Solar Power Incentives

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1 February 2016 Please donate to your section when renewing your ASME membership, it is currently the only way we receive funding for local operations and programs. Refer to page 2 for details. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chairperson Professional Development Webmaster JOSEPH CICCARELLA, PE (716) ciccarjs@middough.com Vice-Chairperson Programs RICH SEIDER richard_seider@praxair.com Programs / College Relations JACOB BRIGGS jbriggs1@solarcity.com Industrial Relations MATT RANDALL mrandall@ewi.org ASME News Buffalo Section ASME Buffalo Section Program Announcement Solar Power Incentives 1.0 PDH (Approval Pending) Treasurer PAUL KLUCZYNSKI pkluczynski@verizon.net Corresponding Secretary ALAN W. KER, P.E. (716) a.ker@verizon.net Newsletter CARL PUEHN (716) carlpuehn@gmail.com Recording Secretary Government Relations DAVID A. HORNUNG PhD, PE (716) davehornung@verizon.net Professional Practice/ Ethics Honors & Awards WILLIAM KLEPSER, P.E. (716) klepserw@asme.org Date: Tuesday February 23, 2016 Time: 5:30 check-in; 6:00 program start Location: Middough Inc., 2420 Sweet Home Road, Suite 110, Amherst, NY Event Description: This will be a 1.0 PDH program on the current state of solar power project execution including review of types of projects being installed, technologies involved, incentive programs, etc. Dinner: Sandwiches and/or wraps, snacks and beverages will be served before the program. Cost: $20 members, $10 students, $25 non-members Registration: RSVP by Monday February 22, 2016 (by noon). Visit the ASME Buffalo web site for additional information and on-line registration: UB Student Section Activities & Project Fundraising The University at Buffalo Student Section is currently undertaking a number of projects including the Solar Splash boat, Battle Bot, and the 3D printer filament maker. They are requesting support from our local professional membership. See the letter on page 3 for additional information on the projects and to find out how you can support the students in their efforts. ASME Buffalo Section Upcoming Events TSC Joint Meeting March 2016 Compressor Technology 1 PDH (pending) April 2016 Sensorcon Smartphone Sensor Products 1 PDH (pending) May 2016

2 ******* Important Announcement ******** Don t get disconnected from Buffalo Section communications. ASME Buffalo Section Group Page ASME has transitioned our traditional Section web pages to their new Group page format. This is where we now post newsletters, program announcements, list of section leaders, etc. They are heading in the direction of making this the primary means of communication between the Sections and their members. So we encourage you to visit the Group page and become a member so you can be sure to continue receiving our programs information. The address of our group page is below. Anyone can visit the page and see the public information including meeting announcements, lists of group leaders, etc. Most of the site information is public. You can also create a user profile and join the group (and other groups). There are a lot of interesting groups out there, and you can join as many as you like to keep tabs on the information and discussions. Section Funding & Donations ASME Membership Dues Renewal Over the last couple of years ASME has eliminated funding to Sections. The previous system of Merit Based Funding (where we received funding based on a combination of performance parameters and number of members) was phased out last year. Sections are still running programs and operations by drawing down their account balances, but without contributions from ASME, this means of operation has a limited lifespan and accounts will eventually be depleted. Currently the only way to ensure funding to the Section is through the Donate to Sections option during ASME Membership Renewal. So we encourage you to give to the Buffalo Section when you renew this fall.

3 UB Student Section Activities & Project Fundraising Dear ASME Buffalo Chapter, UB ASME has existed on the University at Buffalo campus for decades and participating in the intercollegiate solar boat regatta, the Solar Splash, has been a long tradition. Not only were long-time participators in the Solar Splash but we were also one of its stronger competitors, having won various awards and recognitions throughout the years. However the once thriving UB ASME fell into disparaging years and the organization once rated "Best Engineering Club" faded into the background. When my peers and I came aboard, we learned of the rich history of UB ASME and sought to bring it back to its former glory. By participating in the Solar Splash, a competition that UB ASME has not successfully participated in for well over 10 years, we hope to build the momentum that will bring about the full revival of this organization. As a new group of inexperienced boat builders, we decided it was best to build off of an existing boat for now instead of molding our own. Our current design is an aluminum rowboat fitted with a drive train and solar panels. We chose an aluminum rowboat because of the it's inherent stability in water. Using a rowboat would eliminate the need for stabilizing outriggers. Aluminum is also a rather ductile material and is much easier to manipulate compared to wood or plastic. However one challenge we face is that much of equipment we have, such as the solar panels, motor, and batteries, are a decade old and were last used during UB ASME's latest Solar Splash participation in June The Solar boat is currently UB ASME s biggest project taking over The Human Powered Vehicle project s spot that is currently inactive due to budget hindrances. Along with budget, space is a preliminary obstacle to the completion of the solar boat project. Workspace within the Engineering facilities on campus is very limited. Although the current workspace would gradually get the work done, larger space (garage or hanger) would definitely allow more project crew to work at the same time, get work accomplished faster, and leaves room for ample time for experiments and safety testings. We hope that with more up to date technology, the knowledge and momentum we build up will carry over to the boat we will build from scratch next year. Figure 2: Drivetrain- propulsion design

4 Each year UB holds an engineering week, a full week for all of the engineering clubs on campus to battle head to head in engineering events in order to crown one team as champions. The culmination of this week and arguably the most exciting event is the battle-bot competition. A head-to-head gladiator type fight between two robots at a time; the winner of this event often times gets 1st place for the week. This year members of UB ASME are using their engineering knowledge and fabrications skills to build a brand new robot, as previous years robots have not performed very well. This year we decided to proceed with a spinner weapon design. The premise is an inertia based weapon which spins a bar up to very high speeds in a short period of time in order to release all of that energy on the opposing robot. It is easily the most exciting of weapons, at least for the audience. Our progress has been going well as the chassis is near completion. However, some pieces can get a bit pricey, specifically a powerful enough motor to control the spinner weapon. This motor needs to have enough torque to spin the weapon up in a relatively quick manner (2-3 seconds), and have a high enough top speed to be able to store at least 500 joules of energy. Motors like these with a top speed of around 1500 RPM, and about 8 N-m of torque can cost upward of 75 dollars. Additionally a proper battery pack, preferably NiMH, and a proper speed controller would be needed in order for everything to receive maximum power at all times. So come this February when E-week is upon us, we hope to create as much robotic carnage as we possibly can, because that s really what battle bot competitions are all about. As one of the three currently active projects as part of UB ASME is our 3D printer project. This project is given the task to improve and upgrade our existing printer, as well as to design and build a device to convert ordinary plastic water bottles into reusable printer filament. To accomplish this, we have settled on an extruder auger based design, where we will take shredded bottles, melt them, and then extrude them to a precisely measured roll of plastic wire. While the designs for the extruder portion of our project are already underway, we still need some way to shred the bottles into small pieces. The easiest and safest way to accomplish this would be a small wood chipper, but unfortunately this piece of equipment is outside the realm of our current budget. With a small amount of funding of around $250, we would have the resources needed to complete our parts list and hopefully develop a new, completely recyclable method of 3D printing. Without this component our extruder will still be able to create filament from premade plastic pellets, but will not realize its true potential as a new eco-friendly method of printing. Figure 3: Planned design for the 3D printer filament maker ASME has always been committed for excellence and setting standard. We, as a student chapter, are striving to achieve that goal; we hope to provide Engineering students with exceptional hands on experiences and opportunities to assist them in their future careers and brag about in job interview. Yet, we are just students whom the chapter members elected to work as ambassadors responsible for transferring as much experience,

5 knowledge, and resources as we can form our mentors and professionals to them. Therefore as a part of our duties we are seeking our mentors assistance so we can assist them. Sincerely, UB ASME E-Board Please contact ASME Chairperson Joe Ciccarella at ciccarjs@middough.com if you can participate and help the students meet their goals. Funding or other means of support would be greatly appreciated. The ASME Buffalo Section has voted to donate $750 to the UB ASME projects. There is still time for individual members or organizations to contribute. Please consider donating and help advance the student projects.