[EricH]

Originally Posted by team1165wins

I think I may have forgotten to put on my site that the current draw will be monitored. If the current draw ever goes too high in some part, an automatic shutdown of that part will happen.

Theory is a nice place... I suggest having one point with a big, easy-to-hit button or switch to shut down the whole thing. If that current draw happens to be in the monitoring circuit... This is just for extra safety, mind you. Also to keep the safety folks happy. It's easier to put it in now, during design, than to add it later.

Also, the battery cart, as my team is saying, if typically going to be plugged in.

Bear in mind that if the cart comes out to the competition floor, power drops may or may not be available. Most regionals, probably not; Championships typically does have something.

Also, we are using the laptop internal battery. However, incidents where it doesn't charge are often so this is to limit that.

I think there might be something funny with the laptop charging system. If that's the case, maybe putting a new charge system to get to the laptop isn't going to help. That, or you still have to remember to charge it (AKA plug it in/put the station on the cart).

Also, I did chose LiFePO4 because we do not have very high space constraints currently. They are also a lot safer than LiPolys, especially because I probably will 3D print a perfectly fitting mount for the battery.

True--but remember to take care of them. The 12V LiFePO4s I've had experience with would take up the exact same space as the 12V SLAs used on an FRC robot. Matter of fact, the LiFePO4 vs SLA debate hinged on weight and voltage drop pattern. (LiFePO4 won both categories, despite losing cost.) A perfectly-fitting mount does virtually nothing for battery safety, BTW--I've seen the effects of overcharging a LiPo when a good mount would have done nothing. I've seen SLAs spark while charging on a normal charger--I think there was something funny about the setup, but what escapes me. Can't say I've seen anything with LiFePO4s, but I've heard about the hazards. Note the transit comments earlier--LiPos, IIRC, have similar constraints unless they're in a special container, and maybe even then.

Because of the want for simplicity, I would like everything to dock together, and the magnets won't be way too strong to hurt someone. We probably have more dangers around the power tools than we would have with these magnets.

Again, just take care with the strength. I know I've had a project designed for rare-earth magnets where I had to make it clear that nobody but nobody was to put their hand between the magnet carrier and anything metal. Admittedly, 20+ magnets in a small steel disc can easily be way different than 4-5 spread out over an operator console--but will those 4-5 actually hold the console on the cart when it goes over a bump?

Just to make it clear to me, the team and anyone else wondering, The magnets will conduct, not induct. If that won't work, I will put metal sheets and brushes for the contacts.

Just for safety's sake, please please make it darn near impossible for anything that ISN'T the driver's station to contact both magnets--or whatever the contacts are--at once. Maybe have a cap over one or more when the station is off--on both the station and the cart. (I'd say impossible... but then someone would find a way to connect both through him/herself. It's a law of nature.)