Analyse the development of the integration of electronic and mechanical engineering in

mechatronic systems.

Technology has improved drastically over the last few decades and mechatronics have played
an important part in the development of latest machines and products (Kuttan, 2012).
Mechatronics is a term, as the name suggests derived from two major fields of engineering,
mechanics and electronic. These two fields working together formed more complex and
complicated systems. To solve the problems originating from these systems, a new term
mechatronics was originated in 1969 by an engineer working in a Japanese company. With
the passage of time, this term got popularity. Mechatronic systems are the system that works
with the collaboration of both electronic and mechanical system to come to an end product
that is better and more user-friendly. Few of the most famous examples of mechatronics are
robots, cars, cameras, microwave oven and so many more machines (Kuttan 2012). On
contrast, Mechatronics also have disadvantages and if they are not properly solved, they
could cause a lot of problem to users. The aim of this essay is to analyze how the integration
of electrical and mechanical engineering influence the mechanical system.

Firstly, in the development of engineering and science, mechanics has played an important
part in contributing towards the improvement of technology. It involves the knowledge of
mechanical engineering, mechanical devices, and engineering mechanics. Mechanical
engineering deals with the construction, design, and development of machines (Oxford
Dictionaries, 2017). A car is one of the prime examples of a product of mechanical
engineering, it dates to 15th century, when Leonardo da Vinci gave the design of the
transporting vehicles (Loc.gov, 2017). It shows how important the concept of transportation
is and the value of ideas and design in engineering. But the first automobile appeared on the
road in 1885 which was invented by Karl Benz (Loc.gov, 2017). This contribution opened a
new era in the field of mechanical engineering and other fields as well. These designs and
inventions were fully mechanical, dealing with basic topics such as lubricants, heat transfer,
vibrations and many more (Kuttan, 2012). These topics are so important because without
their basic knowledge it is not possible to understand the internal systems of the machine
and it is hard to be aware how the complex parts of a system are working and it opens
innovative ways to make the product more user-friendly. Moreover, engineering mechanics
have solved a lot of problems, as it basically deals with the problems related to kinematics
and dynamics of a mechanical system (Kuttan, 2012). Kinematics deals with the position
whereas dynamics deals with the motion of the machine. These type of engineering and
knowledge of kinematics and dynamics result in the formation of mechanical devices that is
an important side of mechanics which studies and manufactures devices like latches, locks
and gear boxes. These applications somehow affect the mechatronic system in one way or
another.

With the passage of time, one of the engineering fields that have played a key role in the
development of technology is electronic engineering. It is a field which deals with the practical
use of electronics using electronic devices and systems (Oxford Dictionaries, 2017). As
Mechatronics involves electronics, electronics have many sub topics such as measurement
systems, actuators, power electronics and microelectronics (Kuttan, 2012). Measurement
systems involve sensors, signal conditioners, and a display unit. In the latest cars, Vehicle
Measurement Systems (VMS) are used. It compromises of a lot of sensors which are used for
specific applications such as temperature control, wheel pressure and GPS sensor (A&D
Technology, 2017). Then the role of actuation system is responsible to convert the output
signal from the control system into the controlling action of the device (Kuttan, 2012). One of
the examples of the application of actuation system in cars is that they control the amount of
combustion happening in the engine with respect to how fast the car is going. Moreover,
power electronics deals with the switching, converting and inverting power at a kilowatt scale.
The application of power electronics in cars is to convert Direct Current (DC) to DC converter
and then to an Alternative Current converter (Agarwal, 2017). Furthermore, microelectronics
deals with the design and construction of microchips and micro circuits (Oxford Dictionaries,
2017). These microchips control many complex functions such as in cars they are now used
as a keyless entry, the fuel injecting timing, anti-theft devices. The applications of these
subtopics of electronics have played a significant role in the development and improvement
of the cars internal and exterior features to make them more user-friendly and economical
with respect to fuel consumption or with respect to the discharge of pollutants. Electronics
have made the system more complicated, which is there drawback but as a result, it has
improved the technology in ways which were not possible in the past.

As Mechanical deals with the infrastructure of a machine, electronic deals the microchips and
sensors which make a machine work. The combination of these two felids gives us a
multidisciplinary field, known as mechatronics. In the past, all the fields used to work
separately to achieve a single task but now an integrated form of system is made which
includes both electronic and mechanical engineering (Kuttan, 2012). As defined by Oxford
dictionary that mechatronics is a field which is a combination of electronics and mechanical
(Oxford Dictionaries, 2017). These engineering in collaboration with each other achieve a task
with more ease and effectiveness. As explained in earlier paragraphs, a car is an example
which includes both electronic and mechanical engineering and cars have a lot of mechatronic
systems working together to achieve a single task. Actuation system which is electronic, works
with the fuel engine that works on mechanical principles, in such a way that actuators control
the amount of fresh air being provided to the engine, this is an example of a mechatronic
system. One more example of mechatronics system is the working of measurement system
working with the revolutions per min (RPM), which is displayed on an analog or digital meter.
These are few of the many examples of mechatronics in the field of cars. They have many
more areas in which they are progressing tremendous speed. In the last century, it was hard
to imagine anything like robots. It was a science fiction and no one believed that it would
come true one day, but Mechatronics showed that with the advancement in technology, it is
possible to invent and create stuff which was impossible in the past. Nowadays, mechatronics
is working in almost every field ranging from aerospace to fighter jets or from formula one
cars to household products. Its applications are tremendous since it is an integration of
mechanical and electronic engineering.

On the other hand, if mechatronics has a lot of advantages, it also has some drawbacks. As
mechanical and electronic engineering are vast fields with knowledge and information that
dates to prehistoric times, it is not possible to become expert in both fields (Kuttan, 2012)
This makes it difficult to specialize in a certain area and due to the complexity of machines
developing nowadays. This causes problems for the user as the problems are not solved on
time.

To sum this up, mechatronic is an integrated version of mechanical and electronic

engineering. It has many advantages while having some disadvantages. While it makes it easy
to solve problems that are common to both electronic and mechanical it also makes it difficult
when the problem arises from one specific field and due to a lack of specializing in that area,
it is not possible to solve it. With the passage of time the need of mechatronic engineering is
increasing as every machine is made of mechatronic system and car is one of the best
examples explained above. It cars have actuators working with engine or brakes making a
mechatronic system and measurement system working with the wheel revolution or rpm and
showing it on analog or digital meter. These are few of the examples of mechatronic systems.
The future demands more mechatronic engineers as every machine is made up of
mechatronic system.

References

A&D TECHNOLOGY, I. (2017). VMS. [online] Aanddtech.com. Available at:

http://www.aanddtech.com/VMS.html [Accessed 19/8/2017].

AGARWAL T. (2017). Power Electronics in Automotive Applications - Electronic Projects for

Engineering Students. [online] Available at: https://www.elprocus.com/power-electronics-in-
automotive-applications/ [Accessed 19/8/2017].

HOLMES, L. (1980) Microelectronics and motor cars. Electronics & Power. Pp 368-371

KUTTAN, A. (2012) Introduction to Mechatronic. New Delhi: Oxford University Press

LOC.GOV. (2017). Who invented the automobile? (Everyday Mysteries: Fun Science Facts from
the Library of Congress). [online] Available at:
https://www.loc.gov/rr/scitech/mysteries/auto.html [Accessed 15/8/2017].

OXFORD DICTIONARIES | ENGLISH. (2017). mechanical engineering - definition of mechanical

engineering in English | Oxford Dictionaries. [online] Available at:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/mechanical_engineering [Accessed
15/8/2017].