Approach for the Creation of Mechatronic System Models

One of the major challenges in developing mechatronic products is the increasing complexity of the products themselves. The defining feature of mechatronic products is the interplay between various engineering disciplines such as mechanics, electronics, and software. There is a critical lack of methods and tools supporting the interdisciplinary aspects of the development process of mechatronic products, especially in the conceptual design phase. These deficiencies make it difficult to overview the interdependencies of the involved engineering disciplines. Mechatronic System Models (MSM) can improve this unsatisfactory situation and allow for a holistic view on complex mechatronic systems. This affords a validation of design concepts and a qualified comparison of different concepts in early phases. MSM should at least be able to manage existing data and to illustrate the most important relations. Additionally, they should provide the possibility to execute several simulations of load cases, thus allowing specific "global" system properties to be evaluated. Typically these simulations at the system-level differ from those at the discipline-level.