Electrical team leaps towards battery monitoring system
This week, members of the electrical team have made significant progress toward completing one of the more complicated systems being developed for Sunswift IV.
The Battery Monitoring System (BMS) is designed to keep track of the voltages and temperatures of each cell group in the 25kg battery pack being put in Sunswift IV. This involves producing 33 identical monitoring circuits, each with their own microprocessor and protection circuitry.
With years of expertise, Dave Snowdon (pictured left) helps relative newcomer Alex Boulgakov (pictured right) to design the software that will run this monitoring system. With 33 boards to manufacture, we are using a soldering technique called reflow: it uses a mask, solder paste and a workstation to allow soldering of all the components on a single board at once, thus decreasing manufacturing time significantly.
With the help of the battery monitoring system, the team hopes to use the battery in the most efficient and safest way during the upcoming 2009 World Solar Challenge.
This week, members of the electrical team have made significant progress toward completing one of the more complicated systems being developed for Sunswift IV.
The Battery Monitoring System (BMS) is designed to keep track of the voltages and temperatures of each cell group in the 25kg battery pack being put in Sunswift IV. This involves producing 33 identical monitoring circuits, each with their own microprocessor and protection circuitry.
With years of expertise, Dave Snowdon (pictured left) helps relative newcomer Alex Boulgakov (pictured right) to design the software that will run this monitoring system. With 33 boards to manufacture, we are using a soldering technique called reflow: it uses a mask, solder paste and a workstation to allow soldering of all the components on a single board at once, thus decreasing manufacturing time significantly.
With the help of the battery monitoring system, the team hopes to use the battery in the most efficient and safest way during the upcoming 2009 World Solar Challenge.
