Wire preference - stranded or solid

[sanddrag]

I cannot think of a single instance in an FRC robot where solid wire would be preferred, unless it was wire-wrap-wire on a hand-built prototype sensor circuit or something of the sort.

[MrForbes]

Solid wire is commonly used in houses. Houses don't usually move, so it works fine. But robots move, and the flexing and vibration could lead to the wire breaking eventually.

[Bryan Herbst]

I would highly recommend sticking with stranded.

A parent kindly donated some solid stranded wire left over from a housing project last year. It is very difficult to work with, especially if you are at the stage during which you are moving electronics around.

Our crimps (unsoldered) didn't stay on very well either.

[kstl99]

I am glad to see that all are agreeing with stranded. Solid can break with vibration, metal fatigue I believe it is called. Also, screw and crimp terminations work much better with stranded, which is why you should not tin wires before crimping or using in a screw terminal.

Lastly, 90 degree bends with wire are a bad thing. They can cause the wire to crack inside. Most wire has a minimum bend radius as part of its specs. Better to loop into a connection if possible, avoiding stress on the connection.