News

November 4, 2021
Our co-founder Prof.Dr. Jan van Eijk is awarded the ASPE Lifetime Achievement Award for broad-reaching advances in precision mechatronics and for promoting the active sharing of these advances throughout the technical community.

Jan van Eijk accepts the ASPE Lifetime Achievement Award as a representative of the Dutch community in precision engineering.

Jan van Eijk speaks at the 2014 DSPE Conference on Precision Mechatronics
Jan van Eijk speaks at the 2014 edition of te DSPE Conference on Precision Mechatronics. The winner of the ASPE Lifetime Achievement Award 2021 attaches great importance to sharing knowledge and was therefore co-initiator of the DSPE Conference on precision mechatronics in 2012. (Photo: Jochem Treu)

As a pillar of this community, he has contributed by initiating and heading innovative applied research activities and by active sharing of industrial expertise. This collaborative spirit was first realized in 1989 with the creation of an in-house mechatronics training program for Philips engineers where industrial trainers taught new engineers how to work in multi-disciplinary teams and to employ each other’s technical strengths in order to reach the best overall result. This course has by now educated some 2500 engineers and established a solid foundation as other training programs were created to cover the additional disciplines. Beginning in 2010, these training activities were continued outside of the Philips organization by the establishment of the “Mechatronics Academy”.

He started his education at the Delft University of Technology with a MSc degree in Mechanical Engineering. Following this, he spent three years abroad working at universities in Pakistan and Sri Lanka as a UNESCO associate before returning to Delft to complete a doctoral program that included a dissertation on the design of flexure mechanisms. He received a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1985.

Prof.Dr. van Eijk then worked for twenty-two years at the Philips company in their Centre For Industrial Technology (CFT). The Philips company, based in the Netherlands, has been a birthplace of advances in science and technology since the early years of the twentieth century. This Centre formed the knowledge base for mass production technology in Philips. Research done in the “Natlab” was famous and the development of high-throughput manufacturing machines proved to be an important factor in the decades-long growth of the organization. Throughout his career, Jan van Eijk has had the opportunity to build on this foundation and to work with many excellent engineers in the field of high precision mechatronics.

His unique skills and expertise have arisen from the knowledge and experience gained from working at Philips where he became Chief Technical Officer of Mechatronics. While building a mechatronic technology center of about 200 engineers, he made conceptual contributions to a wide range of applications, including optical disc drive systems and lithography systems. With the start of ASML in 1985, Dr. van Eijk contributed to key concepts and to the architecture of mechatronic elements of ASML’s highly successful lithography tools. The use of a rigorous metrology concept, introduced in 1986, formed a significant contribution to the early lithography machines.

After leaving Philips in 2007 he founded his own company, Mechatronic Innovation and Concept Engineering (MICE), to continue to provide consultancy to world-class equipment manufacturers world-wide. He advises not only on technical concepts and designs for systems, but also on how to develop key components necessary for the successful growth of advanced technology organisations.

His skill in explaining sophisticated concepts in a very accessible way was further heightened by teaching for twelve years as a part-time professor at the Delft University of Technology from 2000 through 2012. There he supervised doctoral students on projects related to using active magnetic bearings for precision applications. As a co-author he contributed to the book “The Design of High Performance Mechatronics” written by Prof. Rob Munnig Schmidt. This book gives an industrial perspective on the multi-disciplinary knowledge used in mechatronic engineering.

Jan van Eijk served on the council of euspen and the board of directors of ASPE for several years. In 2012 he was awarded the euspen Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2016 the DSPE awarded him the Martin van den Brink award for his leading role in the architecting of high-technology systems.

February 17, 2020
The third revised edition of the book 'The Design of High Performance Mechatronics' is released. 3rd revised edition of the book 'The Design of High Performance Mechatronics'


October 20, 2018
New 3 days hands-on training Passive Damping for High Tech Systems addresses the need and solutions for additional damping in high precision systems.In the design of high precision mechatronic systems it is essential to achieve a high bandwidth of the feedback control loop in order to suppress the negative effects of disturbing forces on the machine accuracy and settling time. Dynamics and resonances play an important role in limiting the achievable bandwidth and settling time. Much focus is therefore rightfully directed towards high eigenfrequencies and understanding vibration modes including the mechanims of excitation and observability. However, as accuracy and resulting bandwidth requirements are getting tighter, the requirements in terms of eigenfrequencies of the system are sometimes reaching the limits of what is physically possible. In these situations, passive damping offers additional design space and is becoming a key design parameter for achieving these extreme requirements. Despite the risk of introducing hysteresis related virtual play, passive damping can significantly simplify controller design and improve positioning performance. In recent years much effort has been devoted to better understand the underlying principles of damping, improve modelling, prediction and manufacturing. This has resulted in spectacular results which otherwise would not have been possible. In the new short course 'Passive Damping for High Tech Systems' the experts from industry and academia share the latest insights and design approaches.

March 2018 edition of the the training Advanced Feedforward Control is fully booked !! An extra edition is planned for 10-12 October, 2018.

Februari 10, 2018
March 2018 edition of the the training Advanced Feedforward Control is fully booked !! An extra edition is planned for 10-12 October, 2018.

December 10, 2017
Full day tutorial DYNAMICS & CONTROL OF MECHATRONIC SYSTEMS by Dr. Adrian Rankers and Dr. Dick Laro (MI-Partners) during the 2018 euspen conference in Venice.

April 19, 2017
Full day tutorial Dynamics & Control of Mechatronic Systems by Dr. Adrian Rankers and Dr. Dick Laro & Tim Groothuijsen (MI-Partners) during the 2017 annual meeting of euspen in Hannover. Tutorial is scheduled for Monday 29 May 2017.

Dec 07, 2016
New 3-days hands-on training Design for additive manufacturing in 3D-printing lab of Fontys in Eindhoven (17-19 May, 2017) .The training will be given by the experienced team of the research group Innovative Production Technology of ObjeXlab. ObjeXlab is part of Fontys Centre of Expertise High Tech Systems & Materials (HTSM). The lab is equipped with numerous industrial 3D-printers, for both plastics and metal printing. Relevant software packages, 3D-scanners and various equipment for material analysis and heat treatment are also available in the lab. Each training day consists of a mix of theory and hands-on practice under supervision of experienced lab assistants..

May 26, 2016
Jan van Eijk , former CTO Mechatronics at Philips Applied Technologies and professor emeritus Advanced Mechatronics at TU Delft , wins the Martin van den Brink Award. Van Eijk is considered the founder of mechatronics in the Netherlands and an idiosyncratic thinker, who puts a lot of emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration and soft skills. He has contributed to many innovations from Philips and spin-offs such as ASML. During his industrial/academic career he has set up many training activities.

Jan van Eijk wins Martin van den Brink Award (4,4Mb)
Award Ceremony (Martin van den Brink (left), Jan van Eijk, Hans Krikhaar, Jos Benschop)

April 20, 2016
Tutorial The Dutch Approach to High Performance Motion Control by Maarten Steinbuch and Adrian Rankers during ASPE Spring Topical Meeting 2016, which is held at MIT/Cambridge.

MIT building (4,4Mb)
MIT building

Feb 14, 2016
In January 2016, Jan van Eijk, Rob Munnig Schmidt and Adrian Rankers travelled to ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) in Taiwan to deliver the Mechatronic System Design training. ITRI (more than 5,000 employees) was founded in 1973 and opened a Netherlands office in 2013, at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, to expand its network to Dutch high-tech companies.

ITRI group picture (1,8Mb) Participants and trainers in front of the building of ITRI College.

The initiative to bring the well-known training from the Eindhoven region to Taiwan was taken by Prof. Shuo Huong Chang, former executive vice president of ITRI, professor at National Taiwan University and co-founder of TSPE (Taiwan Society for Precision Engineering). After a meeting with DSPE president Hans Krikhaar and Adrian Rankers in 2013, Prof. Chang was convinced of the concept that large multi-disciplinary teams can only be successful on system level if team members combine three elements:

- excellence in their own discipline
- basic understanding of adjacent disciplines
- cooperation attitude and skills

End of 2015, euspen and DSPE launched the new combined certification program for precision engineering post-graduate education, called ECP2, as the European successor to DSPE's Certified Precision Engineer program. The participants of the Mechatronic System Design course were the first to receive the new combined euspen/DSPE certificate.
ITRI euspen ecp2 certificate (1,8Mb) Participant Hsiang-Hung Chang receiving the euspen/DSPE ECP2 certificate from Prof. Rob Munnig Schmidt.

Dec 04, 2014
Great score (>8.6) for first edition of new 3-days version of Metrology & Calibration of Mechatronic Systems (MCMS).

Based on the feedback of earlier editions, the training "Metrology & Calibration of Mechatronic Systems" (MCMS) has been extended with one extra day to leave more room for practical exercises, demonstrations and additional topics like the use of machine vision for geometric measurements and calibration of SMS systems. Last week, the first 3-days edition took place and it proved to be a valued upgrade of the training.

Applicants gave feedback like "Good training. I especially liked the use of a real case (NANOMEFOS, non-contact measurement machine for free-form optics) and "I liked the fact that participants are actively involved by doing exercises in small groups" and "Good explanation of complex topics".

Nov 20, 2014
New training Advanced Feedforward Control (AFC) replaces & expands former training Iterative Learning Control (ILC). All topics of that training are incorporated and other advanced feedforward techniques are added.

Nov 10, 2014
First edition of new 3-days version of Thermal Effects in Mechatronics (TEMS) was successful. Based on the feedback of earlier editions, the TEMS training has been extended with one extra day to leave more room for practical exercises and for advanced topics like Active Thermal Control. Last week, the first 3-days edition took place and it proved to be a valued upgrade of the training.

June 20, 2014
Another successful edition of the Summerschool Opto-Mechatronics, has come to an end. Fortunately, we still got the picture. Summerschool Optomechatronics 2014 (887K)

April 10, 2014
Half-day tutorial Advanced Mechatronic System Design by Rob Munnig Schmidt (Delft University of Technology) and Adrian Rankers (Mechatronics Academy) during the 14th International EUSPEN Conference in Dubrovnic 2 June, 2014.

March 11, 2014
EXTRA EDITION Mechatronics System Design - part 2 (METRON2) in scheduled for 25-29 August, 2014

February 17, 2014
Controllab will organize a seminar Introduction to 20-sim for mechatronics at the location of our partner The High Tech Institute (Eindhoven), March 13, 2014,

February 3, 2014
The second revised edition of the book The Design of High Performance Mechatronics by Robert Munnig Schmidt, Georg Schitter, Adrian Rankers and Jan van Eijk (ISBN 978-1-61499-367-4) is now available at IOS Press.

December 9, 2013
New 6-days training Advanced Mechatronic System Design (AMSD) for (future) system architects in precision mechatronics with 5-10 years of experience. Jan van Eijk, emeritus professor at Delft University and founding partner of Mechatronics Academy: "This course transfers all the skills and know-how found in the Eindhoven region to future generations of senior system designers.". The first edition starts June 27, 2014.

November, 2013
MECHATRONICS ACADEMY in MIKRONIEK (journal of the Dutch Society for Precision Engineering)

October 21, 2013
The annual training Dynamics and Modelling (DAM) is scheduled for 25-27 November,2013.

September 27, 2013
First edition of the new 3-days training Actuation & Power Electronics was extremely well received by participants (Score>8.6).

September 26, 2013
The 1000th CPE certificate within the DSPE Certified Precision Engineer training framework has been awarded to Saudith Estela Durango Galvan from ASML. She successfully completed our new training Actuation & Power Electronics by Rob Munnig Schmidt (RMS), Sven Hol (ASML) Helm Jansen (TU/e). 1000th DSPE certificate From left to the right: Trainer Sven Hol, DSPE chairman Hans Krikhaar, Saudith Estela Durango Galvan of ASML, trainer Rob Munnig Schmidt.

September 1, 2013
New 2-days training Metrology & Calibration of Mechatronic Systems by Rens Henselmans (NTS-Group), Theo Ruijl (MI-partners) and Ruud Beerens (ASML). Date: 18-19 November, 2013.

June 28, 2013
Another successful edition of the Summerschool Opto-Mechatronics, has come to an end. Fortunately, we still got the picture. Summerschool Optomechatronics 2013 (887K)

May 20, 2013
Half-day tutorial Advanced Mechatronic System Design by Rob Munnig Schmidt (TUDelft) and Adrian Rankers (Mechatronics Academy) during the 13th International EUSPEN Conference in Berlin 27 May, 2013.

April 28, 2013
New 3-days training Actuation and Power Electronics by Rob Munnig Schmidt (TUDelft), Sven Hol (ASML) and Helm Jansen (TU/e) 23-24 September, 2013.

April 18, 2013
On 24th and 25th of April 2013, we will be present at the High-Tech Systems 2013 in the Klokgebouw Eindhoven, the Netherlands. You can visit us at booth of our partner The High Tech Institute (number 131, hall C).

March 12, 2013
The pilot of the new training Thermal Effects in Mechatronic Systems (TEMS) was a great success. The next edition is planned for 7-8 Nov,2013.

March 5, 2013
Need to measure the dynamic properties of your system or module in a reliable way ? Join the training Experimental Techniques in Mechatronics 9-11 April.

March 4, 2013
The training Iterative Learning Control is already fully booked. An extra edition will be scheduled.

February 25, 2013
2-days training Machine Vision for Mechatronic System by Jef Horijon (Assembleon) and Harry Broers (Philips Research) 21-22 March.

February 23, 2013
The new 2-days training Thermal Effects in Mechatronic Systems by Theo Ruijl (MI-Partners) and Jack van der Sanden (Philips Innovtion Services) is already fully booked. A new date for the second half of 2013 will be planned.

Dec 14, 2012
We have opened the Twitter account @MechatronicsEdu. Feel free to follow us and receive latest information on (new) trainings and other topics related to the high tech industry.

Oct 22, 2012
1-day tutorial Vibration Isolation - active and passive systems given by Prof. Jan van Eijk and Dr. Adrian Rankers during annual ASPE meeting in San Diego.

June 5, 2012
During the annual meeting in Stockholm - the EUSPEN organisation honours Prof.Dr. Jan van Eijk with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his exceptional contribution to the field of precision mechatronics.

Jan 2012
Successful pilot (score 8.8) of new 2-days training course Machine Vision for Mechatronic System by Sjef Horijon (vision architect at Assembleon) and Harry Broers (architect at Philips Research).

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