1 Topic by ChriZ

  • ChriZ
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Topic: 3D printing solar panels

Hello,everybody
I am a final year student in physics and I have chosen an 3D printing topic for my final year project. But, I have some problems cannot solved.

Is it possible to print solar cells by using SLA printer?

I have found lots of websites but I have not found answers yet.
Any similar ideas and suggestions are welcome
Thankyou

2 Reply by adrian (edited by adrian 2013-07-10 12:25:46)

  • adrian
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Re: 3D printing solar panels

maybe, but I doubt its readily accesible. Depending of course on what type of Solar Cell you mean... (cause there is a heap of cells, cell types, and construction methods smile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ty … olar_cells )

PV cells are probably right out.
Buried contact cells maybe, given they've done the nano battery ( http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/2013/ … grain-sand )
DSSC, Polymer and Organic Cells - you could probably maybe do the films, but the organic fluid obviously would still be required to be otherwise inserted..

Inside a lab you can probably achieve the required levels of bonded surface finish, but since the current commercial 'metal' or lab 'Si' printing tends to use essentially powdered materials (metal suspended in nylon, etc) glued together in a form of quasi sintering (the glue is UV reacted with the light) - I doubt you'd achieve a surface finish suitable - using current commercial printers anyway. In a lab environment with goldilocks conditions, who knows though ?

Heres an example of the Shapeways materials - as you'll see all the metals end up with a very rough sand-cast-almost appearance..

http://www.shapeways.com/materials

Anyway - I'm just guessing.... but I suspect that printing an entire functioning cell is well beyond the current reach of the technology...

3 Reply by Jek

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Re: 3D printing solar panels

It depends on the 3D printer. The different printers use different amounts of electricity. How long do the batteries need to last? Over night or 30 minutes? There is a huge difference.

If your goal is to power the 3D printer off the grid (hence the batteries), then you're probably looking at some sort of "solar generator". The concept is that the solar panel(s) recharge the deep cycle (gel) batteries; the batteries are DC so connect them to an AC inverter that can supply the power to the printer.

We don't know how much power is required, so recommending a kit is impossible. This is just an example.

It is possible to link more batteries and solar panels...

Not in a kit. Since you have little knowledge or experience with these, it is suggested you contact someone who understands this stuff. You can easily cause lots of problems for yourself if you are not careful. A local college's electrical engineering department is a good place to start.

4 Reply by wardjr

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Re: 3D printing solar panels

Jek wrote:

It depends on the 3D printer. The different printers use different amounts of electricity. How long do the batteries need to last? Over night or 30 minutes? There is a huge difference.

If your goal is to power the 3D printer off the grid (hence the batteries), then you're probably looking at some sort of "solar generator". The concept is that the solar panel(s) recharge the deep cycle (gel) batteries; the batteries are DC so connect them to an AC inverter that can supply the power to the printer.

We don't know how much power is required, so recommending a kit is impossible. This is just an example.

It is possible to link more batteries and solar panels...
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_qu...
Not in a kit. Since you have little knowledge or experience with these, it is suggested you contact someone who understands this stuff. You can easily cause lots of problems for yourself if you are not careful. A local college's electrical engineering department is a good place to start.

So you chose not to read the OP and start another topic? But since you did, most 3Dprinters actually use 12volt systems so you can easily eliminate the PSU and wire direct to a 12v battery that is charged via solar.  Then it is just a simple calculation of power consumption vs. storage capacity.
My apologies to the OP.

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