I need a PLC for a prototype that I plan to build with my son. Unfortunately, I don't know my Rasberry Pi's from my Gertboards so please help me to come up with a shopping list to select the best components to do something like this;
The attachment shows a pdf of a schematic for a small demonstrator model without the complication of submersing components in water. The rotary motor represents the ocean swell. The step motor will wind slack line onto a drum when the rotary motor moves between 0 deg - 180 deg. Between 180 deg and 360 deg the step motor will be stopped. This will pull the storage vessel down against the force of the spring which represents buoyancy. The ratchet will hold the storage vessel position against the spring when slack is being wound. Once the spring is extended the ratched is released to allow the storage vessel to return to its start position. In doing so a generator is spun and the LED lights to represent power generation.
With funding this would move onto a larger scale prototype for use in a large wave tank and submersible motors. The system is intended as a large scale wave energy system as shown in this link. Instead of driving a hydrogenerator by the inrush of water power, the storage vessel would spin the generator as it returns to the surface. Scaled Buoyancy Engine 2000m - YouTube
