For our two week, solar tracking project we developed a mechanical system that essentially used 3 points to adjust a plane to align itself normal to the direction of light. The central spring provides just enough force to keep the tracking piece in place but is also flexible enough for the 3 strings to adjust its orientation without much force. The 3 servos operate independently according to the amount of light that each photo-resistor is receiving.
I focused on modeling the LFST in Digital Project. We wanted to use the software to allow us to produce many variations of our form and test some of the geometrical properties that are inherent in our system. Based on the assumption that springs bend with a uniform radius (like a slinky at 180 degrees makes a semi-circular profile) I built a series of related geometries to simulate the motion of our tracker.
Using a design table with a series of variations we simulated the motion according to the length of each of the control strings.
Additionally I think that our group dynamics have improved significantly since the last project. We are developing ways of working more efficiently as a group and also independently. Subdividing tasks according to personal interests and skill sets has proved very beneficial to our progress.
