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MIET2510 Mechanical Design

Mechanical Design Project

Type: Individual
Total Mark: 30% of the total marks available

Design Task

This project involves the conceptual mechanical design of a dual-axis solar tracking system intended to support and orient a photovoltaic panel array with a total weight of approximately 120 kg. The tracking mechanism is designed to rotate and tilt the panel to maximize solar exposure throughout the day.

Key components of the system include:

  • A vertical support column with a motorised rotating shaft mounted on a bearing system
  • A motorised tilt mechanism using appropriate bearings
  • Structural support frame
  • Power transmission components such as gears, bearings, and couplings, designed to manage both static panel weight and dynamic wind loading

The system is designed to operate reliably over a period of 8 years, with a minimum reliability target of 98%, and incorporates a safety factor of 2 for all structural and load-bearing components. A CAD drawing of one possible design is shown below.

The system must accommodate rotational motion at a low but steady speed and resist shock loading caused by environmental forces such as gusting wind.

A motion system and stress analysis may also be conducted for the designed system but this is optional.

Design Considerations

The design specifications are as shown below.

  • Weight and size: Optimised to be as low as possible
    • Solar panel assembly 120kg
  • Material: Your decision
  • Assembly arrangement:
    • Solar panel located on main rotating support shaft with minimum ground clearance of 0.7m at maximum tilt
    • Solar panel assembly is 2.5 m × 4.7 m
    • A maximum tilt angle of $40^o$ degrees is required for the main panel
    • Assembly must be able to withstand wind gusts up to 25 knots
  • Bearings
    • Suitable bearings installed on all rotating components
    • Bearings must withstand wind shock and static loads
  • Motors
    • Dual motor arrangement with belts to drive pulley
    • Sufficient torque to rotate on two axes under wind and static loading conditions (torque values should be calculated by you)
    • Rotation on either axis does not need to exceed 10 rpm
  • Life: The system is designed to operate for 8 years continuously
  • Reliability: 98% for all parts
  • Safety factor: 2 for all parts
  • Other factors and coefficients should be decided by you

Deliverables

The client is requesting the following document to be submitted.

  • A main document summarising the design process and results including details of calculations and a list of any assumptions made.
  • Details of any further information required to improve your design and move it from concept to engineering stage.
  • 2D CAD drawing of your designed system.
  • Optional: A video showing the motion analysis expected from SOLIDWORKS Simulation package.

Important Notes

  • The submission should include a main report document saved in pdf format with supporting documents (SOLIDWORKS CAD files, simulation video, MATLAB files, etc). Please upload all supporting files into a shared folder (the link to folder must be shared with the lecturer after submission and only submit the main report document on CANVAS).
  • The maximum length for the report is 15 pages excluding the title page, reference and appendices. The main documentation should be typed and submitted as a PDF.
  • The report should be formatted as follows; Times New Roman font, colour black, size 12, paragraph with line spacing of 1.5, layout with moderate margin, text distributed evenly between the margins, pages numbered on bottom right, technical data and equations should be typed properly, and all tables and figures should be labelled.
  • The report should be structured as a technical engineering report. As such it should be well formatted to help present information to the reader.
  • If there should be any parameters, variables or coefficients that are not provided in the design requirements you can can assume suitable vales to support the design process.