Industry Bridge To School Project --
The Solar Powered Cars Competition
Solar Powered Cars Project -- Reason for schools participation
o Some boys are feeling increasingly disconnected from the traditional school structure, this presents an opportunity to engage (some of) these students and make learning more meaningful.
o An opportunity to develop direct links with local industry and change the perception of manufacturing.
o Provide an enjoyable and 'real life' industry based challenge.
Mentor Henry and students from the Wodonga High School experimenting with a hot wire jig to clean cut and shape poly-styrene packaging material for the solar model car project.
Outcome expected for students participating in the solar powered cars project
o Greater satisfaction, participation and engagement at school through stimulation by a different (and more relevant) approach to learning.
o Increased self esteem.
o Greater awareness of opportunities in manufacturing.
o Development of teamwork and team building skills.
o Development of problem solving skills and their application to industry.
o An enjoyable, fun experience.
The Wodonga High School team mentored by Henry Banninger and sponsored by Milspec Manufacturing with a working prototype of the solar powered model car.
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Solar Powered Cars Challenge -- The TaskDevelop a solar powered model car that can negotiate as many laps of a defined course as possible within a one hour period.
Constraints to the project 1. Material cost to be less than $1000 for each team
2. The solar powered model cars may be equipped with battery capacity of no more than 2Vah, the battery to act primarily as a voltage regulator. A separate dry-cell type battery is allowed to power the radio control and servo units.
3. Solar array type MSX-30 Lite from BP Solar
4. Course located tentatively at the Wilson Transformer Company, Wodonga car park.
Key Solar Powered Cars Project Considerations Building model solar powered cars is not a heavy industry project. Attention to weight reduction is critical. Construction techniques that utilize modern resins or glues are appropriate.
Light weight materials such as balsa wood, heat shrink Mylar and modern materials such as Kevlar, carbon fibre or glass fibre used in aerospace or yacht industries are appropriate for the solar powered model car.
1. Understand how photovoltaic (solar) cells operate * and optimize the balance between available power and required power.
2. Define the main electrical system to optimize solar panel power and select a suitable motor for the solar model car.
3. Consider the course. Incline, surface finish and other features have a big impact on the performance and design of the vehicle. *
4. Consider the effect of weight and rolling resistance as these have a big impact on the performance and design of the solar model car. *
5. Select wheels and tires to minimize rolling resistance. *
6. Design and develop chassis and drive train.
7. Implement remote control system and insure that the solar powered model car is maneuverable. 8. Test and fine tune the solar powered cars performance and driver competency.
* denotes that experiments are required
Solar panels and motors used in the project. The solar panel on the right, with the circular cells, is over 30 years old and has been repaired several times (broken connections under the gell coating), it still delivers 23 watts and operates an electric fence on a farm.
The new panel on the left is a MSX30 Light, this is the one for the solar powered cars project, it delivers 30 watts.
The motors are from a motorized car-radio antenna and from a remote controlled target practice unit.
Indicative budget for the solar powered cars project;
major items each team will have to aquire.(All figures in Australian Dollars)
Solar panel MSX-30 Lite ($300-500); Motor ($50-250); Battery ($15-50); Control electronics ($100-250); Remote control ($150-200); Chassis and drive train ($50-200); wheels ($30-150).
Some schools may get carried away with the competitive aspects; the main aim should be reinforced as the journey rather than the win with a number of prize categories. We all like to win but if over-emphasized winning we get 9/10 teams "fail".
It was suggested that we have a number of categories of solar powered cars such as:
1. A prize for simply building something that works
2. Best looking, with; a. Overall presentation, b. Neatest wiring, c. Artwork
3. Least cost (for a working model), the use of recycled materials is encouraged
4. Most innovative feature (let the young minds be creative!)
5. Fastest over a short course (a solar drag race?)
6. Lightest weight (or most efficient unit)
As of December 2003 we have:
o WODONGA TAFE, (sponsored by the Australian Industry Group) has conducted a mentor training workshop.
o Ten teams have been established and are currently having one or two sessions a week.
o Cooper Tools has conducted a solder training courses for each of the teams.
o We have confirmed support from almost all major industry leaders in our region.
o We have secured a substantial sponsorship from the Federal Government for the solar powered cars project.
The level of enthusiasm from both the schools and Industry has been excellent.
We must now persist, "keep the ball (cars) rolling" and bring this rewarding solar powered cars project to completion.
We all will learn from it and perhaps, with the newly acquired knowledge, help young students make a decision for their future.
Students from the Wodonga High School practicing, cutting and testing light-weight styrene wheel hubs for the solar powered car project. O rings, as used in hydraulics, are used as low profile tyres.
The Murray High team mentored by Trevor White and sponsored by Norske Skog.
Early February 2004 "We are about eight weeks from race day and have a lot of work to do before
then. We now have the solar panels and have been testing them. We have began
to construct our first chassis from used doctor blades. The motor and remote
control should be about two weeks away, which is when we should be ready to
mount them to complete a rolling chassis. From there we will be performing
extensive testing and modification to produce a race ready vehicle."
Car No.3, successfully built and raced by the Wodonga High School team.
More pictures of solar powered cars
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The solar powered cars project is proudly supported by the Australian Industry Group Training Services, Albury, New South Wales, Australia
Albury & Wodonga
are twin inland cities, separated by the Murray River and strategically located between Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.
Solar powered cars resources and information page
A collection of useful data for designing, building, driving and racing your solar powered model car. Also links to sources of suitable high performance electric motors, special parts and information.
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