Building a solar powered car.......please help?

Question

My dad says he wants to test my skill in creating things, he says i can have a limmit of about $300 and ill get $100 if i succeed.

He wants me to make a solar powered car (model) but it actually has to work....

if anyone has any ideas please let them loose

remember 10 points !!

Answer 1

Salvage one of those safety razors that vibrate they have a small 1.5 volt motor about 1 ounce in weight it comes with its micro circuit  a couple of rubber bands.. a garden night light and luck.

and you should end up with much of that $300 in your back pocket. Ha ha.

Answer 2

I think he wants to test your skill, not my skill. so answer it yourself.

Answer 3

THINK

Answer 4

This is a fun project. Be sure to tell your Dad how great he is!

The size of the unit is based on the solar panel size. I suggest making a unit targeting about 25kg, about 900 mm long, 350mm wide. This is a nice robot sized unit. The 15W panel is almost 1000mm long and over 300mm wide. The 5W unit is over half that size, much less power. There is also a 1.5W unit for about $10. All should have built in diode protection and circuitry to allow charging 12V battery. You might want to scale it down to say a 7kg unit and use this one, with maybe a 4Ahr battery.

Suggested basic design and budget, including shipping and tax:

Solar panel: $100

Battery:        $25 (plan for a 2nd later)

Gear motor: $40 (plan for a 2nd later)

Wheels:

Axle, bearings, belt:              

Frame:               $20

Options:

DC motor control: $30

Remote Control:

Steering:

Several systems are required. I suggest going for partial credit, first get the device running, then add fancy features like speed control on motor, steering, and remote control. There is a remote control kit at one of the surplus guys real cheap.

First, and most critical  system is the solar panel. A 5W unit runs $40. A 15W at twice that is the biggest you can afford:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Di...

Get the 15W unit. It has too little power to use directly, so use it to charge a battery. Get a 12V gel battery or 2, like they use for UPS. 12V12 A*hr or bigger, preferably 12V18. 4Ahr online for $8, but also $8 shipping. My local battery shop has 12V 12A*hr for $20 +tax. You will need to charge it with the solar panel from 20 to 40 hrs of strong sun, with the panel tilted toward the sun. The 15W isunit is almost 1000mm long and over 300mm wide.

Frame: use something like 1/2" plywood, about the size of the solar panel. Mount the panel so the tilt angle can be adjusted.

Wheels should be about lawn mower size or smaller. Start by just s******g the front wheels in. Use a solid axle for the rear, you need to put a gear or pulley on it to drive by the motor.

Motor should be 12V, about 1/10 HP or less (about 100W or less) would last about 1/2 hr full throttle, much longer as size goes down. Get one maybe a little smaller than this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/MET-DC-Blower-Fan-Mo... surplus places, and maybe ebay.

You really want a gearmotor, like this, tho this one is too pricey, at $73, a little small, and probably too much reduction.  http://cgi.ebay.com/Reversible-Electric-...

Post back with specific questions if you need help with some of the calcs or systems.