A systems approach to a final year mechatronics design course

Mechatronics is the science that studies the holistic design process in which intelligent machines are created to develop efficient andcomplex processes and products. Mechatronics integrates mechanics, electronics and computer sciences to achieve control andautomation. The effective integration of these different components is a complex task that should be accomplished in the design phase.This work presents a systems approach to a mechatronics design course at ITESM, Me¬xico. In their final year, engineering studentsare taught a methodology to design a mechatronic product. The methodology includes: the early stages of clients' needs identification,process characterization, literature review, and ideas generation, which lead to both the design and simulation of the mechanical,electronic and control stages. This series of steps is inspired in a number of different design methodologies, which are available from theliterature and can be adapted to the available tools and circumstances at the university. This paper describes a practical way tointegrate the existing specialised techniques and tools to generate an efficient design of a mechatronic product. Some of the virtual toolsthat are available to design, evaluate and integrate the different parts of a mechatronic design are also discussed. The systems approachwas applied by the students to different mechatronic projects in industry, thus creating good links between university and manufacturingcompanies with satisfactory results. One of the numerous case studies is described in this paper as well as its outcomes, to provideevidence of the educational value of the methodology.