Written by UW Orbital, Student Design Team under the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo
Template: Receiver Block Diagrams
Template: Schematic Diagrams
Video: How we use Lucid to create the electrical architecture for our Low Earth Orbit satellites
Detailed Walkthrough
As one of the University of Waterloo’s many student design teams, UW Orbital develops Low Earth Orbit satellites for the Canadian Space Agency’s CubeSat Design Challenge! Being in space presents a set of diverse constraints and difficulties that need meticulous planning to get around. One subteam that has to deal with these constraints is the electrical subteam where we have to make all systems within the limited power budget and the sub-zero climate that space provides. The following sections provide some problems we have faced and how Lucid helps us solve them!
Slowing Down Workflows
Problem: Creating circuit architecture diagrams slowed down the team’s workflow
Lucid Solution: With Lucid Chart this becomes a trivial task. LucidChart’s features and quick formatting help construct diagrams within minutes, allowing the electrical team to spend more time refining than diagramming.
Losing Clarity Amidst Complex Diagrams
Problem: There are a lot of electrical systems on-board the satellite, and keeping track of them visually becomes tough for the team and for the experts we present to.
Lucid Solution: With LucidChart’s quick and easy theming, we can easily section our diagrams by colour to provide visual clarity between systems without compromising on diagram quality. Moreover, the ability to use formatting features like swim lanes greatly save time.
Lack of Sharing
Problem: No way to properly share large diagrams.
Lucid Solution: Thankfully, Lucid Chart provides the ability to publish diagrams which means we can provide links to our diagrams that anyone can use! Since the links provide interactive views of the diagrams, sharing large diagrams becomes incredibly hassle-free.
Diagramming with Lucid
So far with Lucid, we have created and are in the process of creating diagrams as listed out below…
- Electrical Overview Diagrams (This is used between electrical software and mechanical)
- Power Budget Diagrams
- Board Architectures (a lot are a work in progress)
