Monday, June 30, 2014

Solar Saves Us

Today everyone got in here bright and early, we were all ready to complete out takes for the day when the power at school went out. So us being the engineering minds we are decided to make a solar power station for our tools using the solar panel attached to our Go-Kart. It worked great and we were able to use our tools and continue with our normal activities.

Today after testing many different application methods we finally taught we had a solution to our problem without the use silicone by instead using smart stick mats but then we realized that the de-greaser, all the other chemicals and silicone residue left a film on the car so no cells would stick to them.
 So we decided to take the top part of the car outside and  soaked rags in vinegar and put them on the car for awhile to remove the film. Then we proceeded to wash the car down using water and dawn. After we dried it using microfiber clothes.

Brandon, Takoda and Jasen continued to create the canopy with their new design.
Matt, Dylan and Paul continued to work on internal issues with the motor and motor controller.


Monday, June 23, 2014

Misc. missions complete

Today we had a predictive day where we removed the vast majority of silicon from the solar car's top.
In addition, we finished modeling, and began sealing a plug from which we will vacuum mold a canopy to function as a windshield for the driver.
Finally, we preformed an extensive cleaning of our makerbot 3d printer in hopes of getting higher quality and reliability in prints.

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Silicone be Gone

So today we waited for the sky to clear up a bit then we continued testing the cells. Chris and Paul checked the voltages labeled and organized all the cells.

 We also sprayed the top of the car with Lift-off and let it sit for a while then we scraped down all the big spots of silicone off then we wiped it down with microfibers. After we put on a layer of Goof-off and scrubbed the remaining spots and scrubbed them away.
 Takoda worked on shaping Styrofoam in the shape of our canopy so we can create a plug to make a mold of the canopy.


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Knights of the Round Table

After a couple of weeks of summer, we decided to sit down today with our team and get organized, we were all exhausted from a hard week's work, but we knew it had to be done tonight. With the team around the table, we discussed what we needed to get for the trip, what still needed to be done on the car, and who could do what. The lists were never ending and we all thought that we would never leave the classroom before the morning. After everything was said and done, we were back on track and dragging ourselves home.

Monday, June 16, 2014

Everyone and their mother

Tonight all the parents had a meeting while we worked on removing the rest of the solar cells and silicon from the array. We're almost done with removing the cells, but are still a way off from clearing the array of silicon. A note was revealed from Jason Rosen, a former student. The parents reviewed the contract we wrote up yesterday along with trip information.

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Rules of the road!


Today, we had a productive day of removing solar cells for testing, and making a contract (not legally binding) for the students on topics such as attendance, work ethic, and respect towards one another.

We found that some cells were arcing to the body of the solar car and leaving burn marks, so when the cells are reinstated we now know to be more careful with the instillation for the safety of the driver as well as the efficiency, and output of the cells.

Dylan inspecting the 3 aerl power trackers to see if they have any life left to use rather than the single Midnite Solar power tracker. This will give us a more efficient array by dividing it into 3 zones.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Stop the Shock

     New goals were established by the team, everyone took inspiration from from the Solar Workshop video series for their respective responsibilities.
     The main goals for today were to remove the solar cells due to arcing when the connections touched the conductive carbon fiber frame. This caused problems with the team getting shocked from touching the car, and could deal damage to components of the cell. The cell arrays are also supposed to be tested with a voltmeter, this will ensure that each cell provides proper voltage.
     A new goal is to create a system which allows us to charge one battery array while running off of the other, this design prevents stress on the batteries, and the battery arrays use the same voltage as the original, but half of the amperage. Here is a wiring diagram for the new battery array system.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

The Chair of Destiny

  • Removed seat for inspection to clear up 5 cm
  • Had discussion with Paul from eMarine, concerning batteries, array management, and monitoring system.
  • Caught up late members on our future plans
  • Finalized plans for the solar car.
  • Battery maintenance. Charged them to 12volts each.
  • Over viewed our route for the 2014 to better prepare ourselves for any uncertainties


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Episode IV a New Hope

     Long ago, in a galaxy far away, the solar knights assembled and agreed to use their summer to finish building the solar car for the race in Texas. Attendance rules were contemplated and the penalties would be harsh. Everyone discussed the strategy for arriving in Texas, and logistics were analyzed carefully. To ensure success, the entire team endured the videos from the solar car challenge workshop with notes, but ran out of time and agreed to finish watching them tomorrow.