Enhancing our designs

We are continuing to improve our electrical test station, track design, and actuator design. The electrical test station required some new wires and terminals to reach the power supply. We are using a power supply that can output more than 20V to account for voltage drop through the rail. The test shoe wooden bar was given another wooden block that provides a snug fit on the test rails. Shane found some aluminum in the engineering yard at school. We will be able to use this aluminum for the large portion of the track. Steel can be capped onto the aluminum to improve wear resistance. However, our order of conductor shoes were lost in delivery. We will have to hunt down those shoes for now. The shoe container material has not been determined yet, but it must be flexible and an insulator. Design of the linear actuators includes how to attach them onto the bogie. We are in the process of CADing the attachment and deciding on its material. The linear actuators do not need to be large, we are thinking about 2-6 inches, but they have to be strong enough to hold the forces we want and be able to compensate for changes in the track.

Electrical Test Station

Aluminum bar resting on Insulator (missing brackets under insulator and the middle layer is wood which is acting as a placeholder)