Chief Delphi - Introducing a New Modular Control Board System

Happy Holidays Everyone!

I asked a close friend of mine on Team 811 to write a testimonial of the T811 System. Sam was the wiring lead last year and was very involved with its development and actually has the most experience using the system out of everyone. She is the wiring lead again this year and a Junior on Team 811.

Unfortunately she hasn't really gotten into CD yet so she doesn't have an account to post:

"My name is Samantha Beauchemin. I am currently the Wiring Lead for FRC Team 811. During my 3 years on the team, organization of my wiring has always been my top priority, a focus not always shared with my predecessors. Before the creation of the T811, Team 811’s control boards were messy, disorganized, and confusing. Wires were tangled and unlabeled, creating a tangled mess of wires and PWM’s. I hope to improve these messy habits and clean up the wiring during my time on the team.

Wiring my first robot was not exactly my best work. Though still a significant improvement over the previous year, it still was a mess of coiled wires and scattered components. Making repairs was especially difficult, because once the board was in the robot, many parts became virtually inaccessible. Those that were accessible were held down by so many zip ties, that a simple repair became a twenty minute project. By the end of the season, I became fed up with blindly reaching into the robot to find the part I was trying to repair. I advocated for a more modular board, ideally one that could fully detach from the robot in order to make repairs easier for both the mechanical and wiring sub-teams.

Coming into my second year on the team, I continued to advocate for a modular control board. This was around the same time that Luke Yost fell in love with 3D printing. He found a brilliant way to connect our high priorities: the T811. He began designing several versions of the mount system, coming to me each time asking for more suggestions. I was thrilled at the idea of a routing system for the wires rather than just using zip ties. Finally Luke finished the final design and began printing and replicating it. Though printing the parts took a significant amount of time, it was worth it in the end. The T811 cut the timing of producing a neat and efficient control board in half. It allowed for increased modularity, productivity, and adaptability, along with allowing me to create the most presentable control board my team has seen.

The T811 has significantly improved the practicality of the control board. It allows us to organize components into a set area, encouraging neat, labeled wires and components. It has given us the ability to maintain neatness while still adapting to the changing needs of the robot. It also allows us to overcome space difficulties, because its increased modularity allows for two boards or even a double sided control board. The cell system also significantly improves timing, taking far less time to initially organize and allowing for speedy repairs in the pits. If necessary we can also use extra mounts with pre-wired components to allow for instant repairs. Another benefit of the T811, though not originally intended, was a decrease in electrical malfunctions. In past years, many problems occurred as the season progressed due to the disorganized fashion of the wiring. The T811 has significantly less room for error, contributing to a decrease in electrical malfunctions.

Overall, the T811 has significantly contributed to a neater, more professional, more efficient, and more effective control board that can adapt as needed. It is something that has been a focal point of our robot and brought our team lots of attention. The ease of use gives us more time to focus on other priorities and has significantly improved our design and prototyping process. Now that I have used the T811, I couldn’t imagine going back to the messy wiring that we had before, and team 811 plans on using it for many years to come."