (IC) technology.

• Effective, miniaturized, power electronics could amplify and deliver needed amount of
power to actuators.
• Signal conditioning electronics could filter and encode sensory data in analog/digital
format.
• Hard-wired, on-board, discrete analog/digital ICs provided rudimentary computational and
decision-making circuits for control of mechanical devices.
 Information Revolution
• Development of VLSI technology led to the introduction of microprocessor, microcomputer, and
microcontroller.
• Now computing hardware is everywhere, cheap, and small.

• As computing hardware can be effortlessly interfaced with real world electromechanical

systems, it is now routinely embedded in engineered products/processes for decisionmaking.
• Microcontrollers are replacing precision mechanical components, e.g., precision machined
camshaft that in many applications functions as a timing device.
• Programmability of microcontrollers is providing a versatile and flexible alternative to the hard-
wired analog/digital computational hardware.
• Integrated computer-electrical-mechanical devices are now capable of converting, transmitting,
and processing both the physical energy and the virtual energy (information).
• Result: Highly efficient products and processes are now being developed by judicious selection
and integration of sensors, actuators, signal conditioning, power electronics, decision and
control algorithms, and computer hardware and software.
 Mechatronics Applications
• Smart consumer products: home security, camera, microwave oven, toaster, dish washer,
laundry washer-dryer, climate control units, Automatic Digital Cemera etc.
• Computer disk VCR/DVD drives, ATM, etc

• Medical: implant-devices, assisted surgery, haptic, etc.

• Defense: unmanned air, ground, and underwater vehicles, smart weapons, jet engines, etc.

• Manufacturing: NC & CNC machine tools, Rapid Prototyping, robotics, etc.

• Automotive: climate control, antilock brake, active suspension, cruise control, air bags, engine
management, safety, etc.
• Network-centric, distributed systems: distributed robotics, telerobotics, intelligent highways,
etc.
Advantages of Mechatronics
• Cost effective and good quality products

• High degree of flexibility to modify or redesign

• Very good performance characteristics

• Wide are of application

• Greater productivity in case of manufacturing organization

• Greater extend of machine utilization

Disadvantages of Mechatronics
• High Initial cost

• Multi-disciplinary engineering background required to design and implementation

• Need of highly trained workers

• Complexity in identification an correction of problems in the system

Elements of Mechatronics System
 Actuators & Sensors

Actuators
Detect the system parameters, inputs
Produce motion or cause some action
Various actuators: Pneumatic
and hydraulic actuators,
Electro Mechanical actuators,
Piezoelectric, Electrical
Motors, i.e. D.C, A.C, Stepper,
Servo motors
Sensors
and outputs
Various Sensors: Liner and
rotational sensors,
acceleration sensors, force,
torque, pressure sensor,
temperature, proximity and
light sensors
 Transducer
• It is defined as an element when subjected to some physical change experiences a related
change or an element which converts a specified measure and into a usable output by using a
transduction principle. It can also be defined as a device that converts a signal from one form of
energy to another form. A wire of Constantan alloy (copper-nickel 55-45% alloy) can be called as
a sensor because variation in mechanical displacement (tension or compression) can be sensed
as change in electric resistance. This wire becomes a transducer with appropriate electrodes and
input-output mechanism attached to it. Thus we can say that ‘sensors are transducers’.

• Sensor specifications inform the user to the about deviations from the ideal behavior of the
sensors. Following are the various specifications of a sensor/transducer system.
 Signal & Conditioning
• Mechatronic system deals with two types of signals and conditioning , i.e. Input & Output

• Input devices receive input signals from the mechatronics system via interfacing devices an sensors.

• From sensors the signal is send to the control circuits for conditioning or processing.

• Various input signal conditioning devices are amplifiers, A2D, D2D converters .

• Output signals from the system are send to the output/display devices through interfacing devices

• Various output signal conditioning devices are D2A, display decoders, power transistors, op-amps.
 Digital Thermometer

• The thermocouple is a transducer that converts temperature to a small voltage; the amplifier
increases the magnitude of the voltage; the A/D (analog-to-digital) converter is a device that
changes the analog signal to a coded digital signal; and the LEDs (light emitting diodes)
display the value of the temperature.
 Digital Logic System
• It will control overall system operation
• Various digital logic systems are logic circuits, microcontrollers, PLC, sequencing & timing
controls