13. Applications and implications¶
For this week’s assignment, we looked at Application and implication .This week looked at the following:
Individual assignment:¶
Your project should incorporate:
-
2D and 3D design
-
Additive and subtractive fabrication processes
-
Electronics design and production
-
Embedded microcontroller interfacing and programming
-
System integration and packaging.
Where possible, you should make rather than buy the parts of your project. Projects can be separate or joint, but need to show individual mastery of the skills, and be independently operable.
What will it do?¶
My project looks at the tracking of sunlight for solarpanels. The project will incorporate phototransitors to compare the amount of light they are receiving to contol a stepper motor which will change the position of the solar panel.
Who has done what beforehand?¶
After review of the Fab Academy database I have seen several projects involving solar tracking. Some notable project are listed below:
-
Babken Chugaszyan Fab Academy 2019 Solar Tracker
-
Ilia Feldshtein Fab Academy 2017 Solar Tracking Cooker
-
Green FabLab Fab Academy 2016 Dual Axis Solar Tracker
-
FabLab Barcelona Fab Academy 2017 Solar Tracking System
What will you design?¶
I will design the following:
-
Enclosure for the electronics ,wireing and stepper motor
-
holder for the solar panel
-
Plate to hold solar panel holder on top of the stepper motor
-
PCP board to contol the senors and motor
What materials and components will be used?¶
The following materials and components will be used:
-
Acylic for the enclosure cover
-
Plywood for the enclosure side walls and bottom cover
-
PLA for the 3D printing of specific parts
-
Stepper motor with driver board
-
Electronic components
Where will they come from?¶
Although most of the resources would have to be ordered from outside of the country ,some can be acquired locally. The imported items will come from Amazon and DigiKey while the local items will come from harware suppliers or material found in the FabLab.
How much will they cost?¶
| Qty | Description | Price | Link | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1’x2’x1/8” Plywood | $20.00TT | ||
| 1 | 1’x2’x1/8” Acrylic Clear | $48.00TT | ||
| 1 | Duouble sided copper laminate PCB | $0.87US | Amazon link | |
| 1 | PLA Fliament (black) | $11.50US | Matterhackeers | Roll |
| 1 | ATtiny 1614 | $0.90US | DigiKey | |
| 1 | 1uf capacitor | $0.50US | DigiKey | |
| 1 | Conn 6 FTDI smd header | $0.54US | DigiKey | |
| 1 | 4.99K ohn resistor | $0.03US | DigiKey | |
| 1 | stepper motor | US | ||
| 1 | solar panel | US | ||
| 1 | screws | $20.00TT | ||
| 1 | nuts | $0.00 | acquired from old resources | |
| 11 | 1x3 vertical header | $3.30US | DigiKey |
What parts and systems will be made?¶
The following parts will be made:
-
The enclosure that will holdthe electonic components.
-
The mirco controller board that will handle the detction of light and the corsponding movement of the panel.
-
The 3D printed parts for the project such as, brackets , solar panel holder, plate that attaches to the stepper motor and spacers to hold the PCB.
What processes will be used?¶
The following processes will be used:
Computer Aided Design with Fusion 360 :¶
-
Creating the enclosure.
-
Creating the solar panel holder.
-
Creating the plate for stepper motor.
-
Creating brackets to hold the enclosure together.
-
Creating the spacers for the PCB.
-
Creating the PCB layouts.
Computer Aided Manufacturing:¶
3D Printing using Prusa MKS3+ (Fused Deposition Modeling)¶
-
Creating the solar panel holder.
-
Creating the plate for stepper motor.
-
Creating brackets to hold the enclosure together.
-
Creating the spacers for the PCB.
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machining using X-Carve¶
- Creating the enclosure.
Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Machining using Nomad 3¶
- Creating the PCB layouts.
Soldering¶
- Placement of electronic components on PCB.
Coding¶
- Writing code for the microcontroller to perform desired action.
What questions need to be answered?¶
The following questions will need to be answered:
-
Will the prototype work in a real world situation.
-
Can the prototype track the area of maximum light.
-
Does the prototype leave room for innovation.
How will it be evaluated?¶
The project will be evaluated in the following ways:
-
Its abillity to successfully track the area of with more light.
-
Its abiility to operate without issue.