An Introduction for Mechanical Engineering Students
Course Overview
Mechatronics 2 is the continuation of the Mechatronics sequence and represents the transition from understanding individual components to engineering complete systems. Where Mechatronics 1 established the operational principles of circuits, microcontrollers, sensors, and actuators, this course develops the three skills that define a practicing mechatronic engineer.
Learning Objectives
- CO1 – Apply statistical methods to characterize experimental measurement data, compute confidence intervals, and perform hypothesis tests
- CO2 – Quantify and correctly report measurement uncertainty using the Kline-McClintock method for multi-variable models
- CO3 – Design signal conditioning circuits (instrumentation amplifiers, active filters, Wheatstone bridges) to meet target performance specifications
- CO4 – Configure a data acquisition system correctly; apply Nyquist criterion; diagnose and prevent aliasing
- CO5 – Compute and interpret the FFT of a measured signal; apply linear and nonlinear curve fitting and assess goodness of fit
- CO6 – Select appropriate sensors from the major families; predict sensor output from calibration data; identify sources of measurement error in a complete signal chain
- CO7 – Derive transfer functions from differential equation models; characterize first- and second-order systems from step response and Bode plot data
- CO8 – Assess closed-loop stability using gain and phase margins; interpret system behavior in the frequency domain
- CO9 – Design and implement a PID controller; apply systematic tuning methods; implement a digital control loop on an embedded microcontroller
- CO10 – Design, build, calibrate, document, and present an integrated measurement and control system that addresses a real engineering challenge
Topics Covered
Module 1: Precision Measurements and Signals
- Measurement system performance; statistics and uncertainty propagation; calibration; instrumentation amplifiers; Wheatstone bridges; active filters; data acquisition; FFT and curve fitting
Module 3: Dynamic Systems Modeling
- Differential equation models for mechanical, electrical, thermal, and fluid systems; Laplace transforms and transfer functions; block diagrams; first- and second-order response; poles, zeros, stability; Bode plots; experimental system identification
Module 5: Advanced Embedded and Systems
- Interrupt-driven programming; finite state machines; real-time constraints; I2C, SPI, UART, and CAN protocols; sensor fusion on microcontrollers; complete mechatronic system design process
Module 2: Advanced Sensors
- Strain and force; temperature (thermocouples, RTDs, thermistors); pressure and flow; displacement and motion (encoders, LVDTs); MEMS inertial sensors; IMU sensor fusion; introduction to machine vision
Module 4: Feedback Control
- Closed-loop control architecture; PID controller structure and actions; Ziegler-Nichols and ITAE tuning; anti-windup; practical stability analysis; introduction to digital PID implementation
Course Resources
This is the companion page for Mechatronics 2, with course resources hosted on GitHub Pages. Use the links below to access the weekly course guide and the full course learning hub.