Introduction

Who's idea was this, anyway?
Recent interest in the interdisciplinary design field of mechatronics has created a stir among the unlikeliest group of people — those who stuck their head in the sand for two decades as a quarter of a million design engineers were learning and applying mechatronic design techniques brought to them by the thought leaders, Machine Design and Motion System Design. So now all these "neomechs," whose eyes have been opened by the prospect of marketing dollars, are arguing about the origin of mechatronics, who invented it, who said it first, who did it but didn’t know they were doing it, and so on.

I'd dismiss it all as unimportant, except that I believe history does matter. In my latest PowerOn blog entry, I cite the single most important event in the development of mechatronics, but interdisciplinary science goes back much further than that. In perspective, they say, everything traces back to an indistinguishable point, and we should accept that of mechatronics as well. Besides, it's much more profitable (wink-wink) to spend our time and energy looking forward to the yet unwritten and unbounded future of this ever-developing design philosophy that the rest of industry is just catching on to.

— Larry Berardinis

Features

How To Apply Direct-Drive Linear Servomotors
A growing demand for smaller linear motors has led manufacturers to develop new direct-drive linear servos in response. These new motors use self-supporting 3Φ coils to position a linear shaft filled with permanent magnets, as opposed to the leadscrews or belt drives of the previous rotary servomotors.

Machine Vision Gets Smarter
With more powerful cameras and greater video-analysis capabilities, intelligent video-surveillance systems are able to make critical judgments and observations that would be difficult, if not impossible, for a human operator to make. Various downloadable tracking guidelines make intelligent surveillance systems flexible and almost completely customizable.

New Cell-Based Sensors Sniff Out Danger Like Bloodhounds
University of Maryland engineers are working on new sensors that take advantage of the sensory capabilities of biological cells.
These tiny sensors, only a few millimeters in size, could speed up and improve the detection of everything from explosive materials to biological pathogens to spoiled food or impure water.

The Electric Giraffe
Originally used as part of the annual Burning Man festival in Nevada, this 17 foot tall robotic giraffe is activated by a 12 horsepower engine that uses propane gas to power a 3 horsepower electric motor. The giraffe's creator, Lindsay Lawler, explains the workings of the machine in this featured video.

Products

One-slot dc power supply
The one-slot Aegis VME450 power supply, featuring filtered 28 Vdc per MIL-STD -704F, four output voltages of 3.3, 5, ±12 V, and 550 W – is a military COTS solution. Compared to conventional VME technology, the devices provide users with 85% efficiency, lower weight (2.4 lb), and power to 550 W. Built with Vicor V•I Chips, the supply uses two M-FIAM modules, six PRMs and six VTMs.
More Information:
Vicor Corp.

Brushless dc motors has electronics built in
A line of brushless dc motors with a built-in single-quadrant speed controller include EC 20 flat, EC 32 flat, and EC 45 flat in two and five-wire versions with a 2 to 50-W operating range.
Current commutation is through Hall sensors. In the two-wire version, speed acts proportionately to the applied 10 to 28-V operating voltage. The five-wire version offers a wider operating range with set-value input. Standard on all models is current limitation and under and overvoltage switch-off plus temperature monitoring.
A protective cover shields against contamination, making the units suitable for extreme environments.
More Information:
maxon motor