Mechatronics and early mechanical design

This paper deals with the development of a set of studio projects for a sophomore level course that integrate mechanical and electrical systems. The paper discusses the types of projects that can be run, and how they are used to foster mechanical and electronic design. From an electronics perspective a simple and an inexpensive microcontroller is used. A variety of pre-designed modules are supplied to the students as well as code snippets to run these devices. The design challenges that are afforded to the student are included in the form of mechanical system design and implementation in our small scale machine shop located in the studio. A critical point to note is that the projects should not and cannot become projects in computer programming. The programming is considered ancillary to the objectives of the course; thus, the design, analysis, fabrication and actuation of a gripper is stressed more than the software to run the hardware.