Building Mini Solar Vehicles

INTRODUCTION

This is a guide for teams who have not participated before, or who have limited
experience with building mini solar vehicles. These guidelines are only meant to help
teams get started on the right track.

Creativity and innovation are key in the design of your solar vehicles. As a result, it is
strongly recommended that students brainstorm and test different design ideas during the
design and construction of their team’s car. The instructions here are very basic, are
meant as background material, and can easily be improved upon.

Some things to consider when designing and building the vehicles include:
- Cost - How would you identify and
- Weight correct design flaws?
- Availability of materials - Time available for design and
- Performance construction
- Aesthetics - What effect does adding weight
- Durability to the car have?
- Aerodynamics - What effect does changing the
- Track set-up wheel size have?
- How to model or test the car

SAMPLE MATERIALS

- Solar cells (provided) - Skewers

- 2 1.5V AA batteries - Metal coat hangers
- Pulleys - Straws
- Gears - Recyclable materials
- Wheels - Alligator clip test leads
- Electric hobby motor - Adhesive tape
- Wire - Corrugated cardboard or foam-
- Elastics board
- String

SOLAR CELLS

All registered teams will be supplied with two (2) panels of solar cells. Each panel
consists of two (2) solar cells. Each panel will have leads out of the ends to allow the
panels to be connected in a circuit.

The solar cells are VERY FRAGILE and must be handled with extreme care. As a result,
the solar panels provided should be used AS PROVIDED. The backing material should
Building Mini Solar Vehicles SolarQuest Model Solar Car Challenge

not be cut or trimmed. Attempts to cut or trim the backing material around the cells could
damage the cells. If this occurs, replacement cells will not be provided.

The solar cells provided to each team will be tested by the SolarQuest (SQ) organizers
prior to being sent out. Each cell will be tested to ensure that it has a voltage of 0.5V
across it.

If the solar cells arrive to you damaged, please notify the SQ organizers as soon as
possible.

MOTOR

A standard DC brushless hobby motor can be used. Often motors can be purchased from
any local hobby store for under $10. The motors should be rated to 1.5-3 V. (The SQ
organizers recommend a motor such as The Source’s Catalog Number: 2730223 motor).

CONSTRUCTING THE CAR

- Think of the materials you would like to use for the car:
o Consider using recyclable materials.
o Consider aerodynamics.
o Keep it light; keep it simple.
- Connecting the solar panels and motor:
o It is recommended that you use minimum 26-gauge wire.
o Please refer to Figure 1 of the circuit.

FIGURE 1: DIAGRAM OF CIRCUIT IN MINI SOLAR VEHICLES

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Building Mini Solar Vehicles SolarQuest Model Solar Car Challenge

- Connecting the motor to the wheels:

o If you use pulleys, you must make sure that the pulleys are all aligned
exactly, and that there is sufficient (but not too much) distance between
pulleys to allow for proper tension in the elastic or string connecting them.
o If you use gears, you must consider the gear ratio, and the ability of the
motor to turn the gears.
o A smaller pulley/gear on the motor and a larger pulley/gear on the axle are
recommended for optimal performance.
- Mounting the wheels:
o You want them to rotate with as little wobble and as freely as possible.
o You want them to have some traction with the plywood track.
- Attaching the solar panels to the car:
o The solar panels must be securely attached to the car so that they do not
fall off during a race.
o They should be positioned horizontally or at a slight angle to maximize
solar exposure.
- Driver:
o Please refer to Section C3: Driver and Passenger Cabin (p. 7, 8 of the
SolarQuest Rules and Regulations) for details of the driver/passenger
requirements.
- Steering:
o Please refer to Section C3: Steering (p. 7 of the SolarQuest Rules and
Regulations) for details about the required steering system.
- Track requirements:
o Please refer to Section E: Track (p. 10 of the SolarQuest Rules and
Regulations) for a complete description of the track.
o Your car must be high enough off the track to provide sufficient clearance
between the guidance/steering piece of the track and the bottom of your
car.
o It is important to keep in mind that the track is made of plywood, and will
force the cars to make turns, as well as climb uphill and roll downhill. The
track length is also important in terms of the car’s endurance. Do not
forget about the required steering system.

TESTING

- Test the performance of your car for distance, as well as for climbing and
descending hills (to mimic the conditions at the race).
- Note that if testing is done using the two (2) 1.5V AA batteries, the batteries are
more powerful than the solar panels. It is recommended that you test your car
using the solar panels before the race date. BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN
TESTING USING SOLAR CELLS – THE CELLS ARE VERY DELICATE.

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Building Mini Solar Vehicles SolarQuest Model Solar Car Challenge

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact SQ organizers, or consult:

Solar Car Construction Plans by The Pembina Institute

http://www.re-energy.ca/pdf/cp_solarcar.pdf

How To Build a Mini Solar Car by The Power of One Solar Car Project
http://www.xof1.com/educationmini.html