Week 14: Finished the Assembly

This week, the solar team finished with the final assembly. Below is the final assembly that we have. The team is very happy with the result. For next week, we will put the solar panels on the solar track and test the circuit to make sure everything works.

Figure1: The c-channels are connected by the gussets 

Figure2: The final assembly 

Week 13: Cuts Finished

Below is the solar "rib" design before self-tapping screws have been applied to the gusset plates.  The team is very pleased with how the design looks and the team hopes that the rest of the fabrication process will be smooth as well.  The team is planning on installing the gusset plates in the upcoming days.

Week 12: Presentation #2 on 4/11 (4/12/2018 - 4/18/2018)

The presentation was completed at Spartan Superway Design Center on April 11th, Wednesday. The hand calculation of CFD results and the maximum wind speed may need to be altered per the feedback from Dr. Furman. Batteries, charge controllers, parallel y-connectors, extension cables, and MC3 to MC4 converter have been purchased. Wires, gutter, and wooden fake panels will be ordered as soon as possible.

Week 11: Manufacturing and Finishing up the BOM (4/5/2018 - 4/11/2018)

This week, the solar team focused on manufacturing some of the main structural components for the solar panels. Galvanized Steel Sheet metals in 16Ga and 18Ga were tested and 16Ga was selected due to its rigidity. The sheet metals were purchased at Acosta Sheet Metal Manufacturing. Bill of materials include all the details such as total cost including tax and discount as well as the dates of purchase. The presentation was prepared to incorporate all the progress the team has made since the spring break.

Week 10: C-Channels & Solar end clamps Shipping | Cutting C-Channels & CFD (3/29/2018 - 4/4/2018)

Throughout the spring break, the team has completed the following tasks. On 3/26/2018, the team has rented a 26-feet-long U-Haul truck to load and unload the 20-feet-long c-channels from Lord&Sons, Inc. Also, gutter and gutter guards/covers were purchased on the same day. On Tuesday, the team has purchased solar extension cables and solar end clamps. For the rest of the spring break, the team has practiced cutting c-channels with spare scrap metals in the shop. Few of straight sections of c-channels have been cut as well. Also, the team has completed the CFD using Ansys on solar panels regards to the wind lift encompassing the lift and drag coefficients.

Week 9: Main Structural Components Construction and Purchase (3/22/2018 - 3/28/2018)

The team has planned on the logistics of handling the c-channels and other parts from Lord & Sons, inc., which is a distributor of Unistrut. More than half of the parts for the solar team will be purchased from Unitstrut. One of the longest parts, a 20-feet-long c-channels, will be shipped by all team members via a 26 feet long U-haul truck that will be rented on March 26, 2018, Monday. Parts purchased at Lord & Sons, inc. will be brought into Spartan Superway Design Center on the same day. The team plans to purchasing parts such as gutter and gutter cover at Lowe's during the week of the Spring break. Electrical components will be purchased via online on the Monday as well. Construction of the supporting structure will be initiated on March 27, 2018, Tuesday.

Week 8: Bi-Weekly Meeting #1 with Gary Shaver (3/15/2018 - 3/21/2018)

On March 21, 2018, Wednesday, the first official bi-weekly meeting was held with Futran upon Gary Shaver. Reviews on the designs and computations regards to solar panels, supporting structures, and electrical components was done following the meeting agenda submitted. The team has provided details on what the team will be working on during the Spring break such as purchasing the necessary parts and building the main structural system for solar panels. The team accomplished 70% of what was required as of now. The team is plannning on handling c-channels as the purchase and pick up will be done at Lord&Sons in San Jose which is a retailer of Unistrut.