• Semester 2 (External)
• Semester 12 (Day)

Synopsis

In  mechatronics,  mechanical, electrical and computing  elements  are
combined  to  form  an  integrated whole.  This  unit  draws  together
mechanical,  electrical,  software  and  interfacing  aspects   of   a
mechtronic  system  through a progressive sequence of  experiments.  A
motor  is  connected  to a computer through a power  amplifier,  while
another motor in tandem is monitored through an analogue interface  to
determine  its  speed.  A  line or two of  code  makes  speed  control
possible. A belt drives a 'trolley' of which the position is monitored
and some more effort including some nonlinear strategies results in  a
'crisp'  position  controller of an industrial standard.  An  inverted
pendulum  is  added to the trolley and the student devises  a  control
scheme  to  keep it balanced. Several further, brief experiments  give
familiarity with pneumatic positioning, simple vision interfacing  and
a  hydraulic  robot.  This unit will round  off  the  formation  of  a
mechatronics engineer.