This book provides an introductory text which will enable the reader to both appreciate the essential characteristics of stepping motor systems and understand how these characteristics are being exploited in the continuing development of new motors, drives and controllers.

Initially, the only electric loads encountered in an automobile were for lighting and the starter motor. Today, demands on performance, safety, emissions, comfort, convenience, entertainment, and communications have seen the working-in of seemingly innumerable advanced electronic devices. Consequently, vehicle electric systems require larger capacities and more complex configurations to deal with these demands. Covering applications in conventional, hybrid-electric, and electric vehicles, the Handbook of Automotive Power Electronics and Motor Drives provides a comprehensive reference for automotive electrical systems. This authoritative handbook features contributions from an outstanding international panel of experts from industry and academia, highlighting existing and emerging technologies. Divided into five parts, the Handbook of Automotive Power Electronics and Motor Drives offers an overview of automotive power systems, discusses semiconductor devices, sensors, and other components, explains different power electronic converters, examines electric machines and associated drives, and details various advanced electrical loads as well as battery technology for automobile applications. As we seek to answer the call for safer, more efficient, and lower-emission vehicles from regulators and consumer insistence on better performance, comfort, and entertainment, the technologies outlined in this book are vital for engineering advanced vehicles that will satisfy these criteria.

Control System Technology focuses on the processes, methodologies, and techniques employed in control system technology, including digital computers, transducers, actuators, and amplifiers. The book first takes a look at classification, terminology, and definitions, displacement, reference, and velocity of transducers, and strain, force, torque, acceleration, load, and tension of transducers. Discussions focus on strain gauges and measuring bridges, other transducers for measuring force, torque, acceleration, and tension, displacement and velocity transducers, natural control systems, classification of control systems, and generalized single loop continuous feedback control system. The monograph examines electric amplifiers and final control elements, hydraulic and pneumatic amplifiers and final control elements, flow control valves, actuators and positioners, and signal and data conversion. The publication also ponders on interfacing control systems to digital computers, control system performance and commissioning, and experimental testing of plant, system elements, and systems. The manuscript is a valuable reference for engineers and researchers interested in control system technology.

Microprocessors play a dominant role in computer technology and have contributed uniquely in the development of many new concepts and design techniques for modem industrial systems. This contribution is excessively high in the area of robotic and manufacturing systems. However, it is the editor's feeling that a reference book describing this contribution in a cohesive way and covering the major hardware and software issues is lacking. The purpose of this book is exactly to fill in this gap through the collection and presentation of the experience of a number of experts and professionals working in different academic and industrial environments. The book is divided in three parts. Part 1 involves the first four chapters and deals with the utilization of microprocessors and digital signal processors ( DSPs ) for the computation of robot dynamics. The emphasis here is on parallel computation with particular problems attacked being task granularity, task allocation/scheduling and communication issues. Chapter I, by Zheng and Hemami, is concerned with the real-time multiprocessor computation of torques in robot control systems via the Newton-Euler equations. This reduces substantially the height of the evaluation tree which leads to more effective parallel processing. Chapter 2, by D'Hollander, examines thoroughly the automatic scheduling of the Newton-Euler inverse dynamic equations. The automatic program decomposition and scheduling techniques developed are embedded in a tool used to generate multiprocessor schedules from a high-level language program.

An introductory reference covering the devices, simulations and limitations in the control of servo systems Linking theoretical material with real-world applications, this book provides a valuable introduction to motion system design. The book begins with an overview of classic theory, its advantages and limitations, before showing how classic limitations can be overcome with complete system simulation. The ability to efficiently vary system parameters (such as inertia, friction, dead-band, damping), and quickly determine their effect on performance, stability, efficiency, is also described. The author presents a detailed review of major component characteristics and limitations as they relate to system design and simulation. The use of computer simulation throughout the book will familiarize the reader as to how this contributes to efficient system design, how it avoids potential design flaws and saves both time and expense throughout the design process. The comprehensive coverage of topics makes the book ideal for professionals who need to apply theory to real-world situations, as well as students who wish to enhance their understanding of the topic. • Covers both theory and practical information at an introductory level, allowing readers to advance to further topics having obtained a strong grounding in the subject • Provides a connection between classic servo technology and the evolution of computer control and simulation • VisSim demonstration material available on an accompanying website enabling readers to experiment with system examples