Screws, Tape, and other Electronic securities

[CalTran]

Originally Posted by Botwoon

We use double-sided tape to secure electronics much of the time, and we got ahold of a few different kinds of VHB tape this year. The one used in the below picture wasn't the type composed of foam, it's extremely thin and transparent. I haven't found a link to it yet.



The Crio was taped to the crossbar on the underside of the robot. The bar was pocketed and the remaining material was only slightly narrower than the width of the tape (about 3/4 of an inch). If you look at the pattern visible beside the Crio, you can probably estimate the total amount of tape we used. In our testing before the final mounting, it took a significant amount of force to break the bond even without even scuffing the anodized finish of the bar. It gave us no problems through the entirety of the season and the weekend in New Hampshire.

I asked in a previous thread about how a team uses "VHB" tape and found a curious answer. This spurred my interest and, being a post Head of Electrical for my team, got me wondering about how other teams secure their electronics.

For as long as I can remember, our team has used the screw holes in the motor controllers and other various electronics, save for the d-Link. The d-Link we Velcro-ed to the robot due to the necessity to remove it every now and again. As far as mounting them, we've gone through everything from wood to polycarb to polyethylene (this year).

Thoughts, comments, critiques on our practices?