Introduction

Mechatronic systems have been around for a long time. If you compare products from the nineties with products that are twenty or thirty years old, you will notice a growing interrelationship of software, electronic signal management and fluid or electro-mechanical drives. Often enough these three types of technology are combined or closely linked within the same product.

You can find examples of this interrelationship in industry as well as in household technology. Fully automatic washing machines, radio-controlled garage doors, power tools with automatic speed regulation, valve terminals, positioning units, intelligent micro drives - the list could be continued indefinitely.

The mechatronic concept is even more obvious when applied to plant engineering. Processes performed on assembly facilities, machine tools or in materials processing are now controlled almost exclusively by freely programmable electronic systems.

Nowadays PLC technology, industrial computers and CNC controls can be found on almost every shop floor. Furthermore, communication technology has also become an integral part of modern production facilities.

On the one hand, work piece-related data must to be passed on from one production or processing stage to the next. On the other, relevant data from production, logistics and maintenance must be available on demand. So, no matter if we are talking about inventories, finished products, customer-specific parameters, machine downtime or rate of utilisation: the electronic links between production and processing stages and production planning and control software has become absolutely essential.

The project is aimed in development of test that will let evaluate knowledge level of students at every step of vocational education and industry workers. More about the project read in Description

To see what general knowledge of mechatronics you have, try our Test.

If you are interesting in mechatronics text and exercise books or teacher's guide, see Teachware.

About the past "Baltic mechatronics games" and the future way see in BMG.