Francisco-Trejo-SpartanSuperway

For the week of 5/1/19 I have finalized the CAD model for our prototype. I have also received the gator clamps and we have begun to lay out our materials for construction. I finished up some shop drawings that will help with assembly. For the upcoming week I will be helping finalize the assembly of our prototype and work on some FEA for certain portions of the canopy if the ansys fea does not work. We have about a week left. -Francisco Trejo

For the week of 4/24/19 we had another meeting with furman, I created our prototype on solidworks which was a smaller 3 panel array with actual cross sections of the purlins and other parts we need for full construction. He liked what we had and gave us the green light to begin purchasing parts. I began to inquire about the gator clamps and expect to receive them by tuesday of the upcoming week. -Francisco Trejo

For the week of 4/17/19 I finished creating a 9 panel array for the presentation and also met with professor Furman on tuesday to inquire more about our current progress. We found some additional purlins that might be beneficial along with a gator clamp which is exactly what we need to clamp the panels underneath. I am reaching out to the company to get a quote and learn more about their purlins. I will also set up a to-do list so the other can have tangible goals to accomplish by the time we meet with the professor next week. The end is near but there is still a lot left to do. -Francisco Trejo

For the week of 4/10/19 I worked on creating different CAD models of varying clamps to get an idea of what we are looking for. I also met with professor furman and we narrowed down the idea for a simple clamp using a standing seem clamp and C channels for the solar racking rails. Working with the other members of my team I have set tasks to make sure we can get the presentation done and CAD models with the new simplified clamp in place. I will continue to work diligently and speak with the professor to aid my team and I in completing this project. -Francisco Trejo

For the week of 3/27/19 I created a basic one panel structure so we can start to envision what our prototype will look like. After relaying more ideas to the professor we have come to an idea of what our clamp mechanism will look like. I will continue to create a structure on SW that we can work with as well as creating clamping mechanisms to see there validity. We are making great progress and hope to keep the momentum up leading into April -Francisco Trejo

For the week of 3/20/19 we managed to design some frames on solidworks to have a structure to work with. Jordan has come up with some of ideas that are really getting us thinking on better ways to clamp the solar panels from underneath. For next week we are focusing on getting a racking solution for the panels to see how the clamp will interact with both the panel and the solar racking. I will follow up with the velcro people but have yet to get a reply. More and more work and effort needs to go into our project. Spring break will be a crucial time for us to really get at it. Here's to staying positive. -Francisco Trejo