• Conclusion of Project

    Pranit Nadipelli • 05/31/2018 at 18:33 • 0 comments

    This project did not work as intended. I ran into structural problems along the way, in other words, the structures I made to support the solar-panel could not hold its weight. The electronics and programming were fairly easy due to the wealth of information available on the internet in the form of DIY tutorials. I have learned alot about robotics from this project and engineering in general. For example, I learned about structures such as cantilevers and the uses of BiPolar Stepper Motors. Along with that, I was able to learn that solar-panels are long-term investments with a significant payoff team. 

  • Project Update 8

    Pranit Nadipelli • 04/19/2018 at 15:05 • 0 comments

    I’ve finished building the frame of my solar panel and I learned about how bipolar dc stepper motors work. I also solved the problem of creating a gearbox because the stepper motor has a gearbox.

  • Weekly Update 1/15-1/19

    Pranit Nadipelli • 01/18/2018 at 18:44 • 0 comments

    I have begun to design a frame for my solar panel in order to mount my high power stepper motors in cadd. I have designed part of the frame so far, and I am still trying to design the base that connects to the solar panel. The mount is important because the high power steppers have to be connected through the mount. My vision for this problem is to have a box that contains the motors on top of the mounts that attach to the solar panel. In addition, I expect to experience a few problems with the connections to the solar panel. I will need to plan ahead to connect the motors in a way that will mitigate problems in the future. 

  • Weekly Update 12/11-12/15

    Pranit Nadipelli • 01/02/2018 at 18:08 • 0 comments

    I researched more pan and tilt models to figure out how to scale my solar panel. It is pretty heavy so the motor used for tilting would need to have a gear box attached to it so I have the correct torque ratios. I've also found out that my arduino should not be connected to the deep cycle battery. Even though I can regulate the voltage, it is probably too risky to connect sensitive electronics to a high voltage system. 

  • Weekly Update 12/4-12/8

    Pranit Nadipelli • 12/07/2017 at 18:32 • 0 comments

    The Solar Panel, Solar Charge Controller, Deep Cycle Batter, Luminosity Sensor, and GPS shield are all in. Right now I need to calculate the degrees of freedom to figure out where to place my light sensors. This allows for the light sensors to capture the full area of the tracker's range and adds to its active tracking functionality. I am also exploring the basic mechanics of pan and tilt models for my dual axis tracker. I will need powerful motors, but the gearing will be much more important. In addition to that, I will be using T-slotted frames to move the solar panel which ways ten pounds. The 80/20s will be mounted along the solar panel's COM. I might explore cantilever structures if the tilting aspect of the panel might be easier. 

  • Weekly Update 11/27-12/1

    Pranit Nadipelli • 12/01/2017 at 16:31 • 0 comments

    Over the month of November, I was waiting for my purchases to come in. The Solar Panel, Solar Charge Controller, and Deep Cycle Battery arrived today, and I am planning to purchase DC motors to hold the weight of the 50W solar panel. I started to research ways to code my project on Arduino. The inputs for this project will be a light sensor and a gps shield to optimize the travel of the solar-panel. The output would be the motor movements. Before Winter break, I intend to make significant progress on the building and coding side of my project. Due to a slight delay I expect the apparatus to be fully built and prepared for my experiment by the end of January.

  • Weekly Update 10/30-11/3

    Pranit Nadipelli • 11/08/2017 at 15:38 • 0 comments

    Plan

    Turn in Amazon purchase orders and finish EAGLE updates

    Procedures

    Place Amazon purchase orders on the mass purchase orders and start the EAGLE diagrams.

    Progress 

    Finished placing the purchase orders for the Solar Panel, Solar Charge Controller, Deep Cycle Battery, Light Sensor, and GPS sensor. Began my EAGLE design and added vital components including inputs and motors.

    Problems

    Trying to research what motors will suffice for this project.

  • Weekly Update 10/23-10/27

    Pranit Nadipelli • 10/26/2017 at 17:16 • 0 comments

    Plan

    Complete my CADD drawings and start to fill out purchase order forms.

    Procedures

    Completed my CADD drawing on OnShape and uploaded the screenshots to my website. Filled out some of the components on the purchase form.

    Progress

    I completed my CADD drawings over the past week, and filled out purchase order forms for my solar panel, solar charge controller, and deep cycle battery. Once these components come in, I will determine the motors that are required to move the solar panel. 

    Problems

    Did not include ASINS in the purchase orders, so I have to redo them.

  • 10/16 - 10/20 Update

    Pranit Nadipelli • 10/21/2017 at 12:07 • 0 comments

    Plan

    Begin to design the Solar Tracker in CADD and start to research components required

    Procedures

    Started to design the Solar Tracker structure in OnShape and began to outline the algorithms using flowcharts in my presentation

    Progress

    Finished the base of the CADD structure and finished outlining the algorithms

    Problems

    Had trouble extruding the base in OnShape