One characteristic frequently cited as key for mechatronics engineers is the ability to communicate across disciplines. Because we’re all caught up in our own jargon, the ability to both understand fundamental issues in other disciplines and communicate that understanding is important. “It’s not just a question of using the right terminology,” says MacCleery. “It’s also about communicating and demonstrating one’s competence in a different area.”
Sometimes, too, a team needs someone who simply understands the importance of communication. “Engineering managers say that when they have problems on mechatronics projects, it was usually caused by a lack of communication between engineers. Someone changed a motor from a stepper to a servo, but they didn’t consider how that might affect the other facets of the projects,” MacCleery says. “There is an aspect of social skills that are important too. If you want to just do your little part of the design, and you don’t want to talk to others, you won’t do well in mechatronics.”
Panaitescu also stresses this capability. “We’re not just hiding in our cubicles doing research and development. We have to go and talk to customers. We have to present our work and ask questions to understand the customer’s needs.” He says the ability to write precisely is as important as the ability to speak clearly. Although this may be aiming too high, he says, “we want them to be the da Vincis of this era, someone who has the mentality to jump easily from painting to building helicopters.”
Beyond communication is the important facet of project management — have they shepherded a project from start to finish? “Many working engineers don’t excel at planning and scheduling,” Alciatore says. “They also need to be able to compare and evaluate alternatives through decision and prioritization matrices.” He says even being knowledgeable about procurement — where to find suppliers, ordering the right components — is valuable.
Clearly, finding all these capabilities in one person is a challenge. Going forward, companies will need to develop these capabilities in their engineers, and engineers must be willing to learn new skills. Not only new skills, but frequently skills that require the ability to accommodate multiple perspectives. As National Instruments’ MacCleery says, mechatronics engineers need to be good “at everything. They need to be able to dive deep. But they also need to be able to pull their head up and see both the forest and the trees.”
A Mechatronics Curriculum Siemens engineer Razvan Panaitescu is currently formulating the mechatronics curriculum for Southern Polytechnic State University in Atlanta, GA where he works. Here are some of the topics he’s recommending:
Electronics
Analog Electronics
Digital Electronics
Power Electronics
Actuators
Motors
Signal Processing
Instrumentation and Sensors
Engineering
Control System Engineering,
Electromechanics
Energy Production, Conversion and Management
Fluid Mechanics
Kinematics
Solid Mechanics
Mathematics & Physics
Advanced Calculus
Differential Analysis
Fourier Analysis
Laplace Transform
Mechatronics
Fundamentals of Motion Control
Machine Dynamics and Vibration
Robotics
Software Programming
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Career Advice at the Mechatronics Expo
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