Abstract
There should be an image near the top. The purpose of this project was to troubleshoot the previously made solar robot charging station and find out why it no longer worked. After getting the station back in working order it was needed to be made waterproof as it will be subject to coastal weather conditions where it rains a lot. The station will be implemented at Zane Middle School in a teachers classroom and will recharge the classes robots and hopefully inspire the children in the classroom and spark their interest in renewable, clean energy. This page will provide the details of the project and the final results.
Background
Team Wooden Lions was formed during Lonny Grafman's (link his page and class etc.) 2018 Spring Engr215 design class at Humboldt State University to come up with a solution to fix a previously designed solar robot charging station. As time has passed, the school now has many projects that have been implemented and are used by students and faculty. The station is used in a classroom at Zane Middle School in Eureka, California to recharge their robots, reduce their carbon footprint, and to provide an educational and inspirational impact on the middle school children. After years of use the station no longer worked after being left out in the rain so Team Wooden Lions needed to troubleshoot the station to figure out what was wrong with it first and then get it back in working order. Once the station was working again it needed to be made waterproof as it is subject to coastal weather conditions. Outside what was required the team wanted to also try and improve the station where possible.
Problem statement and criteria
The solar-powered robot charging station no longer functioned that a previous engineering class made. The station needed to first be fixed so that it worked again and then needed to be made waterproof as it is subject to coastal weather conditions. The team's budget is $325 and needed to be completed within the timeline of the engineering class. After meeting the requirements our team persevered to improve the station as best we could. Below is a list of criteria that our team came up with that we thought would improve the station and help us meet the client's needs.
Criteria
| Criteria | Weight | Constraints |
|---|---|---|
| Safety | 10 | Must be “safety approved” by multiple teachers at the school |
| Durability | 9 | Must be durable enough to not break while moving it and withstand middle school kids. Must be able to also withstand the climate conditions, most importantly the rain. |
| Mobility | 8 | Needs to move around a classroom easy enough by a teacher or students. Must be able to move with ease by a teacher in various terrains such as dirt, grass, concrete, etc. |
| Security | 7 | The robots are worth over $400 and so the school would benefit from some sort of a locking system while they are being charged |
| Capacity | 6 | Must charge at least 6 robot batteries, each 2200mAh |
| Cost | 4 | $325 max |
| Versatility | 3 | Many attachments can be added to the station to make it more versatile. But in the end, all that must be made is at least the waterproof solar-powered robot charging station that was requested by the client. |
| Aesthetics | 2 |
Must look at least as professional as the previous project |
Description of final project
Photos and descriptions. Use gallery.
Include a how to use and maintain section. See the how to template below. The solar powered robot charging station consists of the basics needed to run solar. 4 Solar panels are mounted to the top that is connected to the charge controller. The charge controller is used to protect the electronics by regulating the power and keeping it from overheating and provides the level of charge that the battery is at. The charge controller is then wired to the battery and the chargers. The battery is a 12v 35Ah deep cycle solar battery and powers the chargers. All the electronics are routed together through the bus bar which then goes through voltage regulator to bring the voltage from the 12v battery down to a usable 5v for the usb and robot chargers. Everything is housed in a metal tv stand that is waterproofed by epoxy in the gaps. A door and lock was installed on the front to protect all the electronics from theft and water damage.
Prototyping
Use a gallery of prototyping photos and lessons learned.
Costs
Use Help:Table_examples#Cost_Table.
Testing Results
How to build
Use Template:How_to
Maintenance
The previous station was poorly maintained and is one of the reasons why it failed so quickly so this section will include how to keep the station working for years to come.
Schedule
This is when to maintain what.
- Weekly
- Charge the battery fully in sun once a week
- If there is not enough sun plug the battery into the provided trickle charger
-(Input the different color codes of trickle charger)
- Monthly
- Clean the solar panels with just water if possible and if that doesn't work then just soap and water.
- Every 4-8 years
- Replace battery depending on how well maintained every 4-8 years. If the battery can no longer hold a charge it is time to replace it. Take the battery to an auto parts store to recycle and they will refund a core fee of about $10-15.
- If the paint is faded spray paint a new layer on
Instructions
This is how to maintain. The step by step how to template {{How to}} is most likely best for this part.
For the picture add one of hooking up the trickle charger. Description: Hook up positive clamp (red) of trickle charger first to the positive terminal on the battery. Then hook up the negative clamp (black) to the negative terminal on battery. (Ask lonny if they can just hook up directly or if panels need to be turned off etc.) (Ask lonny if we need to add how to clean the solar panels) If LED remote battery runs out, replace with (insert battery type) If the charge controller needs to be unplugged, Remove consumer wires, negative and then positive. Then the solar panels in same wire order, and lastly the battery in same wire order. (Add photos of the individual sections)
Troubleshooting
This is only how to troubleshoot basic operation. For complex issues, the solution might just say contact ________. It should be a table in this format:
| Problem | Suggestion |
|---|---|
| Example issue | Example solution or suggestion |
| Does not turn on | Make sure it is plugged in |
| Another issue | Et cetera |
Discussion and next steps
The station was successfully fixed and made waterproof and should last, with proper maintenance and care, indefinitely as the base is extremely sturdy, being made of all rust-proof metal. All the school has to do is follow the procedures laid out for them and replace parts as needed. If they have the resources available they can still upgrade the station even further and increase its educational impact on the students.
Suggestions for future changes
One upgrade that could be done to the station that would vastly increase its versatility would be to install an AC inverter. This would allow for anything that has a plug to be used with the station. If an inverter is installed a larger battery storage may be useful if the currently installed one needs to be recharged too often. Security could be improved by replacing all the screws on the station with security screws thus making it less likely to be taken apart and having its pieces stolen. A bigger chain and lock could also be installed to the station as well as thicker or stronger metal on the sides. One idea our team had that we did not get to implement would be to install more types of renewable energies on the station such as wind power, hand crank, etc. This would likely be more of an educational aspect as they would be small scale but it would further educate and interest the children in clean and renewable energies. An RC system could be incorporated into the design to make moving the station as easy as possible and powered by the battery already installed on the station.
References
See Help:Footnotes for more. Template:Reflist