Preface

The ease and affordability of integrating and packaging microelectronics into practical products practical for sensing, conditioning, processing and control of signals and systems have driven the design and implementation of electromechanical systems to the multidisciplinary approach of mechatronics. It is essential that the 21^st century engineers acquire confident skills on the technologies behind these products. The aim of this book is to bring together in one text the many components of mechatronics.

“Applied Mechatronics” is intended for junior/senior level engineering students in Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics, Computer, or Civil Engineering programs. In addition, this book can be a very useful “all-in-one” reference book for practicing engineers in the field of instrumentation, industrial automation, and product development.

Knowing that technology and products evolve with time, we aspire in this book to have as complete as possible a single volume that encompasses the fundamental principles of integrating popular technologies from various disciplines. 

The authors assume that most of the students taking this material had basic background in electrical circuits, dynamic systems modeling, and introductory computer language.

 Applied Mechatronics is the culmination of many years of teaching and lab development in the area of Electronics, Instrumentation, Microprocessors, and Control Systems. The strength of the text is derived from its comprehensive nature in realizing embedded engineering systems. Specifically, this manuscript covers the required information to: measure events with sensing devices, condition sensed signals through electronics interface circuits, process the conditioned data by a microprocessor with necessary memory and ports (specifically the Motorola 9S12C microcontroller), develop the adequate control command to the process, and realize the driving circuitry for the actuators to achieve the desired behavior. Embedding these skills is not a cascading task, rather a global design effort distributing functions among software and hardware agents.

The book is organized in four inter-related parts. Part-I: Fundamentals of Interface and Electronics; Part-II: Brain for Mechatronics - Microcontroller; Part-III: Sensors and Actuators; and Part-IV: Control Schemes and Case Studies. The material is complemented with many practical examples using MATLAB, SIMULINK, and LabVIEW simulations and experimentation.

The authors believe that the most effective way to use the material in this book is through collaborative project-based learning. This format provides students with the platform to practice as interdisciplinary teams the integration of various technologies and to work on open-ended problems to realize useful outcomes.

Ahmad Smaili

Fouad Mrad

February 2007