Small Cabin

Small Cabin Forum
 - Forums - Register/Sign Up - Reply - Search - Statistics -

Small Cabin Forum / General Forum / Measuring degree of angle
Author Message
dunnie
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 08:34
Reply 


Hello all. Long time lurker, first time poster. I have gotten a lot of good info here. Hope I can explain this well enough. I am in the process of building a 2 axis solar panel mount. I am building from scratch and need some geometry help. I need to calculate degree of angle on a lever based on a position from the fulcrum (12 inches) where I will attach an actuator and move the lever 6 inches in one direction. I need to calculate the degrees of movement on the lever. Is there a formula for this?

Thanks.

RichInTheUSA
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 08:56
Reply 


Draw it out for us... That's what Euclid would do.

How long is the lever, and what is the height of the panel. What is the angle of the panel to the platform (roof?) ?

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 09:26
Reply 


I'm a High school geometry teacher. Be glad to help. i think i understand but a pic would help. give me a bit. I'll be back

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 09:35
Reply 


So the 6 inch movement will be in an arc. so we figure circumfernce.

12 in radius times 2 times Pi = 75.36 inches in circumference if we had a full circle.

you want to go 6 inches out of 75.36 or 6/75.36 or 7.9% ish

a full circle is 360 degrees so 7.9 % of 360 is 28.666 degrees.

so if i undestand your set up correctly then 6 inch movement with a 12 inch radius will move approx 28.6 repeating degrees


Im in between classes so in a hurry. will come back to check y arithmetic and make sure i understood your question

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 09:39
Reply 


take circumference in inches ...2 x pi x radius of a complete circle. Find percentage of movement based on inches wanting to move.

then take same percentage of complete circle based on 360 degrees.

or do a proportion part over whole equals part over whole

6 in / 75.36 in = x/360 cross multiply

2160 = 75.36x divide by 75.36

28.6 degrees = x

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 09:42 - Edited by: Cisco
Reply 


Now if you want a 6 inches in vertical movement rather than an arc then Trigonometry gets involved.

I can do that too but it'll be harder and take longer. I'm gonna wait to do that until I hear back from you.

I am confident the 6" in arc and 6" in vertical will be very close to the same in degrees.

So how exact do we need to be?

EDIT- BTW, I teach math. Typing and grammar are not a strong suit.

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 09:56
Reply 


Ok so lets go ahead and do the trig

imagine its a right triangle we are finding the degree opposite the 90 degree angle

one side ( horizontal) is 12 inches. the other side ( vertical) is 6 Inches ( your movement)

So we use Inverse Tangent of X( our angle) = opp/adj

InvTan x = 6/12

inv Tan X = .5

X= 26.5 degrees


so if you want the 6 inches to follow an arc its 28.6 degrees

if you want the 6 inches to be vertical its 26.5 degrees


hope this helps. and if i have completely misunderstood the question let me know and i'll come back I'm subscribed to the thread

dunnie
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 12:02
Reply 


I hop this helps if it gets uploaded correctly. It is Axis.bmp
Axis.bmpAttached file: Axis.bmp
 


dunnie
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 12:06
Reply 


What I am doing is designing this on paper first then building it. I need to get the actuators placed correctly and get the various parts to move enough degrees to get sun angle from East to West and tilt from North to South. I just can't picture in my head how far from the fulcrum do I need to start my lift to get a desired degree of movement. Hope that helps to understand what I am looking for.

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 12:07
Reply 


Quoting: dunnie


I hop this helps if it gets uploaded correctly. It is Axis.bmp
Attached file: Axis.bmp
 



Yes. it is as I imagined. That is movement in an arc. and will be 28.6 degrees based on your measurments

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 12:18
Reply 


Quoting: dunnie
What I am doing is designing this on paper first then building it. I need to get the actuators placed correctly and get the various parts to move enough degrees to get sun angle from East to West and tilt from North to South. I just can't picture in my head how far from the fulcrum do I need to start my lift to get a desired degree of movement. Hope that helps to understand what I am looking for.


so do you know your desired degree of movement?

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 12:22
Reply 


If your actuator is at the end of the 12 inches and pushes up 6" vertically thereby raising the end of the 12 " inches 6" above parallel to the horizon then the end of the 12" will have moved 26.5 degrees

dunnie
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 12:37
Reply 


Thanks Cisco. This helps a bunch. I can put this into an excel spread sheet and use it over on different ways.

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 26 Oct 2016 12:50
Reply 


cool. glad to help. Like I said, I am subscribed to this thread so if I can help further just hit me up.

dunnie
Member
# Posted: 27 Oct 2016 10:03
Reply 


Cisco, based on the information (and lesson) you gave me, I put this excel formula together (C2=360*(B2/(A2*2*PI()))). Seems to work well.

Quoting: Cisco
so do you know your desired degree of movement?


This is the next step. I need to determine the amount of degrees I need to swing the panels from E to W and from N to S based on my geographical location.

Cisco
Member
# Posted: 27 Oct 2016 10:09
Reply 


Quoting: dunnie
Cisco, based on the information (and lesson) you gave me, I put this excel formula together (C2=360*(B2/(A2*2*PI()))). Seems to work well.



Very Cool! I use excel but I'm not versed enough to do the more complex formulas.

That formula will measure the movement at the end of your lever in degrees along an arc. Think of a circle. Your fulcrum is at the center and the end of the lever follows the path of the circle.


so in the above explanation its the 28-ish degree one. Keep us updated!

dunnie
Member
# Posted: 27 Oct 2016 10:13
Reply 


Will do and thanks again.

neckless
Member
# Posted: 28 Nov 2016 08:29
Reply 


on my solar set up i went and found a old tv dish stand ....lol they are everywhere got it free...its all done just add actuator its done.....

Your reply
Bold Style  Italic Style  Underlined Style  Thumbnail Image Link  Large Image Link  URL Link           :) ;) :-( :confused: More smilies...

» Username  » Password 
Only registered users can post here. Please enter your login/password details before posting a message, or register here first.