One of the more powerful attributes of the mechatronic approach to design is its inherent sustainability. If you’ve ever played with a Lego set, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Lego’s let you build almost anything and then just as easily rebuild it into almost anything else. That’s one of the ingredients of true sustainability and it stems from the modular, scalable nature of the Lego connection system.

Today’s mechatronic design methodology possesses similar attributes. Not only is it modular and scalable, it’s also logical and expressive. Like Lego’s, mechatronics unlocks incredible creative power, helping engineers express their ideas, especially in terms of software. In a sense, both systems are “programmable,” and therein lies their sustainability.

For more on this thought-provoking topic, see my editorial in the August 2008 issue of Motion System Design.

It’ll help if you’re familiar with Greek, or at least the word logos. This seems to tie it all together and adds to the educational value of the discovery process.