Spring Presentation #2

Spring Presentation #1

Spring 2016 Update

Prior to the start of the 2016 spring semester, we became aware that the planned solar panel design would no longer be suitable for manufacturing. This was largely in part due to unsuccessful MiaSole donations and a more cost effective budget. So because of this, we quickly began designing new assemblies that would greatly consider our new factors and SoloPower panels. Considering cost, we decided to create the frames required for the panels from in-house material. This meant searching extra SSDC material and creating designs that would incorporate the excess material. Using wood as our main source of material, we began creating designs. After discussing the pros and cons of each design, we settled on a design that would use wooden ribs to flex the solar panels at a noticeable radius. The figure below shows the CAD design.

As seen in the figure, the ribs will be able to successfully allow a radius to a thin fiber board where panels will be attached. To ensure our CADed concept, we began prototyping concepts. This included flexing fiberboard and the use of dado joints. Becuase all concepts were able to be successfully tested, we felt that thew newly designed frames were more than suitable. With a successful frame, we then began testing new mounting designs that would allow rotation of the panels. We have created a total of 3 mounting designs, that each specialize in different categories. We plan to choose a suitable mount by 3/24/16. To take a closer look at our 3 mounting designs, images can be seen in the blog post above containing the first Spring presentation. At the start of the Spring semester, plans for Wayside on the 1/12 scale track were stopped. This means at the current moment, no Wayside will be implemented to the 1/12 track. However, because we wished to show more functionality of the on track solar panels, we will be attempting to add 2 charging stations. With help from the Wayside team, we been able to study theories and 1/12 Wayside design. While we are planning to implement Wayside to 2 stations, we will only be able to successfully achieve this goal with the help of the Electrical team and the Wayside team. This means all team will need to finish all tasks on schedule, which would hopefully allow ample time to implement a Wayside station. With most planning out of the way, we will now begin our manufacturing phase of the project. This means both purchasing materials in store and gathering materials from the SSDC. We plan to complete our manufacturing by the conclusion of Spring break.