A 50 W panel, always facing the sun.
A 630 × 541 mm monocrystalline panel. Pointing it at the sun all day long collects more energy than leaving it fixed.
High school research project · 2018
Two-axis solar tracker.
A solar panel that follows the sun across the sky.
Scroll to take it apart
Two axes, two worm drives.
One tilts the panel, the other turns the whole tracker. A NEMA 23 stepper turns each worm 93 times for a single turn of its 3D-printed gear.
Laser-cut steel, printed gears.
3 mm steel sheet, laser-cut and bent; gears, worms and housings 3D printed. All designed in Fusion 360.
Back together. Following the sun.
An Arduino Nano works out where the sun is from the date and time, and points the panel straight at it.
50 W
Solar panel
2 × NEMA 23
Stepper motors
93 : 1
Worm gear reduction
297,600 steps
Per turn of each axis
