:D
Learn to Teach , Teach to Learn / Solar Bug - Redesign
  • If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.

  • You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

View
 

Solar Bug - Redesign

Page history last edited by Beckett Dunning 11 years, 11 months ago

Integrated Baseboard Battery Compartment

 

Originally when designing this device, I had created a switch, and then integrated the switch into the 'bug board'. When revisiting this, I needed a way to power the design (solar power to be demonstrated later), so I created a battery box. The idea was that the battery box would integrate both battery power and solar power into the design, and they could be interchangeable by changing the box on the back of the design. After completing this version however, I found that the full design was somewhat heavy and cumbersome, so I decided to scrap my old switch and base design (though I may use this for something else in the future), and create a new base, which integrated the battery box into the base.

 

Left: Newer Base (Integrated) Right: Original 4 Layered Base

 

At first, I simply extended the tabs which were holding the box together, and attached it to the base, but this looked rather large and bulky, so instead, I decided to make the base serve as the bottom of the box, reducing the weight, and form factor. This design would make the actual box component unable to be removed from the base, but extensions can be added into the base, either on top of the box, or underneath the base (which I plan to use for the motors location).

 

Note: It is vaguely visible, that on the right, the design has small On Off labels. These were an experiment with wood etching, and while it works fine, it is kind of hard to see at such a small size. Originally I used this to etch the first switch prototype, and I intend on including labels on the final design.

 

           

Original Switch VS Integrated                                                                     Integration of new smaller switch

 

The original switch design can be seen on the left. It was basically a puzzle work of pieces, holding a very large switch. This took up a lot of space, and was not at all weight efficient, so instead, I decided to make a much smaller switch cut out of the back of the battery box, which will serve the same purpose as the original, but vastly condensed.

 

The battery box consists of three parts held together by wooden or acrylic pegs. I have experimented with both, but found that although acrylic pegs are useable, and somewhat more durable than their wooden counterparts, wood, being able to bend and be compressed slightly, is better for holding in the permanent layers, so I intend on making my final design with these.

 

 

 

 

Design Evolution

 


 

 

This project has evolved a great deal since the original conception of the design. Below are some of my original posts about this design and its development.

 

Original Solar Bug Board

 

The solar bug project originally was a demonstration of how a solar panel when connected to a motor could, when under bright lights or the sun, cause the solar bug board to vibrate, and simulate movement. (The device would move in a random motion as caused by the vibration of the motor.)

 

This is one of the original concept designs for the base of the solar bug project. (.95 x 2.6 in)

 

One of the major problems with this design was that it was rather heavy (due to the weight of the acrylic) and as a result, to overall movement of the 'bug' would be limited. Further problems were also encountered due to the bug not receiving the correct amp amount, but this was corrected in later designs.

 

Redesigned Bug Project (Wooden)

 

Seeing the weight problems of the original design, and lack of motion as a result, the base has been modified to instead use a board made of wood. This design is considerably lighter, and will allow a much more intense vibration and thus range of motion.

Original Switch Design                                                                      Wood Etching Example

 

This is the first design for the switch, which would act as a discrete switch. (no clicking noise upon on/off motion due to lack of metal components) As you can also see, wood etching is possible with low power levels and/or high speed ratio using the Epilog laser cutter, and is very precise (each letter is only .05 in. in size.) This would allow for more intricate designs and customization of the final product, though it is not recommended on smaller parts, due to the decrease in structural integrity. With the wood only being .1 in. thick, it is already extremely fragile, so too much pressure, or even too deep etching could cause fractures in the wood and an overall lack of stability.

 

The original switch design (shown above) lacked the two holes which would be required to connect the circuit plates and make it an effective switch, but that was basically a design prototype, with no real working ability.

 

(insert picture internal switch design)

 

The switch design consists of the wooden parts you see above, and inside there is an additional piece of wood, which when connected to the vertical piece is able to slide back and forth freely with a very small degree of friction (this is because .01 in. of space was left in the cavity, in addition to the .1 in. which would be required to house the piece of wood itself. In future designs, this precision may be modified, but at the moment (due to software limitations) it is not possible to create any more precise of a measure, but .01 has seemed to be adequate, and the block switch is able to move with little to no interference.

 

(insert picture copper connection beta)

 

For the actual connection made within the switch, pieces of copper tape would be used. (Insert measurements) These pieces would be connected to the back of both the pieces of wood. (the wooden strip inside, and the back of forward support piece) The actual wiring which would be used to connect both the motor and the battery/solar panel would be attached to the back of the tape and strengthened by a thin epoxy, then they would be run out of the holes in the top of the switch plate. Note: It is important that the epoxy is applied to the back of the tape, and none is on the front. The unobstructed copper plates are necessary to complete the circuit, as having any non conductive material obscuring them would render the switch useless.

 

(insert picture of switch with base) (insert picture of multi base design)

 

There were many designs when making the base, but the final design was based on a number of factors, including strength, actual board size, and connection stability. Originally it seemed more favorable to use a base without individual slots, because it seemed both aesthetically pleasing, and would be interchangeable in the case that there was a different future design for the switch, or the laser cutter was off in precision. The problem with these designs however was that many times they proved to be unstable, because the press fit would not be secure if there was not a 4th side to hold in the connection. This is why the design with individual holes was used, (as can be seen furthest to the left) because it provided more stability over all. The only problem with this would be the lack of aforementioned interchangeability, but in the case of designing a new switch, it would probably also be possible to construct a new base, but there should not really be need for a new design.

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.