Course 20 | Core
Mechatronics
Combine mechanisms, sensors, actuators, control, electronics, and code into one moving, closed-loop system.
Course snapshot
- Purpose
- Mechatronics integrates mechanical function, sensing, actuation, electronics, programming, and control logic.
- Prerequisites
- Recommended next steps
- Multibody Dynamics and Mechanical-System Simulation for mechanism and motion behaviour
- Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification for simulation credibility and verification
- Digital Engineering Foundations for Mechanical Engineers for system traceability and integration
- Probabilistic Design and Reliability for uncertainty and reliability
- Mechatronics, Robotics & Control for a portfolio project
Choose the option that fits your project. You do not need to take all of them now.
- Used in Career Directions
How to study this course
- Define mechanical function
- Choose sensors and actuators
- Connect electronics
- Write control logic
- Test behavior
- Iterate safely
How this course is designed
Sense, decide, actuate
Every mechatronic system follows one spine: a sensor observes, a controller decides, and an actuator changes the world. That loop runs through all ten modules and ties the electronics, mechanics, and code together.
Build each block, then integrate
The first four modules build the sensing path, sensors, conditioning, and data acquisition; the next five build actuation and embedded control; the last integrates them into one tested, closed-loop machine.
Worked numbers throughout
Every module includes two fully worked examples with verified arithmetic. Sensitivity, resolution, gain, and force appear again and again until they are second nature.
The 10 modules
01 | Module
Introduction to Mechatronics and Measurement Systems
Sense, decide, actuate; chained sensitivity and the closed-loop gain.
02 | Module
Sensors and Transducers
Static characteristics and the optical encoder read in quadrature.
03 | Module
Signal Conditioning
Op-amp gain, low-pass filtering, and the cutoff frequency.
04 | Module
Data Acquisition and Conversion
Sampling, quantization, the LSB, and the digital-to-analog converter.
05 | Module
Hydraulic and Pneumatic Actuation
Cylinder force from pressure and area, and speed from flow.
06 | Module
Mechanical Actuation Systems
Gear ratios trading speed for torque, and the leadscrew.
07 | Module
Electrical Actuation Systems
DC motors, PWM speed control, and the stepper step angle.
08 | Module
Microcontrollers and Embedded Control
Timers, PWM generation, interrupts, and the scan loop.
09 | Module
PLCs and Ladder Logic
Series as AND, parallel as OR, timers and counters.
10 | Module
System Integration and Design
Closing the loop, steady-state error, and the resolution budget.