Page 28 - The Mechatronics Handbook

TABLE 2.1 Historical Development of Mechanical, Electrical, and Electronic Systems

FIGURE 2.1 Mechatronics: synergetic integration of different disciplines.

Some survey contributions describe the development of mechatronics; see [5–8]. An insight into general
aspects are given in the journals [4,9,10]; first conference proceedings in [11–15]; and the books [16–19].
Figure 2.2 shows a general scheme of a modern mechanical process like a power producing or a power
generating machine. A primary energy flows into the machine and is then either directly used for the
energy consumer in the case of an energy transformer, or converted into another energy form in the case
of an energy converter. The form of energy can be electrical, mechanical (potential or kinetic, hydraulic,
pneumatic), chemical, or thermal. Machines are mostly characterized by a continuous or periodic (repet-
itive) energy flow. For other mechanical processes, such as mechanical elements or precision mechanical
devices, piecewise or intermittent energy flows are typical.

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