Week 6 Update

We have been so busy lately nobody has gotten around to write something but i got a second between midterms.  This past week we scoured the Drexel campus looking for the necessary materials need to construct a second set of solar panels.  This upcoming week we will go to the machine shop and put it all together exactly following the measurements we took the other day. It will look real nice. Here's a sketch of the base plate measurements:

The CREO plans are coming along nicely and are starting to look like the real deal. Joab has been working hard on these and are almost finished.  Once the drawings are completed, we will post an updated sketch of both the panels and the control board.  

Currently, we are also discussing the option to test different types of battery packs to find the most efficient battery in combination with our solar panel setup.  Here is a link we found comparing the many battery types for each application: http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/whats_the_best_battery 

See y'all next week.

-LG

Week 3 Update

Hey everyone! It's time for our first official check in as a design team! Over the past couple weeks, we have been working to finalize our project plan. Today, we finally got to work. We took measurements in preparation for the solar panel mount that we will be constructing. Right now, we plan to duplicate the panels seen in the picture below. However, there is always a chance that we could decide to experiment a little bit with orientation and mobility. Lukas even talked about painting the next mount blue and yellow to show a little Drexel pride!

In addition, we will be using Creo Parametric to create 3D models of our designs, and we promise to have awesome renderings posted when they become available! Joab is a big fan of Creo, and he cannot wait to start modeling the components of our panel system. I have also decided to upload a picture of the rest of the system so you guys can get a sense of what we will be duplicating in the coming weeks. It looks complicated, right? No worries, as we construct, we will be taking turns telling you guys a little bit about every single instrument on that board and how it works in our system.

  

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the software aspect of our project. I will be in charge of producing a LabVIEW interface for the labs we will be creating in conjunction with the panels. Dr. Scoles has allowed me to borrow a template he has been using to monitor the solar panel system in the past, and it is an immense help. This is a picture of what his Front Panel looks like! When the system is connected to his Mac, he can monitor measurements such as power and voltage of the panel and the battery, and he can show the flow of energy throughout the system. I will be taking this week to figure out how to use this program to get as much useful data as possible to use in our final design.

 

Well, that's all for now! We will be back soon, so keep your eyes out for more updates!

-A.J.