Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

PREVIOUS WORK

Parabolic collector was design in 2005 by Shiferaw Endale with tracking mechanism for
cooking purpose. Collector is actuated by solenoid and programmable timer. The
mechanism was using rack and pinion. He also tries calculating average solar radiation
intensity of Mekelle zone but it was not manufacture yet. We have used this data for
design of parabolic dish collector for power generation.

We designed new parabolic dish collector with tracking mechanism and we make it ready
for manufacturing. We used power screw in stead of rack and pinion. This helps to adjust
focal point in required positron because the teeth of power screw is more fine than that of
rack and pinion beside it can multiply force. Driving source is stepper motor in stead of
solenoid. The weight of dish including reinforcement if about 36 kg. Finding solenoid
which can exert up to 360N was not possible. So we forced to use stepper motor.

In addition to that stepper motor can be controlled easily and can turn clock wise and
counter clock wise.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

AIM OF THIS PROJECT

These types of solar collectors are alternative energy resources which may be considered
as one of the energy substitutes for the future. It may be important to consider this as one
of the solutions for the energy crisis occurring currently. Therefore it is clear that this
project has a greater application in the energy industry.

In this project design and manufacturing of parabolic dish solar collector with self
tracking mechanism for electric power generation and storage is done. The stored energy
can be used for household and different purposes. The power generated may also be used
for self driving system which powers itself.

The main aim of the project is to develop a prototype of the automatic solar collector with
automatic tracking mechanism. This is achieved by the collaboration of Mechanical and
Electrical engineering students. Through the process participation of students from
different departments to work together is achieved since the project is a multidisciplinary
type.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

LIMITATIONS

Movement the sun relative to earth is not merely east-west, but there is some deflection
due to seasonal rotation also. Therefore, the tracking mechanism should be dual axis
tracking to catch maximum sun power. But due to lack of drive for second mechanism
i.e. it is designed only for single axis tracking. Further more in fogy days the sunshine
will be covered by cloud in this case trimmer tracking no use instead if it was
accompanied by sensor the collector can turn to more intensity direction. We couldn’t
find sensor for this purpose.

Also the other problem was lack of budget for buying the manufacturing part. If it was
possible the mechanism could have been done with pneumatic or hydraulic system,
which would bring less noise and more flexibility (accuracy). This was not the only
limitation encountered. No appropriate reference material was available for this design
project. The materials available could only cover the subject matter in some depth. But no
appropriate material was found for the tracker system at all. Therefore it was obliging to
start from the beginning without any past theories and experiences which could help in
optimizing the output.

Even though this project had many limitations to start with, it was possible to complete
the manufacturing part to some extent. Also many mechanisms were considered to
choose the best optimum, which took most of the valuable time in analyzing. But we
hope this project is to the satisfaction that it fulfills the desired needs.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

ABSTRACT

Solar energy requires large amount of space collector to get sufficient amount of output
energy. To get effective out of what the sun gives us we should have to devise means for
utilization. Solar collector used to collect sun energy to some extent according to their
design. Parabolic dish collector one the collector type which has better concentrating
efficiency than other types of collectors. When accompanied by tracking further increases
the output. This project comprises of design of parabolic dish collector to get an average
of 2000C through the year. the collected solar energy is converted to usable form and then
stored. Beside single axis tracking mechanism for collector is devised. Tracking
mechanism is achieved by use of stepper motor to get intermittent kind of tracking to
save power consumed by stepper motor. Programming of stepper and converting solar
energy to electrical energy for storage is made by Electrical engineering students. Up to
200 watt of electric power can be gained from collected solar energy. Of these some use
to drive stepper motor for tracking and the rest will be stored in usable form. The project
also includes manufacturing of the prototype.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

CHAPTER-ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Solar collector

Solar energy collectors are special kind of heat exchangers that transform solar radiation
energy to internal energy of the transport medium. The solar collector is the major
component of any solar system. There are basically two types of solar collectors: non-
concentrating or stationary and concentrating.

Solar collector broadly classified based on the field of view of the concentrator. If the
field of view is much larger than the angular size of the sun which is about ½ (32’), then
it is not necessary to continuously orient the concentrator toward the sun as it moves in
the sky. Such concentrator is referred as non-tracking concentrator, in contrast to tracking
concentrator which needs to track the sun continuously. The concentration ratio
achievable by non-tracking concentrator is generally less than that for tracking
concentrator.

Based on the above classification following are some possible concentrating systems:

Plane reflector with plane receiver type: both receiver and reflector are plane. Such
system is very simple in construction which has advantage of absorbing some diffused
radiation which fall directly on receiver. However concentration ratio of such type is
relatively low. CR< 4

Conical reflector with cylindrical receiver type: consists of conical reflector and
cylindrical absorber. For this type concentration ratio is little higher than the above.

Fresnel reflector: this consists of parabolic shape of reflector made up of small segment.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

The main advantage is very easy for fabrication but this does incur additional loss of
radiation nearly the rim of each segment.

Paraboloid dish: this system consists of paraboloid or parabolic mirror and has receiver
at its focal point. The concentration ratio is very high and can be used where high T 0 is
required. This project is aimed to design parabolic dish type of solar concentrator
intending to get high concentration temperature.

1.2 Solar tracking

Solar tracking means to adjust collector to ward sun to get maximum incident solar
radiation. Tracking can be achieved by hand or automatic tracking mechanism. Tracking
can be intermittent or continues tracking. Automatic tracking can be trimmer tracking or
directly sing sensors. For these purposes, for example, various tracking systems each
utilizing a driving motor and electronic control devices therefore were developed or
proposed. However, these tracking systems require a continuous electric power supply
and are somewhat complicated for technology transfer to developing countries where
sunshine is so abundant that the utilization of solar energy is favorable while, however,
electric power supply networks have not yet been adequately developed. Taking the
above facts into consideration, intermittent tracing is tracking mechanisms for solar
collectors are made.

Paraboloidal dish concentrators need tracking the sun in the east-west and north-south
direction continuously throughout the year. But this paper explains the method of
intermittent tracking of the sun in the north-south direction with no tracking in the east-
west direction for less energy yield. The frequency of tracking in the north-south direction
is determined by the relationship between the variation in solar altitude angle and the size
of the absorber in the Paraboloidal dish concentrator.

In solar operations using devices designed to collect or concentrate solar radiation, it is

generally advised to keep the radiation receiver in a tilted position rather than in a
horizontal position in order to be at right angles to the sun's rays. The recommended

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

angle of inclination from the horizontal is equal to the latitude of the location, and the
receiver is to face the south. The amount of sunlight collected and utilized is thus
substantially increased, for as much as 50% of solar energy could be gained, particularly
in winter when the sun is closer to the horizon.

Driver unit

Stepper motors operate much differently from normal DC motors, which simply spin
when voltage is applied to their terminals. Bipolar stepper motor is easily manageable for
intermittent kind of tracking .it is possible to rotate both clock wise and counter clock
wise this helps to turn to original position when the tracking completed at night.

Design consideration

The following things where put into consideration when collector, tracking mechanism
and support structure is designed.
The weight of the collector should be less. Less weight where required to
minimize the power consumed to lift the weight of it. And it should be also rigid
to resist the wind so that not to tear.
The support structure should with stand the wind or Mekelle region.
Single axis tracking mechanism which can rotate 1800.
The receiver holder can be easy dismantling to change the focal length. As the
receiver approach to focal point the temperature increases so it is possible to
adjust it.
Since after design it is going to manufacture in our work shop. The design of each
and every part was based on work shop available material.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

CHAPTER-TWO
DESIGN OF COLLECTOR

2.1 Dish collector design

Temperature required on solar cell is 2000C.

Ambient temperature (Tamb) =270C.
Receiver is solar cell with cover single glass and the absorber plate made of silicon
Area of the receiver ( Aabs) =0.45m2
Transmittance of the cover glass ()=0.88
Absorpitance of the absorber plate ()=0.92
Temperature of the receiver (Tabs) usually same as ambient temperature =260C.
Collector area used (Ainc). =3.14m2
Collector is covered with aluminum foil thickness 1mm
Reflectance loss () or specular reflectance is defined as the portion of incident beam
which is reflected in such away that the angle of refraction equals the angle of incidence
Reflectance loss estimated to be 0.94
Intercept factor () is a function of specularly reflected radiation from the reflector which
is intercepted by solar collector absorbing surface.

 = 1-e-h (r/R1)
2 2

= 0.99
Average intensity of solar radiation (I’): From previous project average of the year solar
radiation intensity is about 341.7w/m2.
Maximum solar radiation intensity is attained on May which is about 9000 w/m2.

Optical efficiency

opt= 

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

=0.75
Heat loss coefficient Ul
Solar cell is with single cover
Ul = (1/hwind + 1/hr)-1
hwind= wind film coefficient = 57+3.8v, w/m2.c0
hr=4rT3
= Boltzmans constant
r = emisivity of plate = 0.15 @1000c
T=Tr+Ta = 26.5
2
hr = 0.0006
hwind= 57+3.8v, w/m2.c0
U
l = 8.987 w/m2.c0
Output maximum temperature can be related as:
AinIin = Ul Aabs (Tmax-Tatm)
Tmax= 229.30c
29.30c is given as allowance for manufacturing error of collector.
Maximum solar intensity occurs on May. At this time the intensity reaches 900 w/m 2.
Temperature at this time reaches up to 3000c.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

2.2 Geometry of solar collector

To get maximum concentration temperature, parabolic solar collector is selected.

Figure 1: Geometry of solar collector.

= rim angle, for our case we have selected it to be 60 0 because it is difficult to produce
concave shape than flat. As rim angle becomes smaller the parabola gets flat.

tan 600 = 1/a a =r3/3 = 0.577

F= focal length = at 0.3 = 0.877m

Equation of parabola y2= 3.81x

Surface area of parabola
30

S= 2 f(x) (1+ (f’(x))2)dx

0

f(x)= (3.51x) , f’(x)= 3.51

2x
S= 5.37m2

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

CHAPTER-THREE
DESIGN OF MECHANISM

3.1 Design matrix

Mechanism with straight forward rotation from the motor:

Figure 2: Direct connection of the shaft with collector.

Lack of tracking mechanism.

Has good support structure and design simplicity,.
This mechanism requires maximum torque to turn collector in the intended
direction. So the size of stepper motor also increases. Due to this case, this
mechanism has been rejected.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

1) Mechanism with gear system:

Figure 3: Mechanism with gear system.

This mechanism has good support structure but do not turn completely to the
required direction (i.e. 1800), it is not flexible.
Gear system is not able to focus at the required position because the gears are not
fine. To focus to the next point, it must jump to the next point.
Require high power output due to radius.

2) Mechanism with power screw: (selected)

Less power consumption.

Simple mechanism.
Can turn from 00 to 1800.
Easy for manufacturing in low cost relative to others.
More flexibility and smooth motion.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

Gear system is least of all above mechanism because it does not turn to required
degree because of meshing teeth. Power screw is the most preferred one.

Figure 4: Mechanism with power screw.

3.2 Design of power screw

Weight of parabola
Area = 5.5 m2
Material used, aluminium sheet metal of thickness= 1mm
Density of aluminium= 2710kg/m3
Mass= *t*A= 14.9 kg
Mass of aluminium foil
Thickness = 0.5 mm
Mass = 7.45 kg
Mass of attachment, bends, bolts, rivets, and solar cell (receiver) = 15kg
Total weight to be lifted by screw is= (15+7.45+14.9)*9.81= 366.4N
Height of screw lift: extreme position of the collector

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

Figure 5: Collector at the extreme right position. Figure 6: Collector at upper position.

Figure 7: Collector at the extreme left position.

Therefore the screw should lift a height of 0.54m.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

3.2.1 Design of screw

Material available in workshop is mild steel with material property as follow.

y= 230N/mm2, ult=370 N/mm2, =115 N/mm2, factor of safety=2
dc= core diameter of screw

The total length of the power screw required is 620cm as tried to show in above figures.
The screw can expose to compression, torsion and due to it’s length bulking and
deflection.

The minor diameter of the screw can be given by:

dc =√ (Wc + yLc )
y CE

Lc =length of screw, 620cm

C =end coefficient, 1
E=young’s modulus, 200Gpa
 dc= 12.3mm

From standard fine thread series and to adjust to minimum diameter workshop available
aluminium rod:
 dc= 18mm,
do=20mm, p=2

d= dc+do = 19mm
2

Helix angle
tan= p = 2 =0.0335
d *19

Assuming the coefficient of friction between the screw and nut

=tan=0.14

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

The torque required to rotate the screw in the nut

T1=p*d =W(tan + tan) d=366.4(0.0335+0.14)*19
2 (1- tan tan) 2 (1-0.0335*0.14) 2
=633.63 N/mm2
Checking compressive stress due to axial load

c = 4W =1.439 N/mm2
 ( dc)2
And shear stress due to torque
= 16T
( dc)3

=0.553 N/mm2

Checking for maximum principal stress:

c (max) = 1 [c + (c 2 +42)]

2
=1.62 N/mm2, which is less than allowable value, i.e.
c /F.S=100/2 =50 N/mm2
We know that maximum shear stress:
max= ½[(c 2 +42)] =0.905 N/mm2
The value of  is far less than all.

Since the maximum stress is within limits therefore the design of screw for spindle is
safe.

Efficiency of the screw:

= 1-tanl
1+cotl

If coefficient of friction increase as it can be seen from formula the efficiency of the
screw will decrease. In addition if proper lubrication is not made the dust particle will

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

accumulate and increase the coefficient of friction, this in turn increase the toque required
to turn the power screw which means electric power consumption will increase.

3.2.2 Design of nut

Material available for nut in workshop is bronze.
y = 145Mpa
 = y/2 = 72.5 Mpa
Factor of safety = 2

Let n= number of threads in contact with screw spindle.

h= height of nut.
t= thickness of screw, p/2=1mm.

Assuming the load is distributed uniformly over cross sectional area of nut.
Bearing pressure = 18 N/mm2 for bronze.
1.8= 807.26
/4(do2-182) n
 n= 0.75, let number be 6

Height of nut = 12mm (with thread)

Now let us check stress induced in screw nut. We know that shear stress in screw,
(screw) =W/.n.dc.t =1.079 N/mm2
(nut) = W/.n.do.t = 0.971 N/mm2

Since the stress is within permissible limit the design for nut is safe.

Now let us consider the crushing of collar nut. We have:

W= (D12-do2) t
t = tearing strength of nut = 100 N/mm2
Substituting in the above formula, D1= 20.25mm  30mm
t = 5mm

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

Figure 8: Nut.

3.3 Design of support structure

Material available in workshop is mild steel bar with minimum diameter of 40mm.
Considering height of parabola not to touch the ground:
The total height of the support needed is : 1.5m

Height the screw moves + 1m + clearance

1m+ 0.5m clearance = 1.5m

There are two forces that the support should withstand, i.e. wind load & weight of
parabola.

Wind load
Maximum wind load is applied when the parabola is standing perpendicularly in the
vertical direction.

The Ethiopian code for building construction uses an empirical relation for wind load. A
number of parameters like weather, geometry, and geography are considered:
W=Qr.Ce.Cpe
= 0.242*1.3*0.2

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

= 0.0629 KN/m2

Multiplying by area of concentrator: W= 346.06N

Figure 9: Wind load on collector.

Compression strength
Compressive stress
all = 125Mpa
stre = F/A = 1.2 Mpa,
this stress is very less than allowable stress 125 Mpa

Checking for bending due to bend

Wind force of Mekelle zone-
The Ethiopian code for building & construction
W=Qr.Ce.Cpe , where Qr, Ce, Cpe are constant
For Mekelle zone the above parameters are 0.242, 1.3, 0.2 respectively
So W= 0.0629 KN/ m2
Multiplying by area = 346.9

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

The maximum compressive /tensile due to the bending moment m is calculated as

follows:
b. = My
I
=117.N/mm 2

And M=346.06*1.37

=474.10N/mm
I is the moment of inertia
If square section is used
I=bh3/12
=1.33y4
Solving for y gives
Y=14.47mm
Therefore square section of 28.9mm diameter is required to with stand the stress due to
the bending moment

3.4 Design of fasteners

3.4.1 Screw design

Number of screws is four.

all = c/ 2 F.S = 72.5
72.5 = F/ 4A,  A= 1.26mm2 = d2/4
dc = 1.26mm
From design dimension of screw thread from table IS 4218(part III), for available nut
with pin,
Dc= 8mm, M= 8mm, pitch= 1.25

3.4.2 Pin design

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

Pin is required to rotate the collector in the required direction. Three pin is required to
produce relative motion between the dish and stand.
all = 72.5
It will have two shear areas.
72.5= F/2A, A = 2.527mm= d2/4
D = 1.79mm, take 8mm.

Checking for locking of screw

The screw will have safe locking mechanism if friction angle is greater than helix angle
or coefficient of friction greater than tangent of helix angle or tan >tan
P=Pitch of the screw, 2mm
dmin. =mean diameter of the screw, 19mm

Figure 10: Screw teeth.

=helix angle
tan= p =0.0335
d

tan==0.14

Since tan<<tan  the screw has safe lock

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

CHAPTER-FOUR
TRACKING SYSTEM

The earth rotates 150 per hour. If continuous tracking is used, it requires long time power
supply for tracking in country where there is shortage of electric city it is not economical
therefore intermittent kind of tracking is applied. the frequency of tracking in the north-
south direction is determined by the relationship between the variation in solar altitude
angle and the size of the absorber in the Paraboloidal dish concentrator.Befor we set
tracing timer we have to fix the receiver in focal point .it is advisable to fix the radiation
receiver tilted to the latitude of Mekelle to adjust focusing.

For intermittent action, it requires stepper motor or intermittent on and off control for
motor.

Tracking frequency depends upon the area of receiver if the area is large. The tracking
frequency will be less because the ray which is reflecting to focal point always intercept
the receiver. For our case diameter of receiver is 0.4m. Total degree of rotation will be
1800. Making small breakage consumes large amount of power to start up motor. To
optimize this:

L= 2pQ
360
0.2m=2pQ
360
Q=11.450~11.250 (so that the motor will be activated 16 times)
At each time the collector should turn 11.250 in order that the receiver intercepted by a
ray reflected into focal point. This means the stepper motor take an action 16 times. At
each time the length of screw will displace 33.75mm. This action will be made for 12
hours intermittently. At the end of the day the motor return the collector by turning
counterclockwise into its original position.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

Figure 11: Stepper motor

Stepper motor is used to create the motion for the whole turning.

0.66N.m is the required torque to turn the power screw. The stepper motor must be
bipolar to turn back the collector to the original position when it gets dark.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

CHAPTER-FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

CONCLUSIONS
Solar tracking is a great solution if one needs a continuous maximum energy from the
sun. In other words, a maximum and efficient energy is absorbed from the sun that makes
the solar concentrator reliable and for sustainable energy usage. The mechanism proposed
in this project is intended to implement the above objectives. Also since the solar power
is converted to electrical power using PV-cells, this power maybe used to drive the dc-
motor which makes the system work less costly, and for rural areas where there is no
electricity.

In this final year project many kinds of tracking mechanisms were considered. Out of
these the only feasible found was that by which it works with power screw mechanism.
The others were either incompatible in case of force transmitting or were costly.

The design part clearly describes the methods of analysis, and that the dimensions taken
were optimum. Costwise, the assembly proposed is better than the other mechanisms
presented. Meanwhile, the support was studied for sturdiness and rigidity when there was
additional force added other than the concentrator weight, which is wind force.

The study was first intended to be based on dynamic tracking, which locates the position
of the sun through sensoring devices and then positions the solar concentrator in such a
way that the sun ray strikes the reflector normal to its surface. But due to lack of stepper
motor in the Electrical department, there was no means to control the feed signals from
the sensors. Therefore, the study has turned its face to static tracking. This is a method by
which the mechanism tracks the sun based on fixed time intervals. The dc-motor which
was used in this project positions the reflector by rotating it every hour by angle of 150 for
12 hours till night time. But since dc motor was used there is surely some error of

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

tracking, because it rotates in an uncontrolled way till it stops, or it may take time to start
immediately.

The other thing considered was the angle of rotation of the reflector. The reflector must
rotate 1800 , from dawn to dusk. This was taken care of by considering the height of the
screw in lift, and the pivot system.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Since the sun movement relative to the earth is not only east-west .there is north –south
there is relative motion seasonally .To follow the sun movement it need to track in both
axis. if this is improved tracking will be accurate .for our case timed adjusting of the
collector is require in north - south direction each quarter of the year .in addition in the
foggy day the sky is not clean. The sun will be covered at this time by cloud .So heat
sensing sensor are required at this time. if this happed it is possible to get maximum solar
intensity out of that time .the other thing that need attention is regular proper lubrication
of the power screw. Wise other due to increasing of coefficient of friction the power
consumption of the stepper motor will be high.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) DUFFIE and BECKMAN, “Solar Engineering of Thermal Process”, 2nd edition,

John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 1991.
2) www.jgsee.kmatt.ac.ht/exell/solar//conversion.html
3) R.S. KHURMI and J.K GUPTA, “ A Text Book of Machine Design”, 1st edition,
S.CHAND & Company LTD., New Delhi, 2002.
4) G.D.RAI, “Solar Energy Utilization”, 6th edition, khahan publisher, New Delhi
2005.
5) CECIL JENSEN and JAY D. HELSEL, “Engineering Drawing and Design”, 5th
edition, Mc Graw-Hill, USA, 1996.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

INDICES
A. LIST OF MATERIALS FOR MANUFACTURING

(This material list is based on workshop available materials)

Steel
Square tube:
Dimension Length Pieces Name
(mm) (mm)
40*40*2/4 1500 2 S37
5000
40*40*200 1343.15 2 S37
40*40*200 1000 2 S37
40*40*2\4 205.25 2 S37
5000

Aluminum Sheet
Dimension Pieces Name
2m*1m*1mm 2 Aluminum

Sheet Metal
Dimension(m) Pieces Name
0.61*0.9528*2mm 1 steel
0.75*0.25*2mm 2 steel

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

Steel Strip
Dimension (m) Pieces Name
1.572*0.04*2mm 1 Mild steel
0.25*0.04*2mm 4 Mild steel
0.23*0.042*2mm 1 Mild steel
0.1*0.04*2mm 8 Mild steel
0.96*0.025*2.5m 1 Mild steel
m
1.2*0.04*2mm 1 Mild steel

Steel Bar
Dimension( Length(mm Pieces Name
mm) )
20 dia 620 1 Mild steel

Bronze Bars
Dimension( Length(m Pieces
mm) m)
30 dia 40 1

Bolt
Name Diameter( Length Pieces
mm)
Bolt M8 8 80 3

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

B. MANUFACTURING PROCESS

The manufacturing was made in collaboration with diploma graduating students. And
each part of the collector is manufactured in consideration limit of material size available
in the workshop respective of the design value. The major work of manufacturing was
cutting material by giving manufacturing allowance and clearance.

1) Collector
Some of the machining process done during manufacturing:

Shearing:
Two sheet metals were cut with sector radius 1.04m and 45 0. The shearing was made by
handle scissors.

Bending and hammering:

The sectors were joined together to get the dish type structure using rivets of size 5mm
dia. After all sectors are assembled into dish shape then it was hammered to get perfect
concave shape. Finally the edge was folded to get rigidity.

2) Stand
Stand is designed to resist wind load. The collector has four legs each with cross section
40*40mm steel bar. After it was cut into designed size they were joined by welding.

3) Power screw

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

We use steel with 14mm diameter to produce power screw using die of M14. The nut was
made by bronze. First it was drilled by drilling machine with drill bit size 12mm. Then
using tap internal thread was made.

Since the nut was force fitted with pipe high accuracy of tolerance was given.

Absorber holder at focal point is made easily dismantle and adjustable to any required
position along focal axis.

Stepper motor seat is also provided pin at bottom to allow screw to move freely.

Also strips were added on the bottom of the collector to increase rigidity of the aluminum
sheet.

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Final year project on automatic solar tracking Dept. Of Mechanical Engg.

APPENDIX
PART DRAWINGS

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