ENGG * 3490 – Introduction to Mechatronic Systems Design W (3-2) [0.75]

This course covers the design of mechatronic systems, which are synergistic, combinations of components and controls drawn from mechanical engineering, electronics, control engineering, and computer science. The course emphasizes the integration of these areas through the design process employing the two skills of (1) modeling, analysis, control design, and computer simulation of dynamic systems, and (2) experimental validation of models, analysis and the understanding of the key issues of hardware implementation. The two skills are developed though assignments emphasizing analytical analysis with complementary laboratory exercises. The material covered includes mechatronic system design; a review of kinematics, electronics, modeling, simulation, signals and control; control architectures; sensors including vision; and actuators.


Posted By : Anonymous
Posted On : July 27, 2017

Is the textbook recommended by the student? No
Did the student enjoy the professor? Yes
Professor : Biglarbegian

Comment :
Course project and labs are fairly interesting. Brush up on some basic Arduino programming and you\'ll fly through the labs. The final exam was really confusing because there was no midterm, no old exam examples, and the problem sets were very confusing as well. That being said, no one knew what to expect, and my whole project group said they thought they failed. The two labs are pretty much intro to sensors with Arduino, do well on these to bump your mark and give you a head start on the project. The project is a nuts and bolts sorter with Arduino, motors, and sensors, many examples exist online and most of the class ends up using very similar designs. Start the project early, it is not something that can be done the night before, and it can be tricky to make the mechanical parts work with Arduino control and very cheap, inaccurate sensors. The project is honestly fun to work on. Ensure youre group has a good mix of mechanical aptitude and programming abilities. Most people do well on the project, and go into the exam already passing the course, which is a good thing.
Recommendation Rating
Overall Difficulty
Posted By : Anonymous
Posted On : April 25, 2017

Is the textbook recommended by the student? No
Did the student enjoy the professor? No
Professor : Biglarbegian

Comment :
This course is fairly interesting and is mainly project based (hands on). Labs will give you an intro to the arduino and how to use sensors with it, and then the project is a nut sorting machine using multiple sensors and motors. Get a group with at least one strong coder and a couple mechs who can build stuff. The course is heavily weighted towards the end of the semester and only about 16% of the course marks are back by the drop date so be careful. Do not leave the project till the last minute it should be a pretty thourough design. Aim for performance over speed to start. The lectures are thorough but sometimes boring. The final exam which was 36% was ridiculous, we didnt learn a bunch of the concepts on it and it was hard to study for since the homework assignments didnt exactly line up with the lecture notes. Overall interesting course.
Recommendation Rating
Overall Difficulty