As we near the completion of the E-Hawk aircraft, one of the tasks that needed to be completed was the design and installation of the main power panel. Since the cutouts for the electrical components had already been made when the panel was cut on the water jet, the design aspect of this task only involved the labeling of the individual components, including the precharge switch, the main disconnect switch, the DC/DC converter, and the charge port. We also included the circuit diagram and a high voltage warning.

In order to design the panel, I used Adobe Illustrator and I started with the outline of the main power panel that was used to cut the panel on the water jet. I then took several measurements of the electrical components and created a rough sketch of the design that I wanted to create. In Illustrator, I used the shape tool to draw clear distinctions between the various sections and used simple, bold lettering to label each component. For the warning and the electric power symbol, I imported images from the internet.

The actual engraving of the panel involved using the laser cutter. I first did several prototypes out of wood, to ensure that there was no interference between the design and the rivet holes or the electrical components. Then, after the panel was spray-painted with a satin black finish, I engraved the piece using the laser cutter to burn away the paint and allow the silver color of the metal to form the design. In order to ensure that the panel design would be aligned with the actual panel in the laser cutter, we first cut the outline of the panel out of cardboard, and then placed the metal piece into the cutout.

After the design was engraved, the electrical components were assembled onto the panel, and the panel was riveted onto the side of the plane.