Narrowing Down Wayside Power Project Details

The Wayside Power and Distribution Team has continued to develop the third rail pick up system conceptually and physically. At the team's current progress we have decided to shift away from a complete rapid prototype to begin development on the prototype project. The rapid prototype will now only be used to strictly test and develop the electrical measurement systems for the third rail system.

Figure 1: Wood materials and saw horses that will be used to construct the track.

Progress on the full-scale prototype project has steadily picked up in speed. We have begun picking-up materials to build the full scale prototype track. The team has established that it will move away from using the induction motor bogie and instead use the previous team's bogie chassis.

Since the end of Fall Semester is quickly approaching the team has struggled to maintain the steady progress necessary to complete some of the project development as initially anticipated. However, after finals the team will continue development throughout the winter recess period.

Figure 2: The previous team's bogie chassis the team will be modifying and using on the new track.

Written by:
Alex Ng

This week our team presented our current progress and goals for the Superway project. Other work included continued development on a small scale model for testing our power concepts. The team is planning to build a 10-meter track in the Superway design room. The team is also working on building the supply current and current sensors so that we can prove the collector shoe is transferring the proper amount of current from the third rail.
Our presentation can be found here.

Prototype parts CADs

On November 10, The Wayside Power and Distribution Team continue our meeting on the Spartan Superway Facility. On this day we are continuing our works on the CAD design and also working on our Bill of Materials (BOM). The team is working on the new CAD design which is imitating the design of a rail track.

Figure 1, The overall looks on the new CAD design

Furthermore, the team is having a debate about whether the guideway material needs to be an L bracket steel or it is unnecessary. After we are looking at the cost-effectiveness and how the design will be fit in our overall wayside power, we decided that we change a bit of our rail design from a combination of L bracket steel with a wooden board to all wooden board for the rail.

Figure 2, The new guideway design

Continued Progress on Rapid Prototype

The Wayside Power and Distribution Team continues its progress in building a rapid prototype. This past week, on November 6th, the team presented at the Pod Car City Conference to various parties from universities and companies interested in pod car development. The conference was relatively successful and enabled teams and companies to spread their ideas and development progress.

At the team's current state we are set to gather materials and begin work on the rapid prototype once the team completes a bill of materials and gets approval from Professor Furman to purchase needed materials. Additionally the team updated some of the CAD items for the rapid prototype to a more realistic visual of what the rapid prototype will look like when completed.

Figure 1: Rapid prototype CAD with a half third rail setup.

Recently the team had some difficulty and disagreements upon whether the rapid prototype should be completed in conjunction with the Bill's and Ron's half scale project. However the team has decided to steer away from additional dependence on other teams to reach the appropriate completion date. 

Figure 2: Shoe mechanism rapid prototype design.

Written by:
Alex Ng