Mechatronics Tutorial Information

Digital Electronics

URL

Comments

(See the general electronics links also)

All About Circuits Chap 4

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_4/index.html

A nicely done tutorial on digital electronics

Digital Systems Tutorial

http://www.eelab.usyd.edu.au/digital_tutorial/toc.html

A very complete tutorial from the University of Sydney

Digital Logic

http://www.play-hookey.com/digital/

A fun,  interactive tutorial covering combinational and sequential logic

Combinational Logic Simulator

http://joshblog.net/projects/logic-gate-simulator/Logicly.html

Drag-and-drop logic gates and see how combinational logic circuits function. Written in Adobe Flex.

ADC/DAC Operation

http://www.opamp-electronics.com/tutorials/digital_theory_ch_013.htm

Nice overview of how analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters work

Components

URL

Comments

(See the general electronics links also)

Resistor Color Code

http://www.leonaudio.com.au/res-code.gif

Resistor color code from Leon Audio

Standard Resistor Values

http://www.logwell.com/tech/components/resistor_values.html

Standard EIA decade resistor value table

How to Read Capacitor Codes

http://xtronics.com/kits/ccode.htm

How to read a capacitor code

Diodes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diode

Good overview of diodes

Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/led.htm

Good overview of LEDs

Inductors

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductor

Good overview of inductors

Transistors

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transistor

Good overview of transistors

The Transistor Story

http://www.101science.com/transistor.htm#HISTORY

The history of how the transistor came to be, plus TONS more information!

MOSFETs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOSFET

Good overview of MOSFETs

Power MOSFET Basics

http://www.irf.com/technical-info/appnotes/mosfet.pdf

More in-depth overview of how Power MOSFETs are constructed and function

Op-amp Basics

http://www.national.com/onlineseminar/2003/opamps_basics/090303_Opamp_Trivia_Notes.pdf

Nice overview of operation amplifiers from National Semiconductor

Op-amp Applications Book

http://www.analog.com/library/analogDialogue/archives/39-05/op_amp_applications_handbook.html

Analog Device's extensive coverage of op-amps and their applications

The Monolithic Op-amp

http://www.national.com/an/AN/AN-4.pdf

Robert Widlar's classic app note on op-amps

Op-amp Applications Guide

http://www.national.com/an/AN/AN-20.pdf

Op-amp Circuit Collection

http://www.national.com/an/AN/AN-31.pdf

Extensive collection of applications of op-amps

Op-amps for Everyone

http://focus.ti.com/lit/an/slod006b/slod006b.pdf

Texas Instrument's extensive design reference on op-amps

555 Timer Tutorial

http://www.uoguelph.ca/~antoon/gadgets/555/555.html

Fantastic tutorial on the highly versatile and useful 555 timer

Battery University

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/

Extensive coverage of batteries

Motors

URL

Comments

Electric Motors and Generators

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~jw/HSCmotors.html

An introduction using animations and schematics to explain the physical principles of motors, generators and transformers

DC Motor Tutorials

http://www.faulhaber-group.com/n128948/n.html

Lots of good information about dc and stepper motors from MicroMo Electronics

DC Motor Principles

http://www2.maxonmotor.com/page040210.cfm?itemid=65

Fundamentals of ironless armature dc motors

Control of Stepping Motors

http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~jones/step/

Doug Jones' excellent tutorial on stepper motors

Stepper Motors

http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/~ih/doc/stepper/

Ian Harries nice collection of links on stepper motors and re-using salvaged ones

Motors and Drives

http://tristate.apogee.net/mnd/home.asp

Overview of AC motors and more

Motor Overview

http://www.speedace.info/solar_car_motor_and_drivetrain.htm

Has a good overview of dc motors and lots of interesting links at the end

Motor Design and Power Electronics

http://www.consult-g2.com/course.html

A full-blown course on motors and actuators starting with magnetics

Motor Fundamentals Links

http://www.industrialcontroldesignline.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=217900141

Links to app notes on motors from Microchip

Rules of Thumb for Sizing Motors

http://www.aveox.com/technical/motor.html

A good guide, with an example, on how to size a dc motor

Programming

URL

Comments

Essential C

http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/101/

A good brief overview of C

C Tutorial for Beginners

http://fresh2refresh.com/c-tutorial-for-beginners/

A comprehensive tutorial for C from fresh2refresh.com

Common C Programming Errors

http://www.drpaulcarter.com/cs/common-c-errors.php

Helpful list of common errors

Programming with lcc-win32

http://www.c-schell.de/home/cpp/tut/englisch/lcwin32.pdf

A good tutorial on C. See also http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~lcc-win32/ for a C compiler that is free for non-commercial use

C programming course

http://www.strath.ac.uk/CC/Courses/NewCcourse/ccourse.html

Univ. of Strathclyde's course on C programming

C Programming Tutorial

http://www.cprogramming.com/

An entire site for learning C and C++ programming

Programming in C Resources

http://www.quut.com/c/c-www/

Another good list of C programming resources

Free Programming Resources

http://www.freeprogrammingresources.com/ctutor.html

Has some good links that the other resource pages don't have

Online Books on C from AVRfreaks

http://www.avrfreaks.net/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=22514&highlight=c+books

Nice collection of links contributed by AVRfreaks

Programming in C

http://www.lysator.liu.se/c/index.html

Covers ANSI C, history, culture, and other sources about C

Developing Embedded Software in C

http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~valvano/embed/toc1.htm

Jonathan Valvano's comprehensive book on embedded software in C

Programming Embedded Systems

http://www.le.ac.uk/engineering/mjp9/pttesguide.htm

Michael Pont's excellent course web pages

Programming 8-bit Micros in C

http://www.atmel.com/dyn/resources/Prod_documents/avr_3_04.pdf

Emphasis on AVR microcontrollers

AVR Studio Tutorial

http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~cse/_atmel/AVR_Studio_Tutorial/

Focus is on use with assembly language, but useful in general

AVR Interrupt Tutorial

http://members.shaw.ca/climber/avrinterrupts.html

Easy to understand overview of interrupts for AVR microcontrollers

Matlab Tutorial

http://www.engin.umich.edu/group/ctm/

Univ. of Michigan's excellent on-line tutorial on Matlab

Microcontrollers, et. al.

URL

Comments

Choosing a microcontroller

http://www.mtsai.net/documents/appnote/appnote.html

Gives a nice overview of what a microcontroller is

The PIC Microcontroller Book

http://www.mikroe.com/en/books/picbook/picbook.htm

Focuses on PIC microcontrollers, but the Introduction gives a good overview of what a microcontroller is

Microcontroller FAQ

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/microcontroller-faq/primer/

A little dated, but has good information

Programmable Logic Controllers

http://www.plcs.net/contents.shtml

The place for PLC's!

Prototyping

URL

Comments

Soldering Video

http://www.curiousinventor.com/guides/How_To_Solder

EXCELLENT, 7 minute video showing how to solder!

The Basic Soldering Guide

http://www.epemag.wimborne.co.uk/solderfaq.htm

Great overview of how to solder. Don't miss the photo galleries that accompany this site.

How to Solder SMT Devices

http://www.bdmicro.com/smt/

Good resource on how to solder the more modern surface mount components

Low-Cost SMT Soldering Guide

http://www.avrfreaks.net/modules/FreaksArticles/files/15/Low%20Cost%20SMD%20Soldering%20Guide.pdf

Nice guide for soldering surface mount components

Learn How To Solder: Repairing Electronics & Appliances

http://www.easyapplianceparts.com/resources/Learning-How-To-Solder.aspx

A nice collection of links related to soldering for many different situations

How to Wire-Wrap

http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me2011/robot/wrap/wrap.html

Good overview of a helpful prototyping skill

Prototyping Tips

http://eeshop.unl.edu/proto.html

Read this before you do any prototyping! Very helpful tips.

Prototyping Techniques and Soldering

http://laspace.lsu.edu/aces/Lectures/Electronics/Electronics%20Lecture%203.ppt

Good introduction to schematics, assembly methods, and soldering

Dead Bug Construction

http://workmanship-562.gsfc.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/links/sections/303_deadbugs.html

Best practices for adding discrete components to PCBs for active changes

Working with High Frequency Op-Amps

http://qwiki.stanford.edu/wiki/High_Frequency_Op_Amp_Circuits

Construction techniques for working with high frequency op-amps

Circuit Maker Simulation Software

http://babbage.cs.qc.edu/courses/cs343/Circuit_Maker/

Freeware (limited) version of a good circuit design and simulation software

Embedded Systems Development

http://www.ganssle.com/articles.htm

Jack Ganssle's archive of articles on embedded systems development

Circuit Cellar's Digital Library

http://www.circuitcellar.com/library/print/

Some of the articles from the print version of the quintessential embedded systems magazine

Interfacing

URL

Comments

Beyond Logic

http://www.beyondlogic.org/

Lots of information on interfacing

Controlling the Real World With Computers

http://www.learn-c.com/

Lots of practical information on interfacing computers to hardware

Interfacing the standard parallel port

http://www.beyondlogic.org/spp/parallel.htm

Nice coverage of the standard parallel port and how to interface it

Parallel port interfacing made easy

http://www.epanorama.net/circuits/parallel_output.html

Tomi Engdahl's extensive guide to the parallel port. Very nicely done.

Interfacing the PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard

http://www.computer-engineering.org/ps2protocol/

Good coverage on interfacing PS/2 mouse or keyboard

Keyboard Scancodes

http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/linux/kbd/scancodes.html

Extensive treatment of data sent by various keyboards and PS/2 mouse

Sensors

URL

Comments

How PIR motion detectors work

http://www.glolab.com/pirparts/infrared.html

Good overview of how an infrared motion detector works.

Wireless and Amateur Radio

URL

Comments

Antennas 101

http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/Print.cfm?ArticleID=19463

Introductory guide to antennas and how they work

Antennas 102 More Q&A

http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/Print.cfm?ArticleID=19464

A few more questions and answers following the previous article

J-pole antenna

http://www.qsl.net/ku4jw/jpole.html

Simple instructions to create a portable, flexible antenna for 2m and 70cm operation

Amateur Radio Homebrew Antennas and Antenna Theory

http://www.ac6v.com/antprojects.htm

Huge collection of links to antennas for all bands and antenna theory

Others

URL

Comments

Relay Coil Transient Suppression

http://relays.tycoelectronics.com/appnotes/app_pdfs/13c3311.pdf

Comparison of methods and recommendations for suppressing inductive transients in dc relays

Coil Suppression and Relay Life

http://relays.tycoelectronics.com/appnotes/app_pdfs/13c3264.pdf

How suppression methods affect relay contact life

XY Plotter

http://opax.swin.edu.au/~jtoms/index.htm

A nice example of a complete mechatronics project

Programming and Customizing PICmicrocontrollers

http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/engineering/updatezone/predko/index.htm

An auxiliary page to Myke Predko's book of the same title. Has two helpful appendices on basic electronics and programming

Electrical References

http://www.appliancepartspros.com/electrical-references.aspx

Some nice links to electrical related sites, such as transformers, motors, wiring, etc.

ePanorama

http://www.epanorama.net/links/basics.html

A wealth of resources and links on electronics

Custom Characters on a Character LCD Display

http://deanandara.com/robots/ApuLcd.html

How to display custom bit-mapped graphics on a character LCD. Has a link to HD44780 information.

Ideas for Mechatronics Design

http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/bjfurman/courses/ME106/IdeasForDesign.htm

Links to circuits and other things that could be useful for mechatronic projects

instructables.com

http://www.instructables.com/

Step-by-step instructions on how to make lots of interesting things

Learning Linux

http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/Harrison/LearnLinux/index.html

Well organized overview of how to use Linux

Tex Tutorial 1

http://www.tug.org.in/tutorials.html

Nice online tutorials on Tex

Tex Tutorial 2

http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf

The Not So Short Introduction to LaTEX2e