There are many amazing open source hardware (OSHW) printed circuit assembly (PCA) projects available today. Arduino®, BeagleBone®, Rasperry Pi®, OpenPilot®, and RepRap® are a few of the bigger names, but… Read More
Mechatronics is not only about the motor, but rather getting the most out of the motors you have. To do that you have to step back and look at the… Read More
Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and the rest of the crowd sourcing world are overrun with product ideas for connecting different things to the internet. Much like the dot com and mobile app… Read More
On more than one occasion, a company has approached Simplexity to ask if we can “look at this prototype, work out any bugs, and release it for high-volume manufacturing.” While… Read More
The market for 3D printers has exploded over the last few years. There have been great advances in printer hardware, materials, and the software ecosystem required to allow 3D printers… Read More
In April I had the privilege of attending a three-day course on Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Engineering taught by Henry Ott, the author of the book on the subject with the same title…. Read More
What is the correct (or best) motor to use in a motion control application? Given the myriad choices of type, size and performance it should not be surprising that there… Read More
This past month, I was asked to speak on the topic of concept generation, also known as ideation, at Professor Larry Leifer’s 3D Printing and Design course – ME137/237 –… Read More
In part two of my three-part mechatronics discussion I provided tips for the design of high volume mechatronic systems. In this final entry of the series, I’ll discuss five additional tips… Read More
As I discussed in part one of my three-part mechatronics discussion, there are many, many types of mechatronics systems in the world. In industry, the largest market segment that would clearly identify… Read More
Software: Design Complete
Hardware: Pre-production units for design verification
MFG. Readiness: CM schedule and budget, Unit build tracking
Software: Full feature implementationHardware: Prototype 2 units with production-representative materials and processes
Quality: Build Quality PlanSoftware: Core functionality implementationHardware: Prototype 1 units with rapid prototyped components
Quality: Critical manufacturing process identificationSoftware: Architecture design: block, sequence and state diagramsHardware: Major Component definition & Proof of Concept subsystems build
Quality: Design for Manufacturing tradeoffs evaluation