Customer Reviews

Mechatronics for the Evil Genius: 25 Build-it-Yourself Projects

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book provides great practice via projects for students/practitioners of mechatronics that are already pretty familiar with electronics and feel comfortable with constructing elementary mechanical devices. There is some theory provided for each project, and it would be enough for someone to construct each device but not necessarily understand the science behind each device if you do not have a sufficient background in mechatronics already. My personal favorite was the analog computer, primarily because in this day and age, I find many young engineers that don't even know what an analog computer is! I especially recommend this book to teachers who want to motivate their students to study engineering by showing them what interesting devices can be built. I notice Amazon shows nothing about the table of contents, so I show that here:
Section One: Preparing the Reader
Section Two: The Technology Used in the Projects
Section Three: The Projects
Project 1 -- Mechatronic Race Car
Project 2 -- RoboCom: A Combat Robot
Project 3 -- Using a PWM Motor Control
Project 4 -- Ionic Motor
Project 5 -- Experimental Galvanometer
Project 6 -- Experimenting with Electromagnets
Project 7 -- Electronic Potentiometer
Project 8 -- Experiments with Eolic Generators
Project 9 -- Electronic Cannon
Project 10 -- Experiments with Lissajous Figures Generated by a Laser
Project 11 -- Analog Computer
Project 12 -- Touch-Controlled Motor
Project 13 -- Mechatronic Elevator
Project 14 -- Stepper Motor Control
Project 15 -- Magic Motion Machine
Project 16 -- Test Your Nerves
Project 17 -- Robot with Sensors
Project 18 -- SMA Experimental Robotic Arm
Project 19 -- Position Sensor
Project 20 -- Light-Beam Remote Control
Project 21 -- Mechatronic Airboat
Project 22 -- Coin Tosser
Project 23 -- The Challenge of the Mechatronic Timer
Project 24 -- Experimental PLC
Project 25 -- The Mechatronic Talking Head

This book is pitched at the Grade 10 to 12 student in a secondary school. Unfortunately,this is not clear from the title. The focus is on the electronics side. It does not go into robotics and what "mechanical" components shown are very basic.
Having said the above the content IS very suitable for the secondary student without getting bogged in the maths of electronics.

Definitely has a Genius touch to it. But must of the projects are easy to comprehend.

The author hands out the right amount of information how to build the different projects, letting you figure out the rest.
That`s important for your learning curve so you won't only mimic what you read.
These projects need some gentle touch to them, and a lot of patients, so make sure you fit them to the right age group.
I love these kind of project - Mixing mechanics and electronics.

If it's electronics and mechanics which intrigue you, combined with a bit of robotics and do-it-yourself projects, MECHATRONICS FOR THE EVIL GENIUS: 25 BUILD-IT-YOURSELF PROJECTS is for you. Here are step-by-step instructions, schematics, materials and parts lists, and clear diagramed outlines of how to build, mechanical parts, testing, and exploring project potentials. From generators and cannons to coin tossers, mechanics will be delighted with the intriguing array of mechanical and electronic devices - and with clear explanations of the science behind them.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Finally! An electronics/robotics book that is truly accessible (both academically and financially)to readers who are just starting out in either of these fascinating fields. The projects in the book make use of materials that are widely available, and in most cases can easily be scavenged from old VCR's and other electronic scrap materials. The background material for each project is both clear and concise. This is quite easily one of the best entries in the series.

I was hoping that this book actually offered more explanation on the design and application of mechatronics. It is basically a book of science fair projects for 12-18 year olds. It offers very little (if any) actual instruction on the components or the reasons why they are used. You will need a pretty good understanding of electronics before you venture into this book. I am going to have to find a good, basic book on electronic components and design before I can venture into this entire series.

Not a bad piece. Goes into the why's and wherefore's of how things work before they crank it up a notch or two.
Wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but I managed to glean a few interesting tidbits from it regardless.

It will come in hand this summer as I set up some mechatronic projects!