solar traking or mirrors

[Thunderchild]

I suppose if I had a rod sticking out at 90 deg. from the panel plane I could interconect all the panels with a long "rod" (2 to start with) so that one powerful motor could action them all together via the rod moving it from side to side

 

[Mike_2545]

Sounds good, when can we start?

Just watch the back lash in each joint...

 

[Thunderchild]

If you had a hinged frame for each one to pivot on, then a long acme threaded rod with nut assemblies attached to a lever on each panel. That would rotate or pivot the panels then you would have to work out limit switches, tracking and the like but that should work.

yes thats it, and the thread/nut assembly would be very surdy against the wind, what I'm mainly worried about is the wind ripping the lot out of the wall. just have to use big screws and maybe a bolt straight thru as its going to be at loft level

 

[Thunderchild]

Sounds good, when can we start?

Just watch the back lash in each joint...

back lash ?

so where can I get a high torque mecanism/motor + gear box without breaking the bank and making it unviable, I've figured each 20 W panel may make £ 7 of electric a year and I'm banking on the cost of electricity going up (yes literally banking, at the moment the return on solar generated electricity is higher than the interest rate at the bank ! )

 

[Mike_2545]

I made a window opening device, years ago, that opened an attic window. The window was hinged at the bottom, I used a threaded rod but brazed two nuts on either side of a 2 inch metal tube as the carriage. I put a grease-zert in the pipe for lubrication. Worked for years.

 

[Mike_2545]

One gear motor and an H-bridge will do it. Something high torque low rpm.

 

[Mike_2545]

Back lash. The individual joints that have slop or looseness in them, when added together is a lot of unwanted movement. One joint with .05 movement is OK but 10 of those joints is too much.

 

[Thunderchild]

sounds like a plan but in this case it would be more compact if it swiveled on the panels centre, I work for an engineering company so should be able to russle up some parts (metal bits and bobs) andworkmanship

 

[Thunderchild]

One gear motor and an H-bridge will do it. Something high torque low rpm.

so where do I get the motor (with gearbox) how do you think i should calculate the power needed, although I gather given a nice powerful motor and the huge torque multiplication such a high gearing down would give itdoesn't need working out too accurately

 

[Mike_2545]

Are you going to want to run the motor on low Voltage DC? or What you have coming out of the wall there in the UK?

Stupid question

 

[Thunderchild]

erm we have 230/240 volts but as the panels are at hand why not use the onsite 12 volts ? I have this:

**broken link removed**

which is starting to look quite powerful: 800 Kg/cm ?

 

[Mike_2545]

Here check out the selection at this place

Gear Head Motors-The Electronic Goldmine

 

[Thunderchild]

yea thats pretty much what I found over here at £ 19, motor is 4.5-15 volts at 12 volts is has a rpm of 20 and a torque of 810'000 g/cm (so 810 Kg of force on a 1 cm radius ?) so on a M10is threaded bar thats a 0.5 cm radius so that makes it 1600 Kg/cm wow did I work that out right ?

 

[Thunderchild]

I'm just not 100% sure of how to get the geared spindle joined to the threaded bar AND perfectly centred although maybe someone at work can help

 

[Mike_2545]

Well, if you have a problem with the motor control, you won't have to worry about the wind ripping it off the house. it will become self destructing.

 

[Mike_2545]

I'm just not 100% sure of how to get the geared spindle joined to the threaded bar AND perfectly centred although maybe someone at work can help

Belt, gear or chain drive. If you affix the motor directly to the shaft, and then find out its too strong/weak or simply breaks, replacement will be that much harder.

 

[Thunderchild]

Belt, gear or chain drive. If you affix the motor directly to the shaft, and then find out its too strong/weak or simply breaks, replacement will be that much harder.

hm true just makes a difficult job harder I'll give it some thought it shouldn't break anyhow. my one difficult my be having stuff like cogs as that means I need to set up the whole support mecanims and bearings, with a direct connection between the gearbox and threaded rod it would just be a case of pivoting them (without to much precesion) to the fixed and miving parts. You think that mecanism is powerful enough ? it sure looks like it, I'm not used to dealing with gear boxes and the increaed tourque they give. To think I used to have a photocopier motor with all the gearing on it (made it into a screwdriver) but well that was when I lived in italy and couldn't bring it with me....

 

[Mike_2545]

I might chose another motor. If its a geared motor it shouldn't slip (loose position due to outside forces like wind) You are only moving the position of the panels not lifting them. I would go with a reduction that gives around 1 to 5 rpm. That will make it more accurate in pointing your array and make for a tighter gearbox, (no way to turn the shaft without applying power.) Remember the sun moves pretty slowly so speed is not an issue.

 

[Thunderchild]

well I'll be off to bed and a thinking. thank you very much for your help

 

[Mike_2545]

Keep me posted...g'night