Using Anderson PowerPoles

[ksafin]

Our team decided to get Anderson PowerPoles this year to improve on our electric wiring and organization.

I wanted to get the opinion of other teams who have used APP's in the past about where best and how best to utilize them, IE:

Crimping to end of motor wires?
Crimping straight to motor controllers?
Crimping to a small wire right out of PDB outlets?

Just a few ideas; I'd like to hear how you use them and maybe pictures if you can.

[Steven Donow]

Originally Posted by ksafin

Our team decided to get Anderson PowerPoles this year to improve on our electric wiring and organization.

I wanted to get the opinion of other teams who have used APP's in the past about where best and how best to utilize them, IE:

Crimping to end of motor wires?
Crimping straight to motor controllers?
Crimping to a small wire right out of PDB outlets?

Just a few ideas; I'd like to hear how you use them and maybe pictures if you can.

We plan on using them this year, and odds are, we're probably crimping them right to the end of the motor wires. IMO, the two most likely things to fail (that APPs could be used with) would be speed controllers and motors. If a speed controller fails, all you need to do is to unscrew terminals, remove the controller, and replace it. If a motor fails, no matter what you have to take the motors out, so it's easier to just unplug the APPs then having to replace the wire/tape it back onto the motor/solder it back on to the motor.

[androb4]

We have not used these yet but plan on doing so soon. I think we will be crimping them on every (current legal) motor in our bins, and make adapters for motors with connecters like FPs and just use the APP as our standard connector; making it easy to mix and match different motors easily.

[Jon Stratis]

I've seen teams use them on the ends of motors... It can be pretty useful if you have to swap out a motor between matches.

We use them as an interface between any removable component. For example, the entire electrical board can be unplugged from the robot pretty quickly. Last year, our shooter was removable, so we had additional plugs between the shooter and the rest of the robot.

[protoserge]

Double check the amperage rating if attaching to your CIMs before buying/crimping.

They are very helpful, as others have noted. You can secure the APP connecting the two halves of the circuit together with a zip tie if you are afraid they might come undone (highly unlikely).

[Dale]

We tend to also use them so that the control systems folks can continue wiring things without being in the way of the mechanical people. You can wire your whole control board, put connectors on the end of the motors, and them snap the whole thing together at the end jiffy quick.

On the flip side of the coin the connectors are a major source of failure if not done properly. Make sure you give each wire a good tug after it's assembled. If the wire comes out ... well it shouldn't have. We've had more failures due to improperly crimped or assembled connectors than we have ANY other component in the electrical system.

Be sure to get the proper crimp tool for the connectors.

[iambujo]

We use them for all motor connections. This will be our second or third year using them. They make a huge difference for reliability, parts replacement and cleanliness. For 2729, they are a must.

[Mr. Lim]

We crimp APPs to every motor on our robot. We have a standard pigtail length, and zip tie the APPs + pigtails in such a way to provide strain relief.

This makes swapping out failed motors very straightforward, and ensures all our spare motors will always fit, without having to rewire anything.

We do the same with our sensors by putting PWM connectors on a standard pigtail length.

At the speed controller, we do not use APPs. Instead we use standard crimp quick-disconnects in combination with these:

http://www.digikey.ca/product-search...yWords=42095-1

They make swapping out failed speed controllers a breeze - but we also usually mount one spare speed controller of each type on the board. These disconnects also make swapping a motor over to a spare motor controller very easy. We keep a few quick disconnect extension cables handy - male on one end, female on the other. In a pinch we can move a motor from a failed motor controller to the spare, and make a quick code change.

After doing this for a few years, it also makes prototyping go smoother, because all your motors and sensors a plug and play!

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I should have added that for extra added protection we follow the crimp with solder. Yeah it is sort of like suspenders and a belt.

[ksafin]

Do any of you have pictures of your APP setups and uses?

[Mr. Lim]

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/img...e46e104b_l.jpg

But you've seen this already...

APPs are crimped and ziptied to 6 of 7 CIMs pictured above.

[AllenGregoryIV]

We used them everywhere last year. There is a picture of our speed controller board in this blog post.

We're going to continue using them for motors but will be using the method that Mr. Lim and Al have suggested for speedcontrollers and other wiring. Standard pigtails and strain reliefs are very important for the motor wires. Also make some Anderson extension cables and also a Large (SB50 Battery) Anderson to Powerpole converter cable. We use the converter for quick motor tests (safer than alligator clips) and also for hooking up batteries to our new CBA (Battery analyzer)

[Jon Stratis]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

I should have added that for extra added protection we follow the crimp with solder. Yeah it is sort of like suspenders and a belt.

We do this as well. In fact, we solder every connector on the robot, after crimping. It's just too easy to get a bad crimp and thus a loose wire.

[JDL]

I personally hate when people go all quick connect happy. Motors make sense, so do things on removable parts of the robot, like an arm with motor(s), switches, sensors, that can be easily removed for repairs, but every circuit seems like overkill.

[djdaugherty]

We started using Anderson PowerPole connectors last year and we love them. We purchased the crimp tool from West Mountain Radio. Does anyone else have the problem of the crimped end getting stuck in the crimper? We need to pry each one out. Any suggestions?