Page 18 - Mechatronic Components Roadmap to Design

Use of This Book—Mechatronic Components: Roadmap to Design Chapter 2 7

The main difficulty is therefore to define a correct design approach that, without a
guide, can be very chaotic and confused (for objective reasons). Any kind of assis-
tance in such a definition is welcome and, currently, I can count only few trials in
this direction. This is the reason why I believe this book goes in the right direction
and promises to give a relevant, though preliminary, contribution.”
In the academic environment especially students coming from very different
backgrounds. Using this book will guide them what to study and in which path
to start to learn more so that they can make their projects and achieve their
research. In academia, as mentioned by the reviewers in the third section, this
book can be used for capstone design courses, graduate level courses, and in
project-based courses.
This book will also be of interest to researchers and professionals involved
with the practical application of mechatronics, including specialists in the adap-
tive structures, robotics, and other fields where mechanics and electronics are
jointly involved. PhD and graduate students involved in similar themes can also
take advantage of this textbook for its large use of flow diagrams and schemes,
helping to understand the logic behind the design of such systems. In this sense,
it could be an excellent education book.
The primary audience would be practitioners in robotics, mechatronics,
instrumentation, and control systems. Graduate students and researchers in
these areas might also find this book handy as a reference book. The book could
also be used as a reference book by upper-level undergrads for capstone design
courses.
This book designed to offer detailed guidance in the selection of materials
and components for building mechatronic systems. Compared with other
mechatronic books, this book is likely going to be unique in that (1) it offers
guidance on practical development of mechatronic systems with detailed infor-
mation that is often unavailable in other books; and (2) it provides flow charts
that guide the decision process for the user.
In order to use this book effectively, the designer should familiarize himself
with the different chapters, where mechanical, electrical, and programming
concepts are grouped. When the designer knows what type of problem he should
solve, such as selection of motors, then he can look at the related section to see
his options and advantages and disadvantages.