Mechatronics Fundamentals

This course introduces students to mechatronic system design. Students begin by taking on an open-ended mechatronics design project, such as a solar tracker, rotational to linear motion controller, or a drawing robotic arm. As they work on their projects, they complete fundamentals and component labs to gain skills required for their projects. Fundamental labs cover electrical interfacing theory, such as AIO, DIO, and PWM. Students learn about each interface, explore it through simulation and instrumentation, and learn how to apply it. Component labs cover the various sensors and actuators students will use in their projects. Students learn how each component works and how to interact with it using the NI ELVIS and the NI ELVIS RIO Control Module. These resources are hosted on the online, interactive learning platform, Thinkscape.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Students learn fundamental electrical interfacing theory through simulation, instrumentation, and application
Students learn the principles of operation, interface theory, and application of common mechatronic sensors, actuators, and components
Students complete open-ended, real-world mechtraonics projects, including a solar tracker, rotational to linear motion controller, and a drawing robotic arm

COURSE ALIGNMENT

Level	University
Topic	Mechatronics Fundamentals
Style	Online, interactive labs and open-ended projects
Prerequisite Skills	Basic LabVIEW experience recommended

Included Course Labs

SOLAR TRACKER PROJECT

Students build a smart, rotating mount for a solar panel which optimizes the angle of incidence in a single plane.

AMBIENT LIGHT SENSOR

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the principle operation of an ambient light sensor, the timing requirements for a chip select and SPI clock, and interpret the format of an SPI data word output.

SERVO MOTOR

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the principles of operation of standard and continuous rotation servo motors and create a PWM sign to control the rotational position of a servo motor shaft.

LEDS

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the principles and operation of LEDs and design circuits based on LED specifications.

SEVEN SEGMENT DISPLAY

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the make-up of a seven segment display, design an interface circuit, and display information.

ROTATIONAL TO LINEAR MOTION PROJECT

Students build a scotch yoke type mechanism to transfer rotational motion to linear motion, and measure the movement using hall effect sensors

DC MOTOR

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the principle of operation, features, and interface circuit of DC motors.

HALL EFFECT SENSOR

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the principles and operation of hall-effect sensors and detect proximity.

ENCODER

Students watch videos and complete activites to learn the principles of operation of encoders, measure encoder pulses, and acquire and interpret pulses from a quadrature encoder.

DRAWING ROBOT ARM PROJECT

Students build a SCARA type robot arm that draws on a horizontal plane and is controlled by potentiometers.

POTENTIOMETER

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the principles of operation of a potentiometer, translate voltage to rotation angle, and optimize power consumption and loading effects.

LCD DISPLAY

Students watch videos and complete activities to configure an LCD screen to display characters and sequences using UART, SPI, and I2C buses

FUNDAMENTALS OF DIGITAL INPUT AND OUTPUT

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the fundamentals of DIO, interact with digital signals in a simulation environment, and control and measure simple digital components using instrumentation and LabVIEW.

FUNDAMENTALS OF ANALOG INPUT AND OUTPUT

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the fundamentals of AIO signals, interact with AIO in a simulation environment, and control and measure simple analog components using instrumentation and LabVIEW.

FUNDAMENTALS OF PWM

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the fundamentals of PWM signals, and then simulate, generate, and apply PWM signals.

FUNDAMENTALS OF ENCODERS

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the fundamentals of encoders and digital pulse trains.

FUNDAMENTALS OF DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS PROTOCOLS

Students watch videos and complete activities to learn the fundamentals and application of UART, SPI, and I2C protocols.

Requirements

LabVIEW

LabVIEW is systems engineering software for applications that require test, measurement, and control with rapid access to hardware and data insights. Learn more

Multisim

Multisim is a circuit simulation tool built for educators to teach analog, digital, and power electronics by connecting simulation to experimentation. Learn more

NI ELVIS II/II+

The NI Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS) is a versatile laboratory platform that enables educators to teach over 20 different courses across science and engineering departments. The NI ELVIS integrates 12 common lab instruments including an oscilloscope, function... Learn more

NI ELVIS RIO Control Module

The NI ELVIS RIO Control Module connects to the NI Educational Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Suite (NI ELVIS) to give students access to the accurate timing and control of FPGA-based, reconfigurable I/O. Students can build mechatronic and power electronic systems while troubleshooting and... Learn more

Mechatronics Prototyping Board

This board provides an open design platform and ease of connectivity needed to rapidly prototype mechatronic systems using hardware from the Pitsco Tetrix Prime kit. Use this board with the NI ELVIS, NI ELVIS RIO Control Module and Mechatronics Fundamentals resources to design, control and automate... Learn more

DETAILED REQUIREMENTS

Required Software

Download Academic Software, Learn About Software Licensing

NI ELVIS RIO Control Bundle (2016 or later) - Download
- LabVIEW (Requires license)
- LabVIEW Real-Time Module (Requires license)
- NI ELVIS RIO Control Toolkit
Multisim 14.0 or later (Requires license)
NI ELVISmx 14.0 or later- Download

Required Hardware

Purchase Engineering Education Products

NI ELVIS II or II+ - View Specifications, View User Manual
NI ELVIS RIO Control Module - View Specifications, View User Manual, View Getting Started Guide
Mechatronics Prototyping Board

Recommended Accessories

Students are required to use sensors, actuators, and building materials for this course. Though there are many options for what they use, we recommend the items below. See more details in the Course Overview section of the course.

Pitsco TETRIX Prime for myRIO Learn More
NI myRIO Starter Accessory Kit Learn More
Digilent PmodCLS LCD Display
Hall Effect Switch (2x)
Boogie Board 8.5-Inch
Potentiometer
Circular Magnet 20mm x 5mm