Week 13: Gusset plates on "Rib" design (4/19 - 4/25)

Cutting process of angled c-channels was completed. 16 Gauge sheet metal plates in 10" by 10" were attached to the vertical supporting structure of the solar rack. Self-tapping screws were utilized to put the gusset plates and c-channels together. Bogie Team member Dan Espinosa's 3 cordless drills were borrowed for a faster construction time.

Week 12: Presentation 2 on April 11th (4/12 - 4/18)

Presentation 2 was delivered by the solar team on April 11th. CFD results and its hand calculation was advised to be modified. A number of angled cuts of c-channels will be conducted over the weekends. 16Ga sheet metal, which was purchased at Acosta sheet metal manufacturing, will be ordered in the quantities of 24 in the dimensions of 10" by 10". Batteries, charge controllers, parallel y-connectors, extension cables, and MC3 to MC4 converter have been purchased. Wires, gutter, and wooden fake panels will be purchased as well.

Week 11: Electrical Components Configuration & Gusset Plates Option (4/5-4/11)

Electrical components have been configured with different iterations. It will be finalized by the end of the second week of April. Fuses will be purchased on Renogy. Batteries, Charge Controllers and 12 AWG copper wires will be purchased on Amazon. Solar panels extension cables with 12 AWG will be purchased on general solar supply. The configuration is shown below.

Acosta Sheet Metal Manufacturing offered reasonable pricing options as well as custom sizing options using laser cutter upon our needs with extra charges. Two different sheet metals were purchased and tested: 16Ga and 18Ga. Since 16Ga is more rigid than 18Ga due to its thickness, it has been selected as the gusset plates materials. 24 of 10" by 10" 16Ga galvanized steel sheet metal will be ordered by the end of the second week of April.

Week 10: C-Channels & Solar end clamps handling & Cutting C-Channels & CFD(3/29-4/4)

Throughout the spring break, multiple tasks have been completed. On 3/26/2018, 20 of 26-feet-long U-Haul truck was rented to load and unload the 20-feet-long c-channels from Lord&Sons, Inc. Also, gutter and gutter guards/covers were purchased at Lowe's. On Tuesday, the solar extension cables and solar end clamps were purchased. For the rest of the spring break, the spare scrap metals in the shop were used for practice cutting. Few of straight sections of c-channels have been cut as well. Also, the CFD was conducted using Ansys on solar panels regards to the wind lift encompassing the lift and drag coefficients.

Week 9: Construction and Purchase of Solar Panels Supporting Structure (3/22-3/28)

Plan on logistics of ordering materials was completed. On March 26, Monday, less than a dozen different parts manufactured by Unistrut will be purchased at Lord & Sons, inc., in North San Jose. Lord & Sons, inc., is one of the Unistrut's distributors in the Bay Area. A 26-feet-long U-Haul truck will be rented to allow the handling of the 20-feet-long c-channels. All the parts picked up from Lord & Sons, inc. will be unloaded to Spartan Superway Design Center on the same day. Purchase of gutter, gutter cover, and electrical elements will be purchased on the same day. On March 27, Tuesday, building the structural supporting system of solar panels will be started.

Week 8: Bi-Weekly Meeting #1 with Futran (3/15-3/21)

On March 21, 2018, Wednesday, the first official bi-weekly meeting was held with Gary Shaver who represents Futran in South Africa. Reviews on the designs and computations regard to solar panels, supporting structures, and electrical components was completed during the meeting. The meeting agenda which was submitted few days before March 21 was used as a reference during the meeting. The team has provided details on what the team will be working on during the Spring break. It includes the following: purchase and construction of the main structural support system for solar panels. About one-third of goals need to be accomplished by the end of April.

Week 7: Scope of Work & Presentation in ENGR189(3/8-3/14)

A presentation on Global Economy and Social Impacts was held in ENGR 189 on March 14, 2018, Wednesday. It was held before the senior project session in Superway design center. Scope of work was temporarily completed to describe what specifications will be accomplished. Gutter Helmet, the gutter manufacturing company which holds a patented design and its name, was contacted. The sales department informed that the Gutter Helmet only sells the gutter as a whole installation package instead of selling the parts only. Thus, 3D modeling of gutter was done and possible replacements were researched on Lowe's website. One of the viable options for gutter and gutter cover would be parts made from Amerimax which sells at most of Lowe's locations.