OK,
Time for my annual battery discussion...
The manufacturer says the battery can be used in any orientation except inverted (from the Enersys sheet). While in our service, that is unlikely to cause a problem, leaking may occur if the internal pressure causes the vent to open while inverted.
This type of battery comes in a variety of terminal choices so during manufacture all the batteries are identical and the terminal is soldered into the battery as one of the final steps. If you apply heat to the terminal, or lift the battery by wires attached to the terminal, the solder joint will become intermittent or will fail. I have seen terminals pull out of the battery entirely.
The greatest point of failure on batteries comes from the wire terminal lossening with the battery terminal. Even if you use locking hardware, if the terminals can rotate against each other, the hardware will loosen. I recommend adding a simple #10 external tooth lockwasher between the terminals before you assemble. The teeth will bite into each terminal and prevent any rotation if the hardware stays tight. It also prevents the terminals from "dishing" due to tight hardware. Heatshrink can then be applied to the connection. We use a custom 3/4" heatshrink a company printed for us long ago. With care, a 3" long piece can cover both the wire terminal and the battery terminal. If you can't find or afford that size, electrical tape wrapped around the entire connection leaving no exposed metal is a good alternative. When you insert the mounting hardware, put the nut on the inside of the terminal so that the excess screw length doesn't stick out and produce a nice place to catch a robot structural part. We are a belt and suspenders kind of team so we solder the crimp terminals we use. For battery terminals and #10 wiring, this will require a 50 watt iron (or above) with a large tip. If you use a screw retention terminal (SLU or equivalent), you must strip the wire at least 1/2" or whatever is required for your terminal. If you cannot insert the wire so that strands show beyond the end of the terminal housing, the wire will be pushed out of the terminal after you tighten the wire screw. (Think squeezing one end of a stick of butter or a banana) Again, turn the terminal so that it won't get caught on robot parts when you insert the battery.
Why are all of these precautions needed you ask? The battery supplies all of the current needed for robot drive and control. Any failure that produces a loose connection adds resistance to the power supply. CIM motors draw 130 amps in stall and most teams will use two or four of these. Add a few ohms in a line that draws that much current and heating and voltage drop will result. It may even be enough to cause your robot to reboot or loose connection with the field. A reboot will take up to 20 seconds to recover.
Finally, I don't care how you do it, secure the battery in the robot. I have been pushing for a number of years to disable robots that have the battery leave the robot. It is dangerous, a fire hazard and potentially could leave a trail of toxic chemicals on the field. If nothing else, should you start dragging your battery around by the leads behind your robot, several people will be pointing and laughing. At some point, all robots will tip over, so gravity alone cannot hold in the battery. There are large tywraps available that have a release locking mechanism, however there is no substitute for a wide piece of velcro, belt or mechanical fastening system to keep the battery in place.
Finally, as I mentioned all robot current passes through the battery (primary) wiring. This path includes the breaker, and the input to the Power Distribution board. This path should have the least amount of series resistance as you can manage. Make wire runs short and centered in the robot. Most often, place the PD in the center of your high current loads and position the battery and breaker as needed to keep the run short and provide COG protection.
