Discussion

This project presented a number of major engineering difficulties. It required several complete redesigns, and augmentations to the corresponding drawings and analyses were changed each time the design was. Analyses and drawings for the pivot points at the top of the uprights, as well as all subsequent Solidworks drawings and part models became obsolete. Addition of the azimuthal axis articulation mechanism, and subsequent deletion of the linear actuator, represented enough design requirements and curriculum satisfactions to qualify for a separate senior project in and of itself. The drawings and analyses needed for this augmentation to the design, as well as the hardware considerations, gear positions and sizes, motor positions, shaft lengths, and all other related areas of newly required attention represented a major change in design and time required to complete the project. Dozens more parts will be needed to be modeled in Solidworks, and dozens more drawings will be required to fully define the project. Hundreds of hours were lost due to infeasibilities in previous designs and necessary augmentations. Each of these alterations required the subsequent deletion or substitution of the original SolidWorks drawing and models, which presented further troubles due to the inevitable clashing of corresponding mates and relationships within the assembly drawings and models. This caused many of the mates in the subassemblies and substitutions of parts to cause the need for the redoing of the models several times over. The current design, however, should represent a feasible model to continue the build process with.

            The first redesign involved going away from a design similar to that of the solar tracker system that was created last year. The reason this design was deemed infeasible was because it is not suitable for being arranged in an array of panels. Due to the fact that the panels would need to articulate simultaneously while being surrounded by other panels, the geometry needed to be reconsidered. Subsequent redesigns had to do with similar issues, as well as the necessity to change the structural properties of the model. Previous renditions did not have enough ease of manufacturability, nor did the structure remain sound when adding onto it. All preliminary designs were oriented around the concept of creating a modular system that can then be added onto as time progresses. This requisite is no longer a part of the scope of the project, as the design was simplified to expedite the process of manufacturing and reduce complexity of the overall project.

            The most recent redesign was to the method by which the tracker will articulate. Originally, the intention was to use a linear actuator to track the sun in the vertical axis, but due to changes in how the machine will pivot horizontally, such a mechanism was no longer feasible due to the space the linear actuator would take up; when fully extended it is 28.8” long. Therefore, it has been decided that the horizontal articulation will occur with the aid of a stepper motor of the same type used for the other axis, in conjunction with an industrial turntable and gears to interface the motor and turntable. This redesign to the azimuthal axis is rather drastic because it requires the upper portion of the frame to be separated from the remainder of the base and connected via the turntable and motor pivot point. This fix is not simple. It will require a good amount of machining, a custom mounting bracket/base for the turntable, new drawings, new analyses, and the purchase of approximately 10 of new parts or more, not including the mounting base and subsequent mounting and support brackets and hardware. A fully updated BOM will be included in the Final Report to reflect these changes as well.