Quote:
Originally Posted by Adamz_
So to start things off, let me explain, for a little off season project, i thought that having a multi-purpose workbench/tool-chest/battery station is much more practical then chargers on the floor, using the totes as tool chests, and other problems that were had in my teams rookie year, (2013 was 4519's first season).
From all that i was wondering if there are regulations in place against having say a deep cycle battery on the cart that can provide power to power bars, battery chargers, and so on.
I was thinking that the cart would be designed to fit in a 36" doorway, and to be a couple feet long, 3'-6' perhaps. my design for the cart would all start with a main power in, a power cord, running from the main cart battery to an outlet for recharges. at that point there would be the battery, for that i would plan to have a master switch that when flipped cuts all power on the cart, both to and from the battery (in case of sudden problems, and for overnight situations), i would plan for it to also have a little information panel easily accessible that would display the battery's current charge and such.
From there the battery would just run to appropriate transformers to make the power safe for being hooked up to power bars, the classmate DS, and battery chargers
Apart from all electrical, it would just have some drawers of a cupboard with all the super important tools that would need easy access.
back to the original question, Is there anything governing the use of large battery's on carts?
also if anyone has any ideas or tips for improvement of the cart design, please leave a comment, Thanks!
Have a great day everyone!
-Connor
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20 has a robot cart that helps to carry a toolchest, batteries, and other necessary tools. And while it seems nice and convenient (and it sometimes is), it's very heavy and difficult to push around to matches.
Now even if it were to be just a setup for your pits, you have to figure out how to transport the cart to the venue. Our cart is somewhat tall, so the shelving and handle detach for transporting it to events.
I would recommend a separate lightweight, maneuverable cart, a separate tool chest, separate battery charging stations (easy enough to make out of wood), and a separate driver's station. You could set up the drivers station charger in your pits. You could also attach a robot battery and inverter to your drivers station in order to charge your laptop in a clinch.
If the totes aren't working for you as tool chests, try out different ways to store your tools. Partition your totes, use excessive labeling. If you have the funds, purchase a sliding drawer tool chest or build one.
I feel like I'm being rather unhelpful toward what you were asking, but from our team's experience, an all-in-one cart sounds good, but it can be implemented poorly very easily.
I'd love to see you have some success with this, and if you do, post pictures!