Computer-Aided Modeling of the Principle Solution of Mechatronic Systems: A Domain-Spanning Methodology for the Conceptual Design of Mechatronic Systems

Abstract

Mechatronics — the symbiotic cooperation of mechanics, electrics/electronics, control engineering and software engineering — opens up more and more fascinating perspectives for the development of future mechanical engineering products. Still, development of mechatronic systems remains a challenge. To cope with this challenge a new domain-spanning design methodology for mechatronic systems is needed. This contribution presents a design methodology, which consists of a specification technique for the domain-spanning description of the principle solution of an advanced mechatronic system, a procedure model, which defines the constituent steps of the conceptual design, their results and their order, as well as software tool, which provides means for managing the design complexity and intuitive modeling of the principle solution. The advantages of the design methodology are demonstrated in a case study from the development of an autonomous miniature robot.