Solar Oven
(Collaborative Project With A Partner)
Embedded Files
Product Evolution and Description
A solar oven is a cooking appliance powered by the sun. A solar oven is designed to be able to cook food without using fire or electricity. The solar oven catches light and heat from the sun through the glass and traps it inside the box. The styrofoam insulates the walls of the box and the glass reflects part of the heat back into the box when the heat tries to escape. Solar ovens will help to decrease world hunger because people will have a wider variety of food to eat when they are able to cook. Solar ovens will also help with clean water and sanitation, because with a good solar oven you are able to boil water. Solar ovens are reusable so it will reduce the amount of packaged food people are eating and will reduce plastic pollution.
Fabrication Process
Machines Used:
Water Jet
Laser Cutter
Band Saw
Belt Sander
Water Jet:
We used the water jet to cut our wood, styrofoam, and aluminum. We needed to use the water jet because our wood and styrofoam were very thick and the aluminum is very strong.
Laser Cutter:
We used the laser cutter to cut our frame for our mirror because the thickness of the wood, (1/8'), was very close to the thickness of the glass, (3/32').
Band Saw:
We used the band saw to cut one of our aluminum pieces because we had cut a wrong piece that was too big but we did not want to waste material so we trimmed it down to size.
Belt Sander:
We used the belt sander to sand down our chamfered edge on our wooden piece and the edges of our aluminum pieces. We were able to angle the bed of the sander to get the right angle of the box.
Fabrication Process
Materials Used:
(1/2') Wood
(1/8') Wood
(1') Styrofoam
(1/8') Aluminum
(3/32') Glass
Wood:
We used wood for the outside layer for our box because it is mid weight, looks nice, and is quite durable. We used the thin wood for our glass frame because it was a similar thickness to the glass.
Styrofoam:
We used styrofoam on the walls of our box because it is a good insulator because it holds a lot of air and reduces conduction and convection. This would help to keep the heat in once it got in our box.
Aluminum:
We used aluminum inside of our styrofoam so the heat would not have direct contact with the foam. The aluminum also protected the foam from melting and protected the food from chemicals that could be in the foam.
Glass:
We used glass on the top of our box because glass can let the heat in but will not let it escape. We needed to make sure our box was sealed good because the glass creates a micro greenhouse effect and helps to cook the food.
Process
Our design process started with brainstorming and research. We researched different ways of creating a solar oven and how it needed to be made. We then settled on the box with the slanted top idea and sketched what we wanted it to look like. We then CADed the different layers of the box starting with the wood layer (the outside). We CADed all of our layers and also our lid then it was time to assemble. We gathered all of our pieces and assembled them in the way that we had designed them to be.
Sketch
The first step of this project was to conduct some research and brainstorm how we wanted to build our oven. We were looking into a cylindrical portable design but decided to go with a box with a slanted top to catch the sunlight better. I drew that in the sketch above.
CAD
The second step was to turn our sketches into CAD so we could cut out the pieces of the product to assemble it. In the CAD we have multiple boxes for the wood, styrofoam, and aluminum layers. We also CADed our frame for our glass.
Build
The final step was to assemble all of the parts. We started with the wood outer layer, then worked inwards from there. After the wood, was a styrofoam layer and then aluminum. We had a little bit of trouble attaching the glass but we managed to screw it in and make it somewhat viable.
Collaboration
We worked together quite well because we shared information and work. In the beginning of the project, we both researched many different ways of creating a solar oven. We were looking into the cylindrical and very portable solar oven but we were not sure if we had the resources to make it in KRLL. The work was also very shared with Shay doing the majority of the CADing and myself doing the majority of the machining. I would have liked to have done more of the CADing but I was not too involved with it because I was sick for several days. I think we worked well together because we communicated often and told each other what we were working on and what we had done.
Sustainability Goal Connection
The solar oven project connects to the SDGs in many different ways. Solar ovens will help people cook food and there will be less hunger. Solar ovens can teach children about how to use the sun for cooking and also how climate change is happening. Having access to heat can allow you to boil water. The solar oven uses light from the sun so the oven is completely off grid and does not create any carbon emissions. By using the water jet and laser cutter we created very little waste while producing this product. We designed our solar oven to be reusable and durable to last many uses which will reduce the amount of packaged foods and reduce plastic pollution. The goals on the right are all of the goals the solar oven connects with.
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