Electrical Supplies
 

Our team is running low on supplies following this build season and are looking to replenish our stock, on this occasion I felt it would be helpful to ask those at Chief Delphi what they use and where they order it.

So where do your teams order your wire? What type of wire do you use? Do you purchase single or dual conductor? What brands do you like/prefer/trust and dislike/warn against/distrust?

What kind of quick disconnects do you use (if at all)? Where do you order them? What crimper do you use?

What products do you use for cable management/organization/routing? Where do you order them, how well do they work? Do you label/color code your wires(on the robot)?

What "rules" do you impose on your robot's wiring beyond what FIRST already includes?

The above questions were ones I personally have at this time, but of course any general tips/tricks/ideas are more than appreciated. Thanks in advance for any and all answers/suggestions.

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

For all our motors that aren't on the drive train we use this wire.

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10239&cs_id=1023901&p_i d=2817&seq=1&format=2

It's really cheap and if you pull it out of the sleeve it looks like normal wire. We rarely leave the sleeve on but it helps in some places. They also sell large spools of 18 AWG which we use to wire everything that's not motors. We use standard 10AWG from the kit or radio shack for our short drive train wires.

Speed controller power connectors use these tabs and these crimp connectors.

We use Anderson power poles for most of our motor wiring. We order from Allied electronics normally because they are in Texas so it's faster shipping. Powerwerx is a good source as well.

Cable management is all zip ties, Fry's carries them in purple in bags by the 1000 so that's were we buy them.

4AWG/6AWG wire comes from Emergency Electrical Power Systems

That's about all I can remember right now.

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

Thank you Spectrum for your help!

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

We aren't the best at it but to help with cable management we make custom-length PWM cables. We order all of our PWM supplies from http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/ .

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

While it doesn't specifically address your question, this is a good read, and a standard to aspire to:

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/doctree/87394.pdf

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

You're welcome, glad to help.

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

I now have new purpose! :3

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

Look up control panel builders in your area, looks to be 3 or 4 in Sidell. Ask them if you can have their cut offs to support the team. We recycle enough wire to build many robots. They also may support you with specific tool loans when needed, we do that for our team. Mainly when you need to crimp the main power crimps, takes a proper tool and crimp on 4ga. They may be able to support you with wire ties, cable management stickies, hold down loops, etc. too.

You are looking for someone who builds with MTW (Machine Tool Wire) as it will have more strands and be more flexible than other types. Stay away from THHN, if they are building with that, smaller wire diameter, so you stuff many wires in a tighter area, but very stiff, and does not work well with robots.

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

Here's a list of things that we bought from DigiKey this year:

PWM/signal cable supplies:
WM2517CT-ND - CONN TERM MALE 22-24AWG TIN
WM2510-ND - CONN TERM FEMALE 22-24AWG TIN
WM2800-ND - CONN HOUSING 2POS .100 SINGLE
WM2801-ND - CONN HOUSING 3POS .100 SINGLE
WM5354-ND - CONN HSG 2POS .100 SINGLE VER D
WM2872-ND - CONN HOUSING RCPT .100 3POS
W121-100-ND - UNSHIELDED 22AWG UL2464 3 COND
WM9999-ND - TOOL CRIMP 14-24AWG UNIVERSAL

Wire marker:
298-1269-ND - MARKER WIRE BOOK LEG 0-9 10PGS

Wire:
C2064B-100-ND - BLK-STRANDED-HOOKUP WIRE 18 AWG
C2064R-100-ND - RED STRANDED-HOOKUP WIRE 18 AWG
Larger wire we get at Home Depot
For limit switch wiring, we're starting to use 22ga shielded 2 conductor security system wire.

Power connector for webcam:
CP3-1003-ND - CONN POWER PLUG 1.3MM X 3.5MM

We use a combination of zip and velcro ties, depending on the situation.

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

MCM Electronics is also a good source, they have great stock and deliver quickly.

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

Al is right, MCM is another great place for supplies, especially their zip cord. Example is part 24-1915.

We also use Digikey for connectors, housings, pots, multiturn pots, microswitches, zip ties... We use flat spade connectors (A27868-ND) on all speed controllers for quick connections, and powerpole connectors on all motors. We use color marking tape (STD-C-ND) to label all wires, motors etc.

For Anderson Powerpole connectors we use Powerwerx, with a crimper from West Mountain Radio.

For our other fun stuff, we use Sparkfun and Adafruit.

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

In general, we prefer paired wire like red/black zip cord. It's got a soft pliable insulation that doesn't act like a spring and fine strands that bend and form easily. It's available from a number of places online.

We also like to use the smaller 30/45 amp Anderson Powerpole connectors. We've been using them in red/black combinations, but I saw a team this year use a number of colors to organize their wiring and it seemed to work well.

Proper crimp tools is often overlooked. We use the ratcheting tools (similar to the powerpole tool - in fact the dies can be swapped in the same tool) for crimp on connectors.

If you're using the 10-in-one tool that strips wire, cuts screws as well as crimps wire, you are asking for trouble. They simply don't produce a good crimp and will pinch your fingers as often as not.

Find the right crimp connectors to go with the tool as well. The ones with the hard slippery plastic shell that come in the KOP are awful. We throw them away so that they don't accidentally get used.

I've collected a lot of sources for handy things for robotics here

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

AndyMark is a Good source for Electronics and Etc...,

Link: http://www.andymark.com/Electrical-s/41.htm

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_292685-1781-...r&face tInfo=

Disclaimer: I am not the electrical guy for my team.

These ties are used all over our robot to secure things. They hold all of our wires. We use them to secure our GoPro Camera (in tandem with the GoPro mount). Also, they are great for keeping pneumatic tubing straight. You can sut them on the band saw to fit them in tight places. The adhesive is really strong once firmly pressed on, and they have screw mounts if you wanted to use them for heavier things, though we mainly use them for routing. Some of our programmers use them to run cables in their computer cases at home, and I use them on my boat, exposed to the saltwater, without incident.

Also, make sure you buy good Zip-Ties that don't break when pulled tight. We used crappy zip-ties to hold down are pneumatics tanks, and all but one snapped. Luckily we didn't lose them onto the field, but now our air tanks are held by ~3/8" wide zip ties. By the way, in my personal opinion, zipt ties are the quintessential tool. We use them for all of our routing. They hold down all of our pneumatics except the compressor. We zip tie our battery connector each match so we don't lose power. We even made an emergency repair on our robot and zipped down the C-RIO, which is pretty darn secure now. Additionally, if anybody saw the picture of our shooter from last year, specifically the one where it snapped off and fell at Duel on the Delaware, we made an emergency repair during Elims, and held in a ~20 lb shooter with only zip-ties. Surprisingly, the autonomous worked, though since it was the lazy susan bearing that failed, we couldn't use our turret.

In short, Zip Ties and Square Tie Downs are awesome.

Re: Electrical Supplies
 

We used some big zip ties from Home Depot along with velcro to secure all the pneumatic tanks, worked really well.