Battery charging carts?

[Durza16]

Does anybody have any good ideas for a battery cart that charges FRC batteries in the pit?

Or does anybody have any pictures of one/

thanks!

[Rosiebotboss]

Paragon, Team 571 has a paper posted in the white papers section for building one. We're building one based on it.

[Captain Slacker]

I won't be at the site until Monday, but I will get a picture of the 571 one and post it here if another member doesn't already :)

[Jim Zondag]

We have used the one pictured below for 5 years, and a number of other teams have built duplicates from the plans.
Key features: Easy to build, Easy to move, Minimal Footprint when upright, holds 8 batteries and 4 chargers, one person loadable into a truck/van.
PM me and I can send the Inventor model and build drawings if you are interested.

[yarden.saa]

my team has very good one but it's in the robot box and I think it will return from Atlanta next month. basicly it's 5 shelf cart. every shelf is in the size of 2.5 batteries and the depth of every shelf is a depth of one battery.
when it's not in use we have place in every shelf to 2 batteries and one charger. when it's in use, all the chargers are standing on the top of the cart so it will be visible thatit's working and more safty to everybody!
when the robot will rturn froom atlanta I will post a picture.

[Dancin103]

Ours is similar to the one Jim Zondag is talking about. It's also diamond plated. If you want pictures let me know and I will see what I can do. :)

Cass

[Greg Needel]

Here is ours.


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oVFm-xSjx0o/SYaGDpTAxrI/AAAAAAAABus/wqxZc4VKOBI/s640/FILE0012.JPG

[AcesJames]

This is our battery cart. It uses a KOP tote, with 4 chargers, and can hold 8 batteries. The cart itself has 4 casters and a fold-down handle for easy transport. C-Channel is used to make a lip around the tote so that it cannot slide off the cart. The wood seen is 5-ply, because the original steel cart buckled under the weight of the batteries. As such, we stole the handle and casters off of it, and built the new one out of plywood. Also, there is a plug strip on one wall of the tote, to connect the chargers, and also programming laptops in the pits.

[ratdude747]

last year we built one out of wood:

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2112/212/5/1170180417/n1170180417_30263185_5815.jpg

the back/shelves are 1/2" plywood. the sides are white ash.

it was later finished with green stain and our logo dremel-routered in and painted in black... i have pics somewhere of it...

[Radical Pi]

639 made 2 battery "arks". It's basically a long toolkit with a handle on each end. Roof is made of thin cardboard (waterproofed with duct tape!). 4 people can cary them into competition, set them down in our pits, then we get out a power strip and plug in the chargers. All of our good batteries and chargers can fit in them with room to spare. It also can make it very easy to pick out a battery. Highest charged ones are kept on the side closest to the robot, just slide them all forward when you swap a battery out.

When we're at home we just have a tote with wheels that carries everything

[turkbot]

Our team (2481 - Roboteers) has a crowd attracting cart. We always have people asking us about it and taking picture of it at the Wisconsin Regional. Some of its features include:

-4 charging ports
-Automatic voltage refreshing system linked to a flat panel monitor (allows us to tell when we achieve optimum charge)
-Under-glow!
-Upgraded wheels that can handle the weight of all our batteries and charging equipment for easy transportation

Unfortunately, I do not have a picture at this time but should be able to post one as soon as Monday!

[kbonsell]

Ours has two shelves, each hold six batteries. The chargers themselves are Auto Meter chargers that can charge up to six batteries each (they are pricey, we had the assistance of our school district to pay for them). The whole thing is attached to a dolly.

http://dpea.smugmug.com/09-10-Robotics-Build-Season/Working/Electrical/DSCN0462/776255861_djgyf-L.jpg


Chargers can be found here: http://test.autometer.com/productDetails.aspx?ID=3&subid=5&productID=54&isKit=0

[kbonsell]

Our cart can carry and charge up to 12 batteries and is attached to a dolly. We mounted two Autometer battery chargers to the sides of the cart. The chargers can be found here: http://www.usatoolwarehouse.com/usatoolwarehouse/ATM-BUSPRO660.html. (They are pricey, but they work great. We had our school district help pay for part of them.)

http://dpea.smugmug.com/09-10-Robotics-Build-Season/Working/Electrical/DSCN0462/776255861_djgyf-L.jpg

[Chris is me]

Does anybody have any good ideas for a battery cart that charges FRC batteries in the pit?

Or does anybody have any pictures of one/

thanks!

1714's had one since 2007. We got help from Rockwell Automation on the project; I believe they donated a lot of the parts including the touch screen. If you guys send our head mentor an email, he can get you more information than I am. Since you guys are also a Rockwell Automation team, you can probably get the same amount of help we did.

[ajlapp]

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/25703

We bought this Interactor 5 bay charger in 2006. Interactor even supplied the unit with the Anderson Power Pole connectors installed. This unit is compact and requires only one power outlet. Don't quote me on this, but at the time the entire charger was cheaper than 5 individual Interactor brand chargers.

We built a wheeled cart around the unit as well. I'll have to get a picture to post.

[O'Sancheski]

Paragon, Team 571 has a paper posted in the white papers section for building one. We're building one based on it.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/1530 This is the paper that Dana spoke of



I won't be at the site until Monday, but I will get a picture of the 571 one and post it here if another member doesn't already :)

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/18664
This is a Picture of it from Championships in 2004

[synth3tk]

1714's had one since 2007. We got help from Rockwell Automation on the project; I believe they donated a lot of the parts including the touch screen. If you guys send our head mentor an email, he can get you more information than I am. Since you guys are also a Rockwell Automation team, you can probably get the same amount of help we did.
Did your team attend Buckeye in the last 4 years? I remember seeing a really sweet battery charger, and the team was sponsored by Rockwell Automation? If that was you, major props to an awesome charging system!

[sparrowkc]

I currently have a vague aspiration to design a multi-battery battery charger from scratch. I figure I could learn about power, maybe figure out switching power supplies or something... I need to figure out how complex the logic for a fast-charge is, and if it's even safe enough for me to attempt.

[BrendanB]

Here is ours.


http://lh5.ggpht.com/_oVFm-xSjx0o/SYaGDpTAxrI/AAAAAAAABus/wqxZc4VKOBI/s640/FILE0012.JPG

Our team has something very similar only it holds three batteries and three chargers allowing it to be small enough to fit on our shelves in the pits and light enough for one person to carry.

My advice, smaller is better in the pits, but make it usable for other purposes such as storage when in the pits.

[Akash Rastogi]

1714 has a very cool system. Pictures from Pat Fairbank:

http://picasaweb.google.com/patfair/Championship2010Part1#5464186435073315410

[Durza16]

Thank you for all the ideas!

[Chris is me]

Did your team attend Buckeye in the last 4 years? I remember seeing a really sweet battery charger, and the team was sponsored by Rockwell Automation? If that was you, major props to an awesome charging system!

We had the charger at Buckeye in 07 and 08, so thanks for the compliments.

[kramarczyk]

I've got some battery cart pics available at http://picasaweb.google.com/Mark.Kramarczyk/BatteryCartBenchmarking#

It includes shots of 33, 469, 47, 1720 & 217.

[Zme]

we (2619) have a decent one, welded aluminum with casters and removable handle, 2 tiered design, low profile so it can fit under tables at competition. has enough chargers that it can charge (and keep charged) i want to say 6 batteries. has a single bar that goes over all of the batteries that keeps them in place for transport. i'll see if i can find pictures, or another team might have them a fair amount of people were taking pictures.

a question for Greg Needel:
we use similar (if not the same) chargers, and noticed that they put out a bit more than 6 amps on the 6 amp charge, did you notice this? and if so how did you correct it?

our electrical team ended up building current limiting circuits to bring the current down into legal range for competition but i'm curious as to how other teams handled it.

[Jon Stratis]

2177 built one last summer, and it worked great for us this year. The best picture of it i have access to at the moment is here: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/34968

You can see it in the back right. Some benefits to this design:

- 4 chargers are fully wired and enclosed in the back
- 2 drill battery chargers are mounted on the front, easily accessible
- The status and control board for the chargers was routed to the front and put behind plexiglass below each station, allowing quick identification of charged batteries.
- 3 of the large KOP fans are included to provide sufficient airflow for the chargers (We finally used them for something!)
- It's mounted on heavy duty wheels - two fixed and two lockable casters - which allow it to easily traverse parking lots and bumps.
- It's sized to fit through a standard doorway
- It has an integrated power strip on the side, providing all the aux. power we need in the pits
- It has an integrated extension cord (25 feet, i think), with a mounted wrap to secure it when in transport
- It has an integrated on/off switch, which cuts power to the entire cart
- Half of it can be used for materials and parts storage at competition (and for transporting anything else heavy)
- It has a heavy duty surface (an old butchers block) that's big enough to work on and sturdy enough to wail on when needed, and at a great height for working on
- It has built in mounts to allow a vise to be secured
- It's sized to easily fit in the compartment under a standard coach bus, when tipped on its back

In short, it's much more than a battery cart. It's an all around competition cart, bigger than most of the charging stations listed here, but capable of being utilized for much, much more. The only problem we've had is in loading and unloading it - it took 4 adult mentors to get it on and off a truck, and we were straining a bit.


If you want some better pictures of it, PM me and i'll get them to you :)

[mrmummert]

Hi...

We made a new cart this year...As many know batteries are heavy and there is
often very little pit space for extra items. With that in mind we built this new cart. I'll try to post a picture later.

[DiehardCybercard]

1714's had one since 2007. We got help from Rockwell Automation on the project; I believe they donated a lot of the parts including the touch screen. If you guys send our head mentor an email, he can get you more information than I am. Since you guys are also a Rockwell Automation team, you can probably get the same amount of help we did.

you guys have the worlds most amazing charging station. its aaaaawesome!

[buildmaster5000]

I'm simply curious, but where do you get the Anderson Power Connector to go on the charger? I can find the one for the battery at AM, but I have yet to see the one for the charger yet

Thanks!

[ATannahill]

You can purchase them here (http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles/powerpole-sets/sb120-sb-series-120-amp.html) or buy the ones from andymark and solder them to your battery charger.

[mrmummert]

here are some pictures of 1610's new cart. It can be pulled either like a luggage cart or like a wagon. It uses a old razor scooter handle and wheels (under the back) and caster wheels in the front. It holds four batteries and chargers, but in the little storage area in the back two more chargers can be plugged in. There is a 8 receptical surge protector in the storage space in the back. There is also room on top in the middle for our cordless drill battery chargers and other little pockets for older robot back -up batteries, tape, zip tyes, andersome connector covers, etc. It measures about 20x 20x 20 the best I remember.You will also notice some folddown handles. This makes it easier when we have to carry it on and off the bus.

[Dale]

Be aware that the Anderson power housings can take two different connectors inside. High detent and low detent. The ones FIRST and AndyMark ship are low detent and are much easier to plug and unplug constantly like we FIRST teams are likely to do. Powerwerx just sells the high detent version which can be a real pain.

We've been getting ours from Allied Electronics www.alliedelec.com. We get the 803-0410 housing with the 803-0048 connectors. That way you are sure you're getting the right thing. The catalog page is at http://www.alliedelec.com/catalog/pf.aspx?fn=225.pdf&pageNum=225

[Alan Anderson]

I'm simply curious, but where do you get the Anderson Power Connector to go on the charger? I can find the one for the battery at AM, but I have yet to see the one for the charger yet

Thanks!

The connectors are the same. Different colors have different keying, but that's it. Any red SB50 connector can plug into any other red SB50 connector.

[buildmaster5000]

The connectors are the same. Different colors have different keying, but that's it. Any red SB50 connector can plug into any other red SB50 connector.

So if I bought two "battery cables" from AM, I could put one on the battery and one on the charger?

[Dale]

That's correct, the connectors are genderless.

[NickE]

I'm simply curious, but where do you get the Anderson Power Connector to go on the charger? I can find the one for the battery at AM, but I have yet to see the one for the charger yet

Thanks!We get ours at McMaster-Carr. Part number 7043K21. You probably want the 12-10 AWG crimps for chargers and the 6 AWG crimps for batteries.

[sanddrag]

You can purchase them here (http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles/powerpole-sets/sb120-sb-series-120-amp.html) or buy the ones from andymark and solder them to your battery charger.
That link is not the correct one. This (http://www.powerwerx.com/anderson-powerpoles/powerpole-sets/sb50-sb-series-50-amp.html) is what you want.
So if I bought two "battery cables" from AM, I could put one on the battery and one on the charger?
What is your proposed method to affix an AM battery cable to a charger? It is such large and stiff wire, I wouldn't recommend it. A little expensive too. You're better off getting the proper 10 gauge contacts, and crimping them on.

[Jon Stratis]

What is your proposed method to affix an AM battery cable to a charger? It is such large and stiff wire, I wouldn't recommend it. A little expensive too. You're better off getting the proper 10 gauge contacts, and crimping them on.

We've had success with two methods in the past - soldering (you have to have a nice, high powered gun to get the big wire hot enough, or you'll end up with a cold solder joint), and ring terminals with small bolts to hold them together.

Getting the right contacts will lead to a cleaner, more secure connection than anything else (assuming you crimp it properly). However, at the prototyping stage, it can be useful to have one of those connectors sitting around with ring terminals attacked to it - you can quickly hook it up to any motor you want for a quick test.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

The wire on the First supplied charger is small, a #16 or #18 as I remember. You can buy extra contacts for the Anderson connectors anywhere Anderson's are sold. Powerwerx and Terminal Supply are two that jump to mind.

Please perform the following one wire at a time so that you won't interchange the polarity of the wiring...
Cut the positive clamp off the end of the wire coming from the charger. It is a simple matter to strip about 2 inches from the charger wire and then fold the wire back over itself twice and tin the wire. This will give you a 1/2 inch long #12 equivalent wire. Insert the wire into a empty contact and solder the wire into the contact. Let cool! Insert the contact into the positive side of the SB50 body until the contact clicks and can't be pulled out. Repeat the procedure for the negative (black clamp) output of charger.

[ctorloey]

So i am designing a battery charging station for our team and was wondering what are the most ideal aspects for it? we have one that charges 6 batteries but it is heavy, somewhat awkward, and is unstable because its too tall for its width. any suggestions for the redesign?

[Jon Stratis]

I finally got some pictures of our cart, so i figured I'd resurrect this thread if anyone was interested.

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/35785
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/35786
http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/35787

The cart works great for everything we need at competition - charging, storage of parts, transportation, a great work surface, an integrated, stable vise, an extension cord, a power strip...

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I finally got some pictures of our cart, so i figured I'd resurrect this thread if anyone was interested.

Please note the fans for air circulation. Looks great Jon!

[Jon Stratis]

We figure we've gotten so many of them in the kit of parts over the years... it's about time we used a few!

[synth3tk]

We figure we've gotten so many of them in the kit of parts over the years... it's about time we used a few!
Hmm, I forgot those came in the KoP!

And in case a team doesn't have enough (or any), you can pick these puppies up at any PC part store (Fry's, MicroCenter, Canada Computers, etc) for next-to-nothing. Plus, they come in all kind of sizes, and some even light-up!