Mounting Collectors

Two side adapter plates were used to mount the shoe collector; these plates are located next to the braking system in a form that would not conflict with the placements of other components. A total of 4 holes were drilled into the plates and the collectors were connected using these ports and the wires were fed around to the board.

Erosion Proofing

With the conductive lubricant available, we will be applying the electrified rail with a protective coating to prevent buildup from debris as well as tarnish and friction wear. This process will need to be repeated (best before each running operation day for the current half scale model). Copper tape has also been purchased for gap fitting, and will be available for the next teams to utilize when troubleshooting or gaps introduced through reassembly.

Dual line current gaps

An issue came up when testing the dual line portion of the conductive rail. There are either gaps within this part or a fault in the wiring that connects the straight rail side. We are looking further into this as well as continuing our other team priorities.

Testing and Presentations

Over the weekend we began testing the track and found multiple gaps within the rail system, we are continuing to fix these issues over the course of the week. We are continuing the second wave of presentations this week; during this time we will be continuing our process of the testing phases as well as implementing the shoe adapter.

Testing Phase Imminent

At the end of this week, our team will be moving into the testing phase where we will be troubleshooting any potential onsite problems that may have been unforeseen. We are also presenting our current status of the project this Wednesday. We will be highlighting (but not limited to) the following:

• Due to the design of the braking system, the brackets we made became incompatible
• We defaulted to the old brackets
• We filled in the gaps of the older conductive rail
• We have fully installed the conductive rails along the entire track
• Proceeding to install collector shoes onto Bogie
• An adapter will be made to secure the contacts between the collector and the track even further
• Testing begins next week

• Conductive rail fabrication (surplus)
• Bracket fabrication (finished)
• Installation of items (nearly finished)

Team Dependencies

We are nearly finished with the implementation phase aside from a few small tasks which will be completed once the other teams receive their parts. At this point we are depending on the bogey team to affix their assembly as soon as possible so that we are able to combine our system. Testing will continue regardless - along with other tasks that are not dependent on other teams. This will minimize the rush when the other teams catch up. Once we finish affixing the rails we will be running the current through the circuit and testing for any gaps. During spring break, we will be finishing the tasks involving the installation and manufacturing of the conductive rails. By the time we come back the bogey team should be ready for the installation of our shoe collector.

Bumper Design

Over the weekend, I designed a model for a bumper we can use for the collector shoe. This design allows for the shoe to fit more snug along the conductive rail and elevates it appropriately to touch the copper strip with more stability. The model of the part can be seen below.

Shoe Collector Integration

We are moving on to fit the shoe onto the bogie, We have finalized the fabrication stage and are currently moving into the implementation stage; this involves affixing the appropriate materials we need to replace or retrofit our new design with the leftover rails. Implementation was scheduled to begin later but we will be moving ahead of schedule to assure there is ample time during the testing phase to ensure that our final design will run without failure. If we maintain our lead over the schedule, we plan to add more items to facilitate our integration with the other teams. Our forecast for the deployment phase is positive in that we will very likely reach it on or before the scheduled date

First Spring Presentation

This week alongside testing and fabricating the brackets and conductive rails, the first presentation for the Spring Semester was prepared. An updated Gantt chart for the process of this semester was also ameliorated to forecast our testing phase. Both the presentation and Gantt chart can be accessed below.


Link to Gantt Chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1d0HtPsCi0U9ZxB2Q2hPej-22tSz6xKDYct0Mf3qkzeI/edit#gid=0

Finishing brackets and dismantling old conductive rails

3/22/17
The final new brackets were finished and the old conductive rails were brought down. The current shoe collector arrived and will be tested for attachment to the bogey. The current limiter was discussed with other teams and it was suggested that we run a different type of circuitry within the onboard system rather than a current limiter. Voltage regulators may be another option depending on how the power system is connected to the rails. We will further be discussing and collaborating to find an appropriate solution to achieve the power criteria.

Current Limiter

Implementing the current limiter to prevent the connection of 2 collector shoe currents shorting out the onboard circuit is crucial. The simplest form of a current limiter will not suffice due to a significant drop in voltage, therefore a more complex circuit, see below, will be implemented.

This will be the basis of the schematic design for the current limiter we will be implementing, an alternative will be to place a simple limiter along with a regulator to achieve the same results. 

Designing Elevated Brackets

Over this week I designed and created an updated mounting bracket for the electrified rail. The holes from the previous brackets were duplicated and the height of the mount was increased to 13 inches. This extended length allows for the rails to be raised so that the shoe can be attached to the bogie and contact the source of electricity.

50 of these brackets are to be made for the length of the track.