pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

I really like the idea in a lot of ways, however a minor nitpick- if I had to figure out what was wrong with that module, I'd have such difficulty following wires because they're all the same two colors.
Could be a non-issue for your team, I don't know, but that would bother me.

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8z...ew?usp=sharing

We did something very similar this year. We mounted the RoboRio, PDP, PCM, VRM, and Pneumatic gauges and regulators on the top and motor controllers on the bottom so that the module sandwiched the wires. The result was a very clean and elegant control panel that we were able to easily remove in a couple of minutes.

A couple problems with it:

Perhaps it's not the best place to put pneumatics because getting a leak in the middle of the panel is a nightmare.
Also any time you needed to work on the wiring, you have to disassemble the thing which can get annoying after the forty-eighth time.

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

One of the more efficient modular electronics packages I've seen - this might make me rethink using them. When my teams have done them in the past, they've added far too much weight to be worth it.

One small suggestion - it might be worth adding a fan or two to make sure you're getting enough air circulation to keep the motor controllers cool. Assuming you're using the newer, passively cooled models, this isn't as much of an issue as it once was, but it's still recommended to make sure there's enough air flow for the convective cooling to work.

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

Obviously we do not know the game rules for this year, but 1 rule that probably won't change is that all breakers and the PDP must be easily visible to inspectors. In addition their are diagnostic lights on the PDP that you would not have access too.

I don't see your Circuit breaker either, which needs to be accessible.

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

The construction standards would have to be really good. Otherwise, your team will be taking that apart multiple times to find and fix loose connections or crossed wires.

It would also be best to install and wire out extra motor controllers so they can be just connected to the motors. Of course, these extra motor controllers would have to be pre-tested to make sure they are connected correctly so that they will work when needed.

Update to the board
 

Update on the board. 3 of the corners are pins that pull out easily for inspection. The entire top layer is able to swivel on the remaining pin allowing for the top and bottom layer to be shown. The wires are labled with different colors to easily trace back. And a fan will be added to help cool the motor controllers. The main breaker will be on the robots superstructure to be easily accessed.

Head of Electrical

Side note laser cutting polycarbonate does not work very well with a near infrared laser cutter. The cutter burned the polycarbonate and did not leave clean cuts.

Re: Update to the board
 

Do you intend to swing the upper board aside while all the wires to it are connected? If so, you will have to route those wires properly to make this possible. Hinged/moving electrical panels are tricky to do well.

Will the remaining screw/bolt and the corner of the upper panel take the weight of all the components and the attached wires?

It would be better to label your wire pairs and cables (PWM, CAN, sensor) at both ends. Colour coding can be used to identify wires and groups of wires with similar functions.

Re: Update to the board
 

Yes the hinging will happen while the wires are connected. It is hard to see but there is a L shaped hole that allows for the wires to pass through. When the top board rotates on the bolt the L shape allows for extra room for the wires to shift.

As for the color coding goes the 3 wires currently that are the same are the white wires. on both ends of the wires are small colored zip ties. ex(PCM has a blue zip tie on both ends and the VRM has green zip ties)

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

Did you remember to use 12 gauge wire? :rolleyes:

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

Yes. We also remembered who to pick for alliace selections ::rtm::

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

Putting all those talons in there can be a thermal problem. I think that it is too tight for a fan to be effective. A FIRST version of an easy bake oven.

Re: Update to the board
 

You will still have to route the wires so they do not impede the motion of the upper board. Often it takes the form of a loop.

You may want to get a label maker such as the one linked below. The wiring then becomes self documenting. They have a deal where you buy a bunch of labels and get the machine "for free". We are now using a similar machine for the equipment we build at work.

http://www.labelcity.com/Rhino-4200-...t-1835374.html
http://www.labelcity.com/Free-Dymo-L...-Purchase.html

Re: Update to the board
 

So we finished putting the whole thing togather and it works very nicely as far as rotating and we do have a label maker.

Re: pic: It's so dense every wire has so much going on
 

Just chiming in to let you know how much I laughed at the Rick McCallum joke in the title. A+.