Mechatronics at Rensselaer: Integration Through Design

1992 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Craig
Keyword(s):  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Controller Design ◽  
Computer Control ◽  
Sensors And Actuators ◽  
Final Project ◽  
Mechatronic Design ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
Stepper Motors

Abstract Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronics, control engineering, and computer science in the design process. This paper describes a new elective course entitled Mechatronics which has been developed and was taught for the first time at Rensselaer during the fall 1991 semester to 45 senior-undergraduate and graduate students. The key areas of mechatronics which are studied in depth in this course are: control sensors and actuators, interfacing sensors and actuators to a microcomputer, discrete controller design, and real-time programming for control using the C programming language. The course is heavily laboratory-based with a two-hour laboratory weekly in addition to three hours of classroom lecture. The laboratory exercises include computer-aided control system design using MATRIXx, various analog and digital sensors, hydraulic actuators, DC and stepper motors, and computer control of a variety of physical systems. The unifying theme for the course is the integration of these key areas into a successful mechatronic design. Students are required, as a final project, to: identify a problem or need, analyze the problem, and write a problem statement; perform a state-of-the-art review; develop a list of specifications and identify the key specifications; generate an outstanding mechatronic-system conceptual design; and finally perform a detailed design of the system which may include model building and hardware development. Examples of student projects are described. This course should significantly enhance our design education program in the Mechanical Engineering Department and lay the foundation for the students to become mechatronic design engineers.

scholarly journals UNIVERSITY-INDUSTRY COLLABORATION IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY DESIGN EDUCATION: THE SANDVIK MINING EQUIPMENT - QUEEN'S MINE-MECHANICAL EXPERIENCE

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick F. R. Murphy ◽  
Laeeque K. Daneshmend
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Educational Outcomes ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Mining Equipment ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
Industry Collaboration ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Communication And Coordination ◽  
University Industry

Queen’s University at Kingston has been graduating a unique breed of multidisciplinary engineer since 1994: the Mine-Mechanical option students within the Queen’s Mining program are exposed to the fundamentals of both Mechanical Engineering and Mining Engineering. The final year capstone engineering design project in the Mine-Mechanical option focuses on mining equipment design, and since 2000 this multidisciplinary project has been carried out in collaboration with Sandvik Mining and Construction of Burlington, Ontario. The students work on real world design projects formulated by design engineers at Sandvik, under close communication and coordination with academic project advisors. These design projects are differentiated from typical mechanical engineering design projects in that they require a thorough understanding of the mining context in which the equipment is to be deployed and operated. This paper will present the structure and format of this university-industry educational collaboration, review past successes, evaluate the educational outcomes as well as benefits to industry, and ponder some lessons learnt.

Design Education Across Disciplines: Opportunities for Curriculum Advancement

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony A. Nix ◽  
Mark T. Lemke ◽  
Ryan M. Arlitt ◽  
Robert B. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Large Field ◽  
Apparel Design ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
Math And Science ◽  
Design Skills ◽  
Science Classes

Design education is a large field. It is not just limited to engineering design but can also include apparel design, industrial design, graphic design, architecture, and many others. These disciplines instruct students to follow a similar design process to what is generally taught in engineering design. However, these other disciplines contain a variety of instructional techniques, class structures, and class types that are not regularly included in engineering design. While design engineers tend to get a background rich in math and science, instructing students in design can be difficult. Many of these math and science classes focus on one approach and one right answer. However, in design the answers tend to fall on a spectrum from unsatisfactory to varying levels of satisfactory to ideal and innovative solutions, all of which can be uncovered using widely varying design methods. Despite the rigidness of the mechanical engineering curriculum there are areas where the implementation of techniques used in the other design disciplines could be advantageous to help engineering design students improve students design skills, design process knowledge, and softer skills such as team communication. The research done in this paper examines how the curricula of design disciplines could influence the coursework of students focusing on the design area of mechanical engineering.

A Modern Approach to Machine Design Education

1994 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
H. Kalman ◽  
E. Zahavi
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Machine Design ◽  
Modern Approach ◽  
Design Engineers ◽  
The People ◽  
Engineering Department ◽  
Effective Design

Engineering educators face a heavy responsibility in equipping young engineers for today's competitive world. The industries that will employ them will only survive if the people working in them are able to make and follow sound decisions. The basis for these decisions, among other things, must be an effective design process. The challenge of educating students to become worthy design engineers is being met at the Mechanical Engineering Department, at BGU, Israel, and the purpose of this article is to describe how it is done.

A Pillar of Mechanical Engineering Design Education in Australia: 25 Years of the Warman Design and Build Competition

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren F. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Student Assessment ◽  
National Committee ◽  
Engineering Design Education ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Institutional Learning ◽  
History Of

The “Warman Design and Build Competition”, running across Australasian Universities, is now in its 26th year in 2013. Presented in this paper is a brief history of the competition, documenting the objectives, yearly scenarios, key contributors and champion Universities since its beginning in 1988. Assuming the competition has reached the majority of mechanical and related discipline engineering students in that time, it is fair to say that this competition, as a vehicle of the National Committee on Engineering Design, has served to shape Australasian engineering education in an enduring way. The philosophy of the Warman Design and Build Competition and some of the challenges of running it are described in this perspective by its coordinator since 2003. In particular, the need is for the competition to work effectively across a wide range of student group ability. Not every group engaging with the competition will be competitive nationally, yet all should learn positively from the experience. Reported also in this paper is the collective feedback from the campus organizers in respect to their use of the competition as an educational experience in their classrooms. Each University participating uses the competition differently with respect to student assessment and the support students receive. However, all academic campus organizer responses suggest that the competition supports their own and their institutional learning objectives very well. While the project scenarios have varied widely over the years, the intent to challenge 2nd year university (predominantly mechanical) engineering students with an open-ended statement of requirements in a practical and experiential exercise has been a constant. Students are faced with understanding their opportunity and their client’s value system as expressed in a scoring algorithm. They are required to conceive, construct and demonstrate their device with limited prior knowledge and experience, and the learning outcomes clearly impact their appreciation for teamwork, leadership and product realization.

scholarly journals COMPUTER CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION OF A TIDAL MODEL

1972 ◽  
Vol 1 (13) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
E.R. Funke
Keyword(s):  
Data Acquisition ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Computer Control ◽  
Feedback Controller ◽  
Adaptive Feedback ◽  
Tidal Model ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
And Control ◽  
St Lawrence River ◽  
Diurnal Tides

A large tidal model of the St. Lawrence River covering the region from Montreal to lie du Bic is connected directly to a mini computer for data acquisition and control of the tidal boundary. Some of the more important concepts for the design and operation of a computer based system for this application are described. Details of an adaptive feedback controller for diurnal tides are given. A 16 mm film (N.R.C.-Division of Mechanical Engineering, film no. HYP 620, same title) describes the instrumentation and operation of the model. A report (N.R.C.-Division of Mechanical Engineering, Report No. MH-110, same title) provides further details of this system.

Capstine Design Projects for Mechatronic Design in Mechanical Engineering Department

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdülkadir Erden
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Main Structure ◽  
Mechatronic Design ◽  
Engineering Department ◽  
Design Projects ◽  
Technical University

Abstract The current paper describes the minor program in mechatronics engineering developed at the Middle East Technical University. The paper gives the main structure of the program with a discussion on the design of the new courses in mechatronics. Sample project topics are also given for the mechatronics design courses. Emphasis is placed on the design features of the mechatronics courses.

A Method for Recovering Linear Performance in Feedback Systems With Nonlinear Instrumentation

2011 ◽  
Vol 134 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
ShiNung Ching ◽  
Pierre T. Kabamba ◽  
Semyon M. Meerkov
Keyword(s):  
Linear Systems ◽  
Experimental Verification ◽  
Physical System ◽  
Controller Design ◽  
Magnetic Levitation ◽  
Feedback Systems ◽  
Sensors And Actuators ◽  
Controller Gain ◽  
Linear Controllers

The problem of controller design in linear systems is well understood. Often, however, when linear controllers are implemented on a physical system, the anticipated performance is not met. In some cases, this can be attributed to nonlinearities in the instrumentation, i.e., sensors and actuators. Intuition suggests that to compensate for this instrumentation, one can boost, i.e., increase, the controller gain. This paper formally pursues this strategy and develops the theory of boosting. It provides conditions under which the controller gain can be modified to offset the effects of instrumentation, thus recovering the performance of the intended linear design. Experimental verification of the technique developed is reported using a magnetic levitation device.

Intelligent spaces: Effects of pervasive environments on the role of interior designer

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
İnanç Işıl Yildirim
Keyword(s):  
Interior Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Time Integration ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Sensors And Actuators ◽  
Interior Space ◽  
Pervasive Environments ◽  
Digital World

Intelligent spaces are rooms or areas that are embedded with sensors and actuators which enable the spaces to perceive and understand what is happening in them. Through an increasing number of computers and wireless communication technologies networked them, these spaces have the ability of receiving the parameters of physical world which users exist in their relevant context, analysing and processing the data with the interfaces between the physical and digital world, and react or change their mode and augment the human functionality, on time. Integration of computer and physical space results a space which have the computer's thinking ability. Due to the space having intelligence, sensors and the capability to communicate, definitions are not the same as in usual space. Pervasive computing is transforming interior spaces by allowing utilities, goods and information to appear dynamically where and when they are needed. Also, we are face with the space that can understand what is happening inside and outside it and which is not passive to the changing environmental situations. Intelligent interiors can become immersive sensory environments that combine the advantages of automation and modern technology with sensory feedback and materiality. The advances in hardware, system design, and software made enable to achieve this vision. In this world, physical objects and spaces are linked to the digital world and information about the physical world can be used to support human functionality and experience. In this paper, the vision of intelligent space will be explained and the innovations that helped to realize these spaces will be introduced. The social and psychological impacts of the future technologies while designing interior space will be discussed. The changing way we work and live and interfering boundaries of the space titles were asked by the way of a short questionnaire to the Interior Design Students who have the seminar about Intelligent and Interactive Spaces this semester, so their knowledge about these spaces and computer technologies are enough to comment the questions. This will give us the idea of future’s interior designers’ new role in these environments. These finding will give us a supporting knowledge about intelligent or thinking spaces and their impacts on the roles of interior designers.Keywords: Intelligent spaces, pervasive environments, interior design education, future vision.

Employing the Concurrent Design Philosophy in Developing an Engineering Design Science Programme

1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Wild ◽  
C. Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Design ◽  
Concurrent Engineering ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Design Science ◽  
Design Philosophy ◽  
Engineering Design Education ◽  
Design Paradigm ◽  
Education Of Students ◽  
Typical Design

North American undergraduate mechanical engineering design education has failed to meet the needs of industry in educating students in effective design philosophies typified by the concurrent engineering design philosophy. Current programmes emphasize traditional engineering analysis courses, leaving little room for truly educating the students in the fundamentals of mechanical engineering design. This paper uses the concurrent engineering design paradigm to design a programme for the education of students in mechanical engineering design. The basics of concurrent engineering design are outlined, the failings of typical design education stated, and an exploration of the required features of a new design curriculum presented.

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