It's not like mechatronics is a new concept — it has been used for product development since the '70s — but the introduction of software into the design mix and the need to integrate mechatronics earlier in the design process is posing some challenges for manufacturers and design engineers.
You won't find a definition for mechatronics in the dictionary, but the concept of combining mechanical and electronic engineering to bring the best products to market in the shortest time is something that most savvy manufacturers have been incorporating into their design process.
The problems of how and when to integrate the processes, however, is still hampering many manufacturers from reaping the full benefits of total mechatronic design.
According to the AberdeenGroup's recent survey, "The Mechatronics System Design Benchmark Report: Coordinating Engineering Disciplines," manufacturers that place emphasis on resolving integration issues earlier in the product development process are able to deliver mechatronic products on-time and at lower cost.
"Communicating design changes among all three processes -- mechanical, electronic and software -- is key to building a perfect prototype before it reaches the manufacturing floor," explained Chad Jackson, Service Director of Aberdeen's global product innovation and engineering practice and the report's author. ''This eliminates the need to retool a product because design flaws were not noticed early in the design process."
But resolving integration issues among the disciplines isn't that easy, as shown in Aberdeen's survey responses, since mechanical, electrical and software engineers traditionally work with different design processes, organizations and technology.
"In the past, the mechanical and the electrical engineer worked separately in the prototype stage," Jackson said. "If a design problem was discovered in the final prototype then the product had to be retooled, and this meant time and money wasted in the design process."
This viewpoint is echoed in an ARC Advisory Group study on the General Motion Control market, where it is noted that, "These [mechatronic] solutions bring greater economic benefits for users because they offer an integrated system approach to achieving enhanced performance rather than the independent optimization of components."
The mechatronic design approach is being utilized more as companies look to "push the envelope in mechanical systems," commented Sal Spada, director of research at ARC. He describes the mechatronic design process as using electrics to reduce the mechanical complexity of a product.
"Take a vertical lift as an example," Spada said, "where the lift was counterbalanced mechanically it is now done electrically, opening up more design options. The electrics simplified the mechanics."
And with software as an added element to mechatronics, more and more manufacturers are looking to simulate the overall mechanical and electrical system before building the product.
"This is the new 'definition' of mechatronics," explained Spada. "Simulation software is used for more than just modeling. It's now used to generate the software system that is embedded in the product."
Spada sees mechatronics as entering a revolutionary stage in mechanical design where the concept has embraced new technology (software) and allows a designer to simulate the entire overall mechanical/electronic/software system before picking up a piece of metal to make a prototype.
This integration of software into mechatronics is also allowing the elimination of components in product design.
"Some components will become obsolete," said Jeff Pieper, associate professor at the University of Calgary's Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, "such as the timing belt on a car."
In this application, Pieper explained how the timing belt could be replaced by a software system that would be controlled through switches on the dashboard. The driver will be able to adjust the timing to match road conditions. Since there are no mechanical components, there is no danger of timing-belt breakdowns, and it becomes easier to tune-up the car.
Repairing these new software-controlled operations brings about its own set of problems, though.
"Mechanics will need to be trained in how to adjust problems with software systems by using computerized detection instruments," Pieper said. "And as products and cars become more computerized, the consumer must learn to trust the components and the repair personnel."
Now that manufacturers know that they want to use mechatronics in product design, can they get all their designers on the "same page?"
"With today's advanced mechatronic products," said Jackson, "there is a need to synchronize processes and integrate them. The best manufacturers centralize or integrate data management so that everyone is designing and communicating on the same design platform."
Jackson suggests that by using management and collaboration tools, the traditionally separate discipline-specific engineers in mechanical, electronic and software design can learn to work together. And that is a necessity for manufacturing success, as companies look to beat the competition and meet customer expectations.