A TRACKING SOLAR CONCENTRATOR
DRIVE SYSTEM, TILT - MAJOR PARTS LIST
- 3/6" plate steel 5" x 10-1/2" (501)& (502)
- 24" x 1" square steel tube (503) & (502)
- Thrust bearing, 3/4" bore. The bearing in the photo is a Fafnir PBS pillow block. Suitable & economical, it has adequate thrust rating (504)
- approx. 24" x 3/4" threaded rod, 5 nuts and a lock washer. (505)
- Flexible coupling, 1/2" one end, 3/4" on the other from motor supply store (506)
- Gear-motor, Dayton 2X797, (507) same as (309)
- Pivot Arm per figure 18 and 19 from scrap (508)
DRIVE SYSTEM, TILT - ASSEMBLY
The assembly is shown in figures 18, 19, and 20 except for the pivot arm . (508) which we will comment on. In figure 19, you will notice that a triangle is formed by three pivot points. One side of the triangle, the threaded rod, is adjustable in length As a result, all three corners of the triangle must pivot to permit this change. At the equinox, two adjacent sides are about twelve inches long and form a right (90 degree) angle. You must adjust your pivot arm (508) length and attachment to the wheel (107) for this condition. The array is in the equinox position when the wheel (107) forms a right angle with the rails (007) as shown in the functional diagram. The threaded rod will travel about five inches both directions from here throughout the year.
The pipe/bolt hinge connecting (501) & (502) is aligned by threading a single piece of 3/8" rod through all pieces before welding. The 3/8" bolt pins are held in place with the bearing mounting bolts.
