The Bonds

Event Year: 2022
Event Location: Cocoa-FL
Competition: Junior Solar Sprint
Division: 4-6 (JSS Green)
School: NSU University School
Team Size: 2

Team Information

Car Name: The BMW
Team Name: The Bonds
School Name: NSU University School
Team Members Names: Liam M, and Sebastian L.

Design Documentation

Señor Bond, driver of BMW (Bond Mobile, W does not stand for anything).

Project Log

Date	Hours	Tasks	Obstacles Encountered	Modifications to Car
3/2	1	Thinking about design and made drawing.	Hard to choose design.
3/9	1	Got the materials and cut body and planned out where everything would go.
3/16	1	Put together wheels, axels, and spacers. Put wheels and axel gear on car.	It was challenging to get wheels straight. We used a t-square.	Added wheels, axels and spacers to body.
3/23	1	Created battery/switch/motor circuit. Attached alligator clips to motor. Attached motors and circuits to car. I tested it in the ball on battery today.	Not going straight.	Added battery pack, switch and motor to car.
3/30	1	I decided how to hold up the solar panel. I added wood sides to car. Attached velcro to car and solar panel.		Loosened glue and moved wheel slightly so it would go straight. Added wood to support panel and velcro to hold panel to car.
3/31	1	Attached guide for the guidewire. I used a piece of a binder comb. First I had it on the side then moved it under the car.	I couldn’t get the height right for the side binder comb for the guidewire. I solved the problem by putting it on the bottom of the car.	Added guide for guidewire.
4/6	1	Tried the car in the sun. Realized that there is something wrong with the solar panel.	Something wrong with the solar panel because it runs well on battery but slowly on panel.
4/7	1	We replaced the solar panel. This seemed to solve the problem. We also cut down the angle of the wood supports because the solar panel wasn’t getting enough sun.	The angle wasn’t allowing enough sunlight to hit the panel.	Replaced the solar panel. Changed angle of panel by cutting wood supports
4/8	0.5	I tested the car again outside. The changes helped a lot.
4/20	1	School competition	Going straight but something is slowing it down a bit. Maybe friction on the guidewire.
4/21	1	Ran car on battery.
4/24	0.5	Tested car on battery.

Design Drawings

Finished Car Specifications

Car Size with Panel	Length: 27 1/2 cm	Width: 13 1/2 cm	Height: 10 cm
Weight with Panel	267 g
Wheel size	Front wheels: 3 1/2 cm	Back wheels: 3 1/2 cm
Gear Ratio	motor gear: axle gear 20 : 50 = 2 : 5

Materials Used

Material	Cost
New:
Pitsco Ray Catcher solar panel	38.25
motor	5.25
wheels, tires, axles, and axel gears – Solar Made accessory bag	3.99
balsa wood	2.31
spacers for bearings (4)	0.26
rocker switch	0.50
alligator clips (2)	0.99
piece of black binder comb for guide wire	0.07
velcro	0.14

Consumables:
tape
hot glue sticks
solder

Test Results / Trial Runs

Test Runs 1 – date: 4/6/2022
Weather conditions: Partly cloudy
When the sun was out we ran on solar panel. When it was behind the clouds we ran it on battery.

Observations of results: For some reason the car is running fast on battery but slowly on panel
Any recommendations for improvements: We are going to check the wires that connect to the panel and if that doesn’t work try replacing the solar panel.

Attempt	Time, s	Distance, m	Speed, m/s
1 – solar panel	11.50	14.5	1.26
2 – solar panel	11.94	14.5	1.21
3 – battery	5.97	14.5	2.43
4 – battery	5.47	14.5	2.65

Test Runs 2 – date: 4/20/2022
Weather conditions: Partly cloudy
When the sun was out we ran on panel.

Observations of results: The car is running well but not as fast as before. It may be rubbing on the guide wire.
Any recommendations for improvements:

Attempt	Time, s	Distance, m	Speed, m/s
1 – panel	9.03	20	2.21
2 – panel	8.58	20	2.33
3 – panel	7.79	20	2.57
4 – panel	8.37	20	2.39

Test Runs 3 – date: 4/21/2022
We ran the car on battery

Observations of results: Still not running as well as before.
Any recommendations for improvements: I will have to try to figure out if there is friction someplace.

Attempt	Time, s	Distance, m	Speed, m/s
1 – battery	8.44	20	2.37
2 – battery	7.10	20	2.82
3 – battery	8.50	20	2.35

Test Runs 4 – date: 4/24/2022
Partly Cloudy
We ran the car on battery early around 8:30 am, then on panel around 10 am.

Observations of results: Still not running as well as before.
Any recommendations for improvements: I will have to try to figure out if there is friction someplace.