[J.Warsoff]

We've actually recently had this problem, as long as multiple instances in the past. The first one I looked at had the MOSFETs shorted and the plastic casing around the MOSTFETs melted. Recently, one of the chips on a Jaguar shorted and burnt out, looking rather similar to your photos. From what I understand, the major cause cause for this is usually metal dust and debris. Metal dust can easily get into the electrical components, and since it is very small, it can get very deep inside some hardware. Since the dust is metal and therefore conductive, the result is a shorted circuit.

My teammates, mentors, and I discussed this issue earlier in the season, and now that we are mounting the electrical board, we are figuring out ways to prevent metal dust from getting into the system as well as protection from any debris or airborne objects. My idea was a curved "trunk" design that is hinged at the top, opening like a car trunk. Between the frame rods of the "shield" is a layer of aluminum wire mesh (cut from an old screen door) pulled tautly across the frame. On top of the wire mesh, which gives the structure its strength, is a thin layer of some sort of transparent plastic (like plasti-wrap, very thin lexan, etc.) to keep the dust out. I'm still in prototype phase of the design, but once it's done, I'll post some photos. This could be a good solution to problems like metal dust and damaged electronics.

Hope this helps.