Ball Launching Mechanism as a Comprehensive Platform for a Mechatronics Design Course*

This paper presents our efforts in developing an open architecture lab platform for a highly lab-oriented mechatronics design course which can be further integrated with other labs in courses such as control and machine design. After several years teaching this course, there was a need to re-vamp the experiential content of the course to provide a better learning experience for students. The project involves design and implementation of an actuated mechanical arm along with electronics circuitry for sensing, signal conditioning, and power drive, and its control using industry-grade tools and practices. The students are provided with guidelines in the lecture material to design their system and demonstrate its operation during the semester at several checkpoints and finally through a competition at the end of the semester. By defining challenging new projects, our goal is to increase the students' engagement in the design and implementation of a low-cost, yet challenging motion control system. A team-based approach is adopted to further enhance the students' teamwork and collaboration, while giving them an chance to practice their technical and interpersonal skills.