Development of Electrical and Mechanical Systems

On Thursday (02/06), Waylon and Melody discussed how to hook up a 24V power supply to a motor driver. They also discussed how to test the power transfer from the rails to the motor. Waylon looked for parts to buy for a voltage converter. Shane and Reynaldo went over designs, drawings, and parts. They redrew the existing platform to represent the actual track. They discussed possible designs for the conductor shoe mechanisms. Reynaldo modeled the track, adding insulators and aluminum rails. Shane assisted Reynaldo in specs of the drawings and looked up current sensors from Pololu that may be useful in the project to gather electrical current data.

On Sunday the team met and discussed what needs to be purchased for the electrical system. Two linear actuators, hall effect sensors, strain gauges, and voltage sensors need to be ordered. For the measuring system, the team will be using a Hall Effect Current Sensor ACS758 (50B Version) and LCD display. Melody and Waylon used draw.io to make the electrical schematic below (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Electrical Schematic

The mechanical team discussed the shoe arm mechanism. A single pivot point connection to the linear actuator will be used. The linear actuator stroke length will be 2”-6”. There will be one strain gauge on the center sliding shoe contact. The necessary force for the spring will be calculated. It was estimated that 6 PSI is required for the shoe. Next up the team will be assembling the steel cap and ramps.

Written by,
Melody (A. Bake)