IMG_8114 Initial Phase
Written Ideas/sketches/drawings/images with descriptions.
In the initial phase, while researching on methods to create a mechanism that would allow some kind of cloth or cleaning device to glide across and clean the surface of the solar panel, the rack and pinion mechanism was thought to be a suitable candidate. However, accurate calculations for the teeth of the rack and pinion was needed to be calculated which ultimately was deemed as unnecessary work the rack and pinion mechanism did not have a unique advantage. Another flaw that the rack and pinion had was the need to “glue” the rack together, this led to huge inaccuracies and ultimately, causing numerous hiccups.
Subsequently, a linear actuator was considered. However, it is a mechanism that length-wise could not be adjusted he, thus, it was ruled-out as a potential candidate.
A clamping mechanism was considered to attached the cleaning mechanism to the solar panel. However, it was not used in the end due to the difficulty of producing precise results when mounting the clamp.
A retractable system was also thought of to “keep” the cleaning mechanism of the solar panel cleaner when not in use. However, there was a simple method to allow such function and hence this complicated idea was not utilized.
Prototype
For the prototype, we used parts that were originally meant to make a 3D printer. These parts allowed us to glide along the surface of the solar panel with precision and accuracy.
Additionally, by adding a window cleaner it allowed us to gentle wipe off dirt and ketchup to a certain degree.
Final Product
For the prototype, we enhanced the parts that were used in the prototype. These parts included a roller brush (as seen in the image bellow) to better clean debris off the solar panel as well as a rain sensor that can detect when it rains.
The rain sensor (as seen in the image bellow) was included in the final design so that our cleaning mechanism may capitalize on the ease of cleaning off the debris that might be “soften” due to the rain.
