MECHATRONICS TERMS & TOOLS

MECHATRONICS 

https://www.europa-lehrmittel.de/downloads-leseproben/79756-1/856.pdf

What is Mechatronics? 

Mechatronics is a field of engineering that includes study with a combination of various engineering disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, telecommunication, control and computer engineering.

The aim of mechatronics is a design process that unifies all the above disciplines of engineering.

Mechatronics industry employs both engineers to design and develop equipments and technicians to maintain it.

Career Options in Mechatronics

• The profession of mechatronics includes technicians and engineers. They design and maintain automated equipment.
• Technicians and engineers work in laboratories, offices or on-site manufacturing plants.
• The goal is to produce safe and efficient automated equipment.
• Technicians primarily maintain machinery, while engineers are more concerned with design and development of components and products.

MECHATRONICS GLOSSARY

1.    Accelerometer	Device for measuring acceleration - usually based on piezoelectric materials.
2.    Actuator	Mechanism for applying a force or displacement to a system, and typically used as a word when talking about computer control.
3.    Alternating current	An electric current whose direction oscillates.
4.    D/A Converter	Digital-Analog converter: takes a digital signal and converts it to a control-signal-level voltage or amperage.
5.    Ampere	The metric unit of measurement for an electric current; a flow of 1 coulomb of charge per second.
6.    Analog	Continuous, having to do with the 'Real World'.
7.    Asynchronous	Used to describe a computer connection that can 'stand and wait' or is interrupt-driven.
8.    Battery	A combination of two or more cells joined to produce an electrical potential difference.
9.    Calibration	The comparison of transducer outputs against the outputs of a reference standard.
10. Capacitor	Electrical charge storage device.
11. Coulomb’s law	The law that describes the attractive or repulsive electric force between two charged objects.
12. Commutator	Device for reversing the direction of current.
13. Diode	An electrical device that will only allow current to pass through in one direction.
14. Electrical conductor	A medium through which an electric current can easily move.
15. Electric insulator	A material that won’t ordinarily carry an electric current; a nonconductor.
16. Electric current	A flow of charges between two points caused by a difference in electric potential.
17. Electrical circuit	A conducting path for electrons between points of different electric potential.
18. Electric motor	A device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy.
19. Facility	A structure designed and constructed for a particular purpose, such as a medical facility.
20. Grounding	To provide a conducting path to the ground for electric charge.
21. Hydraulics	Systems that use the displacement of fluids to create mechanical work.
22. Hertz	Unit of frequency (1/sec).
23. Horsepower	Unit to measure the amount of power produced. 1 of these = 746 watts.
24. Inductor	An electrical device that resists change in current, and creates a magnetic field proportional to the current.
25. Mechatronics	The field of integrating mechanical, electrical, and electronic design into a complete, coherent device.
26. Multiplexer	Equipment that allows the transmission of multiple signals on the same line.
27. Parallel circuit	An electrical circuit with more than one path along which current can move.
28. Potentiometer	Measures an electrical potential by comparison with a known voltage.
29. Power	The speed or rate of doing work. This = (force x distance)/time or Work/time.
30. Pressure	The measure of a force’s intensity. This = force/area
31. Resonance	Vibration of a system at its natural frequency.
32. Sampling	The process of taking an analog signal and taking samples at a given frequency to create a digital representation.
33. Saturation	Moving an electrical amplification or other system to the point where nonlinear behavior starts governing the system.
34. Semiconductor	An electrical insulating material that takes on the properties of a conductor when energy of some kind is added to it.
35. Series circuit	An electrical circuit with only one path for an electrical current to follow.
36. Span	The algebraic difference between the limits of the range from zero to full scale.
37. Spectrum	A plot/representation of the frequency content of a signal.
38. Tare	Amount deducted from gross weight in ascertaining net weight.
39. Thermistor	Device with resistance that varies by temperature.
40. Transducer	A device which when acted upon by a physical stimulus produces an electrical output in proportion to that stimulus.
41. Transformer	A device use to increase or decrease voltage for transmission and/or safety purposes.
42. Transistor	Electrical device, usually made of semiconducting material, that (among other things) can serve as the core of an amplifier or a digital switch.
43. Transmitter	A transducer with integral active electronics which can include voltage or current amplifiers and/or integral voltage/current regulation.
44. Voltage difference	The difference in electrical potential energy per unit of charge between two points.
45. Work	A force which causes an object to move a distance. This can only be done by kinetic energy. This = Force x distance.
46. Pneumatics	The branch of physics that deals with the mechanical properties of air and other gases.
47. Dielectric	A nonconducting substance; insulator.
48. Voltage	Electromotive force or potential difference expressed in volts.
49. Amplifier	An electronic component or circuit for amplifying power, current, or voltage.
50. Digital	Using numerical digits expressed in a scale of notation, usually in the binary system, to represent discretely all variables occurring in a problem.
51. Mechanism	An assembly of moving parts performing a complete functional motion, often being part of a large machine.
52. Resistance	property of a conductor by virtue of which the passage of current is opposed
53. Relay	A device, usually consisting of an electromagnet and an armature, by which a change of current or voltage in one circuit is used to make or break a connection in another circuit or to affect the operation of other devices in the same or another circuit.
54. Optocoupler	Electronic device used to transmit an electrical signal optically from a circuit to another.
55. Oscilloscope	A device that gives a visual graph of amplitude versus time of a measured signal, as voltage or current.
56. Generator	A machine that converts one form of energy into another, especially mechanical energy into electrical energy.
57. Servomotor	A motor or the like forming part of a servomechanism.
58. Controller	A remote piece of hardware used to direct or control an electronic device.
59. Programming	The act or process of planning or writing a program.
60. Instrument	A device for measuring the present value of a quantity under observation.
61. Driver	Software or hardware that controls the interface between a computer and a peripheral device.
62. Piezoelectric	Electricity, or electric polarity, produced by the piezoelectric effect.
63. Blueprint	Architectural and mechanical drawings or a detailed outline or plan of action.
64. Maintenance	Care or upkeep, as of machinery or property.
65. Measurement	The act of measuring or a measured dimension.