Design, Implementation, and Control of a Linear Electric Actuator for Educational Mechatronics
Jesús Antonio Nava-Pintor,
Miriam A. Carlos-Mancilla,
Héctor A. Guerrero-Osuna,
Luis F. Luque-Vega,
Rocío Carrasco-Navarro,
Salvador Castro-Tapia,
Marcela E. Mata-Romero,
Luis E. González-Jiménez,
Luis Octavio Solís-Sánchez
Affiliations
Jesús Antonio Nava-Pintor
Posgrado en Ingeniería y Tecnología Aplicada, Unidad Académica de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98000, Zacatecas, Mexico
Miriam A. Carlos-Mancilla
Centro de Investigación, Innovación y Desarrollo Tecnológico CIIDETEC-UVM, Universidad del Valle de México, Tlaquepaque 45601, Jalisco, Mexico
Héctor A. Guerrero-Osuna
Posgrado en Ingeniería y Tecnología Aplicada, Unidad Académica de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98000, Zacatecas, Mexico
Luis F. Luque-Vega
Department of Technological and Industrial Processes ITESO, Tlaquepaque 45604, Jalisco, Mexico
Rocío Carrasco-Navarro
Research Laboratory on Optimal Design, Devices and Advanced Materials—OPTIMA, Department of Mathematics and Physics, ITESO, Tlaquepaque 45604, Jalisco, Mexico
Salvador Castro-Tapia
Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Jerez, Jerez 99863, Zacatecas, Mexico
Marcela E. Mata-Romero
Subdirección de Investigación, Centro de Enseñanza Técnica Industrial, C. Nueva Escocia 1885, Guadalajara 44638, Jalisco, Mexico
Luis E. González-Jiménez
Department of Electronics, Systems and Informatics, ITESO, Tlaquepaque 45604, Jalisco, Mexico
Luis Octavio Solís-Sánchez
Posgrado en Ingeniería y Tecnología Aplicada, Unidad Académica de Ingeniería Eléctrica, Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas, Zacatecas 98000, Zacatecas, Mexico
Kinematics is a fundamental topic in engineering, robotics, mechatronics, and control systems and significantly resolves some of these fields’ most pressing issues. It is essential to assess the balance between a topic’s theoretical framework and its empirical validation to succeed in engineering. Educational tools have gained significant attention for their ability to enhance the learning experience by providing the hands-on experiences necessary to assess theoretical frameworks and empirical validations. This paper presents a system incorporating state-of-the-art features, including a fuzzy controller enabling precise control of a linear actuator and a USB camera, to provide an interactive experience. The USB camera captures the position of the actuator, providing real-time visual feedback and allowing the students to validate their theoretical understanding through practical experiments. Precision, accuracy, resolution, and the implementation of the fuzzy controller are measured to evaluate the whole system’s performance. The design, implementation, and control of our educational electrical linear actuator for teaching kinematics concepts contribute to a practical educational tool and advance interactive learning approaches in the field.