FEATURE

Motors and Mechatronics —

Moving to a Higher Plane
Jack McGuinn, Senior Editor

This is an article about motors — pre-

ventive motor maintenance, actu-
ally. And something else — mechatronics. In
today’s high-tech manufacturing and industrial
use environments, it is near impossible to talk
about equally complex motor maintenance and
repair-or-replace protocols without it. While it
is generally acknowledged that Japanese com-
pany Yaskawa first coined — and utilized — me-
chatronics way back in 1969, what’s usually Electric motors (left) from Brother Gearmotors and control systems from Dart Controls are typical
of the components found in mechatronic operations. (Photos courtesy Brother Gearmotors and
missing is an explanation of why U.S. manufac- Dart Controls.)
turing took so long to adopt it. That’s a story for
another time. But motor-specific mechatronics is the focus vector-controlled drives that modeled the motor’s electri-
here, which has a somewhat briefer history. cal performance inside the controller were introduced. Most
“The first International Conference on Advanced Mecha- methods used to monitor the condition of a motor, such as
tronics (ICAM) was held in Tokyo in 1988, and around that vibration analysis, required human intervention. Around
time early insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) technol- the beginning of the 21st century as VFD sophistication in-
ogy permitted significant reductions in cost and size of vari- creased along with microprocessor power some VFD elec-
able frequency drives (VFDs) used with electric motors,” tronic controls were able to use the motor as a transducer for
explains John Morehead, principal consultant for Motion motor condition monitoring.”
Mechatronics LLC. “Shortly thereafter more sophisticated Some, like Kollmorgen manager/training and digital ser-
vices, Bob White, say the history goes back fur-
ther. “The discipline of considering the synergy
between mechanical, electrical, and control
systems has been around since the 50s.”
What’s more, mechatronics even offers a
dash of 1950s Cold War intrigue.
“The adaptation of true mechatronics has a
date well before the official release of its name,”
explains Lee Stephens, Kollmorgen senior sys-
tems engineer. “A book on statistical dynamics
of control systems (Introduction to the Statistical
Dynamics of Automatic Control Systems — used
paperback 1960 edition available on Amazon)
was published in 1952 by an author named V.V.
(Vladimir Viktorovich) Solodovnikov. This was
where an electronic amplifier was fed an error
signal and a gimbal-mounted radar was used to
track missiles. The papers were smuggled out of
the old Soviet Union and were pretty advanced
at that time. Interesting that this was done well
before the feared Star Wars program of the U.S.
in the 1980s.”
How is mechatronics defined? It’s a question
that elicits both brief and detailed responses.
“We define mechatronics as the union of
mechanical, electrical/electronic and software

40 Power Transmission Engineering SEPTEMBER 2017

WWW.POWERTRANSMISSION.COM ]————
 FEATURE

life, repair and replacement,” says

Holling. “Maintenance is not al-
ways addressed, although many
modern controls now keep track of
operating hours and issue mainte-
nance reminders. Advanced diag-
nostics that can identify pending
failures are the new forefront.”
“(The intent of mechatronics) is
to remove ‘trial and error’ from the
process of development,” explains
Dan Wolke, Kollmorgen senior sys-
tems engineer. “One by-product is
a complete mathematical under-
standing of the properties of the
machine. That “understanding”
Screen capture of a Bode plot — used to analyze system mechanics and control electronics (courtesy Kollmorgen). would allow a much more accurate
preventive maintenance schedule,
engineering, resulting in gearmotors utilized with electron- i.e. — a math model that can run independently of the ma-
ic controls and software to perform work more precisely, chine to estimate component life.
quickly and reliably than if it were performed using separate, “System modeling, vibration analysis, and other analytical
discrete functions,” says Juan Avalos, applications engineer methods, utilizing state-of-the-art feedback sensors can col-
for Brother Gearmotors. Adds Mark Lewis, VP marketing & lect, analyze, and predict preventative maintenance sched-
sales, Dart Controls — “The integration of the most applica- ules. As a simple example, data collected over time on cer-
ble facets of mechanical, electrical and computer engineer- tain running currents can detect if the mechanical system
ing into a product or process solution, resulting in a better is wearing excessively if the running current is trending up-
solution than any one of the separate disciplines can deliver.” ward above a target range,” White adds.
Kollmorgen’s Stephens says that “Mechatronics to me is Lewis points out that these same sensors are relied upon
a melding of the physical expectations of a motion system to “detect (motor) vibration, current draw, temperature and
whether mechanical, electronic, hydraulic, and pneumatic speed,” and that “these data can be collected and transmit-
or any hybrid of technologies used to accomplish a physical ted via an IIoT network for analysis and preventative main-
task. Often, these systems are trying
to duplicate, simplify or assist a hu-
man function, most often a repeti-
tive motion that a machine can do
better. When combining technolo-
gies as mentioned earlier, it usually
takes a team of engineers as opposed
to an individual.”
And here’s the succinct version,
provided by Holling: “The interac-
tion and/or combination of me-
chanical systems with electronics
and electronic motion systems.”
When implemented, how does
mechatronics monitor motor main-
tenance, service life and repair-or-
replace issues?
“Mechatronics generally applies
more to the total system view and
design, which may include service

An AKD interaction flow tracks system operation and its various elements (courtesy Kollmorgen).

SEPTEMBER 2017 Power Transmission Engineering 41

 FEATURE MOTORS AND MECHATRONICS — MOVING TO A HIGHER PLANE

tenance scheduling.” the info.

Brother’s Avalos says — “(Regarding) motors, mechatron- “From a drive perspective,” says Lewis, “there is a grow-
ics has the possibility to project a possible motor defect or ing interest in the amount of information available from the
fault by monitoring current or running time. It will help en- drive relative to the motor under control; specifically — amp
able the user to more optimally time maintenance.” draw, ambient temperature, verification of motor rotation.
One might wonder if any growing pains exist in imple- The OEMs seem to be implementing mechatronics them-
menting a mechatronic motor maintenance system. It de- selves, but need information from products like motor drives
pends on where you are starting from. to implement their mechatronic solutions.”
“As always, it is best when a system is designed for its in- Avalos points out that “Mechatronics is required for the
tended use,” advises Holling. “Adding electronic control and smart factory technology such as IIoT or Industry 4.0, and as
motion control to an existing system can improve its perfor- a result the demand will be higher.”
mance, but you may not always be able to compensate for a “Over the past 20 years,” Morehead adds, “industrial and
poor existing mechanical design.” commercial equipment OEMs have widely adopted brush-
And, Avalos adds, “The user needs knowledge of control. A less motors with integral gearing, as well as integral motion
mechanical part is not so difficult to replace, but for control- controls and their supporting software as an all-in-one me-
ling the mechanical part, need turning/control knowledge” chatronics solution that not only simplifies machine con-
is needed. struction but also increases reliability and durability.”
Kollmorgen’s White further explains that “Mechatronics is Kollmorgen’s White adds that “I don’t think it’s a case of
combining a variety of disciplines in designing or retrofitting ‘implement mechatronic practices’ but understanding and
a particular machine design. Any growing pains would be implementing tools based on mechatronics. For large op-
learning how to consider how each element of the design fits portunities, we have been known to give Control Engineer-
together to optimize the machine performance.” Colleague ing math model support to customers to help in successful
Wolke cautions that “Mechanical design changes needed machine design. Most companies that supply motion con-
to achieve additional performance can sometimes be very trol systems have been applying these principles as common
painful to deal with after metal has already been cut.” practice. OEMs who desire to mix motion elements from
“Most engineers graduate with a degree in either me- multiple suppliers tend to have the mechatronic skills to suc-
chanical or electrical engineering,” Kollmorgen’s Ritchie cessfully integrate.”
points out. “Educational institutes teach the mechanical “Integrate” is the key word here; mechatronics done right
and control systems separately from each other, instead of is key to intelligent manufacturing processes. The result?
a combined disciplines. The separate disciplines naturally Peak performance up and down the line.
combine in the ‘real world’ outside of the educational envi- “(For motors), mechatronics will help to output 100% of
ronment.” the motor’s ability to make OEM’s application-to-output
On the OEM side of things, mechatronics — and the data 100% of the application ability. This will affect size down,
it provides — are an increasingly larger part of the manufac- cost down and improvement of energy efficiency,” says
turing equation. Indeed — it is seemingly all about capturing Brother’s Avalos. To which Morehead adds: “Mechatronics’
appeal to manufacturers follows two tracks: systems and
economics. Mechatronic systems are more efficient, flexible,
reliable and offer scalability compared to individual compo-
nents. Properly designed mechatronic systems can also be
more economic from an installation standpoint and their in-
creased reliability offers not only greater machine lifetimes
but also reduces potential for lost revenue as a result of ma-
chine downtime.”
Given that mechatronics in some form has been around
for decades, you have to wonder what comes next — is con-
tinuous improvement a given? What would the next iteration
look like?
“Advance of AI technology and miniaturization of the elec-
trical parts and cost down of these will help for the future
development,” says Avalos. “We’re only starting to see com-
munications in the form of Internet connectivity or real-time
SMS alerts being incorporated into PLCs and other devices,”
Morehead states. “Fortunately for the industrial world, many

Dart brushless controls are used for system modeling and other analytics. (Courtesy Dart Controls)

42 Power Transmission Engineering SEPTEMBER 2017

WWW.POWERTRANSMISSION.COM ]————
 FEATURE

developments in this field and other sensing areas are being IN CLOSING…
driven by the smart phone industry; it’s economic and size
constraints will bring forth new tools that can be incorporat- We asked the group for some closing
ed into motors, gearing and controls that would have been comments relative to mechatronics and motor
unimaginable a decade ago.” performance, maintenance and repair/replace.
Rocky Mountain’s Holling believes “(Mechatronics) is still
an evolving process, and designers and managers are still Mark Lewis, Dart Controls
learning to understand the global holistic view that mecha- From a drive/control perspective, the IIoT concept is
tronics encompasses, and where mechanics and electronics driving suppliers to sense and measure variables in the
are combined in an optimal way to deliver the highest per- processes under control. Not sure where mechatronics
formance in a most cost-effective way. and IIoT meet, but I believe they do. The key for both are
And for White? “Mechatronics as a discipline is becom- a) solutions that deliver meaningful value-performance,
ing more prevalent at a variety of universities as discipline savings and reliability, and b) make use where possible
within engineering departments. Many technical and trade of existing installed base. New technology is cool, USE-
schools have embraced Mechatronics. Additional advances FUL new technology is really cool.
will come as increased computational power and sophis-
ticated feedback sensors combine to adapt to a variety of John Morehead, Motion Mechatronics LLC
machine conditions. Eventual connectivity to IoT will allow In response to the increased deployment of motors
a machine operator to receive maintenance warnings via in mechatronics systems, over the past decade post-
a smart phone and web connectivity to diagnose machine secondary education organizations have begun to of-
problems from remote locations. fer certifications in the expanded field of mechatronics
“It is still an evolving process and designers and managers maintenance. Their curriculum typically includes the
are still learning to understand the global holistic view that primary branches of mechatronics: servo-controls and
mechatronics encompasses: where mechanics and electron- control theory, mechanical drives, information technol-
ics are combined in an optimal way to deliver the highest ogy, and electronics.
performance in a most cost effective way.”
For more information Dan Wolke and Gordon Ritchie, Kollmorgen
Brother International Corporation Wolke
200 Crossing Boulevard To me, Mechatronics is a tool used in the design of a ma-
Bridgewater, NJ 08807-0911
Phone: (866) 523-6283 chine or system for a target performance and life. When
Fax: (908) 704-8235 done properly, it results in a mathematical model of the
Brotherusa.com system that can be used, not only for optimizing perfor-
Dart Controls mance, but modeling component run life.
5000 W. 106th Street But the mechatronic process consumes a huge
P.O. Box 10
Zionsville, IN 46077 amount of engineering resources so there becomes a
Phone: (317) 873-5211 question of how much effort is needed? Example: When
Fax: (317) 873-1105 NASA designed a rocket, the cost of failure is too great
Dartcontrols.com
so they spend a large effort into using mechatronic in
Kollmorgen
203A West Rock Road their design. On the other hand, adding a simple actua-
Radford VA 24141 tor to an existing machine may only require using good
Phone: 1 (540) 633-3545 known Mechatronic guidelines and not a full Engineer-
Kollmorgen.com ing effort to model the performance.
Motion Mechatronics LLC
104 E. State Street # 412
Sycamore, IL 60178 Ritchie
Motionmechatronics.com Machine design, going forward, will develop a natural
Rocky Mountain Technologies process of marrying mechanical components to control
PO 210 components. By doing so, machine design can take ad-
Basin, MT 596312
Phone: 406-552-4260 vantage of stiffer mechanical systems and higher reso-
[email protected] lution feedback. Machines will become more accurate,
faster, and more reliable.

For Related Articles Search

motor maintenance
at www.powertransmission.com

SEPTEMBER 2017 Power Transmission Engineering 43