Vacuum mechatronics

The discipline of vacuum mechatronics is defined as the design and development of vacuum-compatible computer-controlled mechanisms for manipulating, sensing and testing in a vacuum environment. The importance of vacuum mechatronics is growing with an increased application of vacuum in space studies and in manufacturing for material processing, medicine, microelectronics, emission studies, lyophylisation, freeze drying and packaging. The quickly developing field of vacuum mechatronics will also be the driving force for the realization of an advanced era of totally enclosed clean manufacturing cells. High technology manufacturing has increasingly demanding requirements for precision manipulation, in situ process monitoring and contamination-free environments. To remove the contamination problems associated with human workers, the tendency in many manufacturing processes is to move towards total automation. This will become a requirement in the near future for e.g., microelectronics manufacturing. Automation in ultra-clean manufacturing environments is evolving into the concept of self-contained and fully enclosed manufacturing. A Self Contained Automated Robotic Factory (SCARF) is being developed as a flexible research facility for totally enclosed manufacturing. The construction and successful operation of a SCARF will provide a novel, flexible, self-contained, clean, vacuum manufacturing environment. SCARF also requires very high reliability and intelligent control. The trends in vacuum mechatronics and some of the key research issues are reviewed

Design of Wireless Sensor Nodes for Structural Health Monitoring applications

Enabling low-cost distributed monitoring, wireless sensor networks represents an interesting solution for the implementation of structural health monitoring systems. This work deals with the design of wireless sensor networks for health monitoring of civil structures, specifically focusing on node design in relation to the requirements of different structural monitoring application classes. Design problems are analysed with specific reference to a large-scale experimental setup (the long-term structural monitoring of the Basilica S. Maria di Collemaggio, L’Aquila, Italy). Main limitations emerged are highlighted, and adopted solution strategies are outlined, both in the case of commercial sensing platform and of full custom solutions

Standard industrial guideline for mechatronic product design

Danas, moderni proizvodi predstavljaju sveobuhvatne mehaničke sisteme sa kompletnom integrisanom elektronikom i informacionom tehnologijom (IT). Takvi proizvodi, koji se smatraju mehatroničkim proizvodima, zahtevaju drugi pristup za efikasan razvoj kao čisto mehanički, elektronski-električni ili IT proizvodi. Industrijski i naučni razvoj mehatroničkih proizvoda dovode do značajnog iskustva i kao prirodna posledica primene industrijskih uputstava pojavljuje se u projektovanju proizvoda kao što su mehatronički proizvodi. Široko prihvaćena industrijska uputstva predlažu važne korake i mere sa ciljem efikasnog finaliziranja i sa cenom prihvatljivih mehatroničkih proizvoda. Na kraju, pored prezentacije i komentara na predstavljena industrijska uputstva, ilustrovana je praktična primena na primeru veš mašina. .Modern products are comprehensive mechanical systems with fully integrated electronics and information technology (IT). Such products, which are considered mechatronic products, demand another approach for efficient development as pure mechanical, electronic/electric and IT products. Industrial and scientific evolutions of mechatronic products have led to substantial experience and as a natural consequence industrial guideline have emerged for the product design of mechatronic products. Widely accepted industrial guidelines proposed crucial steps and measures to finalize efficient and cost-efficient mechatronic products. Aside from the presentation of and comments on such industrial guidelines, some examples for practical application are also given - washing machines.

Standard industrial guideline for mechatronic product design

Danas, moderni proizvodi predstavljaju sveobuhvatne mehaničke sisteme sa kompletnom integrisanom elektronikom i informacionom tehnologijom (IT). Takvi proizvodi, koji se smatraju mehatroničkim proizvodima, zahtevaju drugi pristup za efikasan razvoj kao čisto mehanički, elektronski-električni ili IT proizvodi. Industrijski i naučni razvoj mehatroničkih proizvoda dovode do značajnog iskustva i kao prirodna posledica primene industrijskih uputstava pojavljuje se u projektovanju proizvoda kao što su mehatronički proizvodi. Široko prihvaćena industrijska uputstva predlažu važne korake i mere sa ciljem efikasnog finaliziranja i sa cenom prihvatljivih mehatroničkih proizvoda. Na kraju, pored prezentacije i komentara na predstavljena industrijska uputstva, ilustrovana je praktična primena na primeru veš mašina. .Modern products are comprehensive mechanical systems with fully integrated electronics and information technology (IT). Such products, which are considered mechatronic products, demand another approach for efficient development as pure mechanical, electronic/electric and IT products. Industrial and scientific evolutions of mechatronic products have led to substantial experience and as a natural consequence industrial guideline have emerged for the product design of mechatronic products. Widely accepted industrial guidelines proposed crucial steps and measures to finalize efficient and cost-efficient mechatronic products. Aside from the presentation of and comments on such industrial guidelines, some examples for practical application are also given - washing machines.

Interaction of Mechatronic Modules in Distributed Technological Installations

The article deals with the interaction of mechatronic devices in real time through events and messages. The interaction of distributed network devices is necessary to coordinate their work, including synchronization when implementing a distributed algorithm. The approach in the development of a distributed control system (DCS) for mechatronic devices based on the IEC 61499 standard has been analyzed. Using only a LAN for interaction purposes is not always justified, since messages transmitted over a LAN do not provide transmission determinism. To eliminate this problem, a fast local network is needed, which would not utilize resources of the main computer and hardware (e.g., based on the model of terminal machines) to carry out a network communication. It is proposed to implement LAN controllers on the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) platform. Data-strobe coding (DS coding) with a signal level of LVDS was used for keeping the transmitted data intact and improving the overall reliability of the systems

Design a Portable Sensing Platform with a Lidar and TI ARM M4 Controller

The Microcontrollers/microelectronics have been used in variety of engineering applications on complex and efficient operations. One of the challenges in applying existing microelectronic technologies to these engineering systems lies in the need of modular portability, scalability, customizability, and compatibility. This paper focuses on addressing such challenges by designing a portable sensing platform that integrates a Lidar with USB interface and TI ARM M4 microcontroller. This developed sensing system will serve as an effective teaching platform to create new or enhance existing microelectronic courses that allow students to gain hands-on experiences in mobile embedded system designs. Moreover, the customizability and portability of the embedded sensing platform can also be used for the unmanned aerial vehicles in the GPS-denied environments. Highlights of the presentation will address the following: • Hardware and software interface design of TI ARM M4 microcontrollers with short range USB based Lidars • Demonstrations of the use of the developed embedded sensing platform for the object identification and obstacle avoidance applications • Recommendations of potential research applications and the curriculum development of the developed sensing platfor

Improvement of powertrain mechatronic systems for lean automotive manufacturing

In recent years, the increasing severity of emission standards forced car manufacturers to integrate vehicle powertrains with additional mechatronic elements, consisting in sensors, executors and controlling elements interacting with each other. However, the introduction of the best available ecological devices goes hand in hand with the legislation and/or limitations in different regional markets. Thus, the designers adapt the mechatronic system to the target emission standards of the produced powertrain. The software embedded into the Engine Control Unit (ECU) is highly customized for the specific configurations: variability in mechatronic systems leads to the development of several software versions, lowering the efficiency of the design phase. Therefore the employment of a standard for the communication among sensors, actuators and the ECU would allow the development of a unique software for different configurations; this would be beneficial from a manufacturing point of view, enabling the simplification of the design process. Obviously, the new software must still guarantee the proper level of feedbacks to the ECU to ensure the compliance with different emission standards and the proper engine behavior. The general software is adapted to the powertrain: according to the specific target emission standard, some control elements may not be necessary, and a part of the software may be easily removed. In this paper, starting from a real case-study, a more general methodology is proposed for configurations characterized by different powertrain sets and manufacturing line constraints. The proposed technique allows to maintain the accuracy of the control system and improve process efficiency at the same time, ensuring lean production and lowering manufacturing costs. A set of mathematical techniques to improve software efficacy is also presented: the resulting benefits are enhanced by software standardization, because the design effort may be shared by the largest possible number of applications

Editorial: System-Integrated Intelligence – New Challenges for Product and Production Engineering

AbstractThe editorial introduces the SysInt conference series and the motivation behind it. It describes the structures and content as well as the scientific and technological background to the SysInt 2016 event held in Paderborn from June 13th – 15th, 2016, and provides an outline of the organizing institutions, detailing their individual perspectives on the general topic of system-integrated intelligence