Welcome to Mechatronics 1 by Dr. Tipton
Embark on an exciting journey into the world of **Mechatronics** – the synergistic integration of mechanical engineering, electronics, computer engineering, and control systems. This course will equip you with the foundational knowledge and practical skills to design, build, and control intelligent machines. Each week's content is meticulously crafted to offer a world-class learning experience, featuring interactive lessons, real-world examples, hands-on sandboxes, and challenging practice problems to solidify your understanding. Get ready to transform theoretical concepts into tangible, functional systems!
Course Weeks Overview
Week 1: Introduction & Basic Electrical Concepts
Review of fundamental quantities, Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff's Laws (KVL, KCL), and analysis of series/parallel circuits.
AvailableWeek 2: DC Circuit Analysis Techniques
In-depth exploration of Nodal Analysis, Mesh Analysis, Superposition, Thevenin's and Norton's Theorems.
AvailableWeek 3: Capacitors, Inductors, and First-Order Circuits
Understanding energy storage elements, transient analysis of RC and RL circuits, and step responses.
AvailableWeek 4: Operational Amplifiers (Op-Amps)
Ideal op-amp characteristics, inverting/non-inverting amplifiers, voltage followers, and basic op-amp applications.
AvailableWeek 5: AC Circuit Fundamentals
Introduction to phasors, impedance, reactance, and basic AC circuit analysis.
AvailableWeek 6: Diodes and Rectifier Circuits
Diode characteristics, half-wave and full-wave rectifiers, and simple power supply design.
AvailableWeek 7: Transistors (BJTs and MOSFETs)
Introduction to Bipolar Junction Transistors and Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors as switches and amplifiers.
AvailableWeek 8: Control Systems and Feedback
Fundamentals of open-loop and closed-loop control, feedback principles, and stability concepts.
AvailableWeek 9: Digital Logic and Microcontroller Interfacing
Introduction to logic gates, Boolean algebra, combinational/sequential logic, and digital communication protocols (UART, SPI, I2C).
AvailableWeek 10: Microcontroller Programming Basics
Introduction to embedded C programming, digital I/O, and basic microcontroller peripherals.
AvailableWeek 11: Filters and Frequency Response
Understanding filters (low-pass, high-pass, band-pass), frequency response, and cutoff frequency calculations.
AvailableWeek 12: Data Acquisition and Signal Conditioning
Principles of ADCs/DACs, sampling theorem, amplification, and noise reduction techniques.
AvailableWeek 13: Power Electronics and Motor Drives
Introduction to power semiconductor devices, DC-DC converters (Buck/Boost), and motor control (H-bridges, VFDs).
AvailableWeek 14: Robotic Kinematics and Dynamics
Fundamentals of forward and inverse kinematics, homogeneous transformations, and robot dynamics for motion control.
AvailableWeek 15: Introduction to Real-Time Operating Systems
Concepts of RTOS, task scheduling, inter-task communication, and their role in embedded systems.
AvailableWeek 16: Mechatronics System Design Project
Applying the full design process from requirements to testing for a complete mechatronic system.