Mechatronics is an engineering discipline that deals with the convergence of electrical, mechanical

and manufacturing systems. Such combined systems are known as electromechanical systems and
are widespread. Examples include automated manufacturing systems, heating, ventilation and air-
conditioning systems, and various aircraft and automobile subsystems.

The term mechatronics is typically used to refer to macroscopic systems, but futurists have predicted
the emergence of very small electromechanical devices. Already such small devices, known
as Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), are used in automobiles to initiate the deployment of
airbags, in digital projectors to create sharper images, and in inkjet printers to create nozzles for
high-definition printing. In the future it is hoped that such devices will be used in tiny implantable
medical devices and to improve optical communication.

Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) in engineering is a method of manufacturing in which the

entire production process is controlled by computer. Traditionally separated process methods are
joined through a computer by CIM. This integration allows the processes to exchange information
and to initiate actions. Through this integration, manufacturing can be faster and less error-prone,
although the main advantage is the ability to create automated manufacturing processes. Typically
CIM relies on closed-loop control processes based on real-time input from sensors. It is also known
as flexible design and manufacturing.

A machine structure is a fixed constructed object which functions as part of some

mechanized process or which performs mechanized processes independently. The
various types of machine structures may differ vastly from each other in appearance.

A ball bearing is a type of rolling-element bearing that uses balls to maintain the separation
between the bearing races.
The purpose of a ball bearing is to reduce rotational friction and support radial and axial loads. It
achieves this by using at least two races to contain the balls and transmit the loads through the balls.
In most applications, one race is stationary and the other is attached to the rotating assembly (e.g., a
hub or shaft). As one of the bearing races rotates it causes the balls to rotate as well. Because the
balls are rolling they have a much lower coefficient of friction than if two flat surfaces were sliding
against each other.
Ball bearings tend to have lower load capacity for their size than other kinds of rolling-element
bearings due to the smaller contact area between the balls and races. However, they can tolerate
some misalignment of the inner and outer races.
A machine structure is a fixed constructed object which functions as part of some mechanized
process or which performs mechanized processes independently. The various types of machine
structures may differ vastly from each other in appearance. These do not include structures built to
shelter or enclose machinery; the machinery must be inextricably linked to the structure's form.

A roller screw, also known as a planetary roller screw or satellite roller screw, is a low-friction
precision screw-type actuator, a mechanical device for converting rotational motion to linear
motion, or vice versa.
Planetary roller screw
A roller screw, also known as a planetary roller screw or satellite roller screw, is a low-
friction precision screw-type actuator, a mechanical device for converting rotational motion to linear
motion, or vice versa. Planetary roller screws are used as the actuating mechanism in many electro-
mechanical linear actuators. Due to its complexity the roller screw is a relatively expensive actuator
(as much as an order of magnitudemore expensive than ball screws), but may be suitable for high-
precision, high-speed, heavy-load, long-life and heavy-use applications.

Recirculating roller screw[edit]

Cage-less recirculating roller screw patent drawing (2006), with legend.

The recirculating type of planetary roller screw is also known as a recycling roller screw. A
recirculating roller screw can provide a very high degree of positional accuracy by using minimal
thread leads. The rollers of a recirculating roller screw move axially within the nut until being reset
after one orbit about the screw. Recirculating roller screws do not employ ring gears. Carl Bruno
Strandgren was awarded a US Patent for the recirculating roller screw in 1965. [3]
The screw and nut may have very fine identical single- or two-start threads. Recirculating rollers are
grooved (instead of threaded) so they move axially during spinning engagement with the threads of
the nut and screw, shifting up or down by one lead of thread after completing an orbit around the
screw. The nut assembly typically includes a slotted cage and cam rings. The cage captivates the
rollers in elongated slots, equally spacing the rollers while permitting rotation and axial motion of the
rollers. The cam rings have opposing cams aligned with an axial groove in the wall of the nut. After a
roller completes an orbit about the nut it is released into the groove, disengages from nut and screw,
and is pushed between the cams to the axial midpoint of the nut assembly (shifting by a distance
equal to the lead of the screw). Returned to its starting position, and reengaged to nut and screw, the
roller may then orbit the screw once again.

In 2006, Charles C. Cornelius and Shawn P. Lawlor received a patent for a cage-less recirculating
roller screw system.[5] As with the traditional recirculating roller screw system, rollers disengage from
the screw when they come upon an axial groove in the wall of the nut. The system differs in that the
rollers are continually engaged by the nut, and the axial groove of the nut is threaded. Non-helical
threads in the axial groove of the nut return the roller to its axial starting position (after completion of
an orbit). Non-circular compression rings, or cam rings, at opposite ends of the rollers (roller axles)
apply constant pressure between rollers and nut, synchronizing roller rotation and thrusting the
rollers into the nut's axial groove. Lacking ring gears and roller cage, cage-less recirculating roller
screws can be relatively efficient and, as a result, permit higher dynamic capacities for some screw
shaft diameters.[6]