Get in Sync with Mechatronics

Products are becoming more complex and contain ever more electronics and software components. So mechatronics is increasing, dramatically in importance. Today it's very difficult to think of products with no electronics and software content. A car is often described as a "computer on wheels," with 30 percent of its value related to electronics and software and that percentage is growing.

Products are becoming more complex and contain ever more electronics and software components. So mechatronics is increasing, dramatically in importance. Today it's very difficult to think of products with no electronics and software content. A car is often described as a "computer on wheels," with 30 percent of its value related to electronics and software and that percentage is growing.

Electronics and software development are driving innovation in many products, such as driver assistance systems for cars, intelligent GPS-based spraying systems for agricultural vehicles, ergonomic control systems for cranes or hotel elevators with key-card based access and control. Because of this, the ability to deeply understand and manage the product development processes for these integrated products will be a key requirement and competitive advantage for PLM solutions in the future.

Just what is your definition of mechatronics?
Products across industries ranging from automotive to consumer electronics to industrial automation include a growing number of electronic components and are increasingly differentiated by software features. Mechatronics describes the processes required to synchronize these increasingly interdependent design disciplines: mechanical, electrical, electronic and software. The terminology varies in different industries. The automotive industry tends to use "mechatronics," while other industries use the term "electro-mechanical product development."

When you talk to OEM decision makers about implementing mechatronics, what are the main challenges they see?

They point to the problem of poorly synchronized mechanical, electrical and software engineering processes. This leads to higher product cost, poorer quality and lengthening product cycles. In addition, the time spent by engineers to overcome these problems reduces their ability to innovate. Major issues can arise from inconsistencies between disciplines and design partners. Consider some of the things that can go wrong on a printed circuit board:

• The PCB layout designer changes the position of a PCB mounting hole, but that change has not been recognized by manufacturing.

• The space available for a board has been modified, but not communicated to the electronics design group.

• A cable has been re-routed, with unforeseen implications for the overall behavior of the electronics and software (lag, electro-magnetic compatibility, etc.).

• The behavior of an embedded software module has been modified, but the design team has overlooked implications for related software modules and mechanical or electrical components.

These inconsistencies are often identified very late in the overall process - at the prototype or even manufacturing stage. That results in very high modification costs, potential production delays and reduced product quality.

To what extent are engineers aware of these issues?
Engineers are clearly aware of the problems that result from poor mechatronics design coordination. Even so, as the amount of electronics and software components in products increases, the challenge to manage this problem is growing, particularly in consumer electronics space.

Electronics and software companies were aware of the challenges earlier than companies in other industries simply because of the nature of their products. Today, the need to coordinate with mechanical engineers is getting more important across the board. Mechanical form factors are getting smaller and more complex. As a result, less space is available for more sophisticated electronics, which causes challenges in making sure it all fits together and works within tight thermal, electromagnetic or other constraints. In more traditional industries, such as aerospace, defense, automotive and heavy equipment, the degree of awareness and the response to managing the situation varies, but, overall, awareness is clearly on the rise.

How do companies typically respond to the need for greater coordination?
Many companies take first steps with electronics and software using external service providers. Eventually, a small internal group is set up, initially with expertise in electronics design. Over time this group grows, adding capacity and skills. However, these teams are often organizationally separated from the traditional mechanical engineering team. So, there are few, if any, structures in place to really manage the overall multi-discipline product development process. Inefficiencies creep in as the separate organizations try to collaborate.

Holistically, there is still a limited focus in organizations to take responsibility for end-to-end product development, starting with requirements and ending with system integration and testing. And there is also limited ability to manage trade-offs in the choice of implementing specific functions mechanically or with electronics and software. Issues such as change management and product quality begin to emerge. In this situation, it is very important that all key players understand the potential and capabilities of other disciplines, as well as the principles behind systems engineering.

What benefits can organizations realize by deploying a mechatronics-driven product development process?
Benefits will fall into four main categories - speed, quality, innovation and increased efficiency and innovation. To be more precise, companies will realize faster time-to-market due to modularization and better reuse of data, as well as a reduction in late-stage changes because of an improved understanding of system design dependencies and linkages. There will be better supply chain integration, which enables designers to select correct parts, reduce redundant part creation and improve component reuse. Higher quality will result from better coordination of data across disciplines, as well as from upfront mathematical, thermal, structural and mechanical simulation. Still, other benefits will come from lower IT costs and the ability to consider the complete lifecycle of a product. Finally, companies will realize improved revenue through early design optimization.

How will mechatronics influence product development in the future?
We have begun to see the future already. In an age where running shoes have electronic sensors and a transmitter to link up with a pulse monitor, electronics and software are finding their way into almost every product. We will see ever more products communicating with the environment around them, via sensors, the Internet or wireless technologies. As complexity increases, it will be more important to take a formal systems approach to design and engineering. Product modularity and interface management will grow in importance. For product owners, the ability to rapidly and efficiently integrate technology and innovations from suppliers will become the key market differentiator.

Our vision is the expansion of our Product Development System to encompass all areas of product development. This includes tighter integration of requirements management, the management of "functional" product architecture, increased support for product modularity and data reuse, the simulation of complete mechatronics products and the management of design alternatives and the trade-offs between them.