Mounting electronics

[wilful]

This year team 766 is rebuilding our robot for Cal Games with a 1/16 in. aluminum belly-pan to solve our wiring issue and we were wondering how other teams mount electronics to their robot's belly-pan so they can go over the barrier without issues.

[R.C.]

We mount our electronics to the belly pan similar to what 254/973/968/1477/1538 have done the last couple years. We get 1/8" aluminum and pocket it. Then tap it and mount our electronics to the pan.

You could probably rivet your electronics down. I wouldn't tap to that thin of a pan.

Are you water/laser cutting it? Can you go thicker and pocket?

-RC

[ttldomination]

One thing that some people recommended (and I look forward to trying) is double sided tape. Some of that heavy duty stuff like this.

Other than that, it's just screws and nuts.

- Sunny G.

[DonRotolo]

We use Velcro and 1/16" lexan. Nice being able to see through from beneath, less chance for sharp edges to conduct electricity, and Velcro makes repairs a snap - we leave an extra few inches of wire, and just pull the offending component to where it's easier to work on.

[R.C.]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

One thing that some people recommended (and I look forward to trying) is double sided tape. Some of that heavy duty stuff like this.

Other than that, it's just screws and nuts.

- Sunny G.

VHB is some really strong stuff. We use it as much as possible. Reduces weight and its quick to apply. Note: do not use on parts you are going to be removing frequently.

-RC

[dtengineering]

Why not use thin baltic birch plywood? Wood is about 1/3 the density of aluminum, so you can replace 1/8" aluminum with 1/4" ply and still save weight. If you have to drill an extra mounting hole in the wood, you don't have to worry about conductive shavings getting in your electronics, and you end up with a non-conductive platform, in the event anything comes loose.

As for mounting the electronics, I prefer to use #8-32 nylon machine screws and nuts. We saved over one pound by switching from metal to nylon, and gained the added benefit of having non-conductive connectors.

I'd stay away from the double-sided tape... it works... but any tape sticky enough to actually hold your electronics is likely to be a pain to take apart, or at least leave a mess of tape to clean up when you are done.

Jason

[F22Rapture]

This year we mounted ours on Lexan using velcro and plastic zipties like so.

[IndySam]

Zip-ties work great for us, or bar-locks for old time CDers.

[z_beeblebrox]

Heavy duty Velcro is amazing for mounting electronics. They come of when you want them to and don't when you don't. It's also easy to change the mounting configuration.

[Jon Stratis]

Another option I haven't seen here is to use button-head bolts. Stick the bolt in from the bottom, slide the components over it, then put the nut on. This way, the barrier can slide over the bolt head easily, instead of getting caught on a typical socket head.

[roystur44]

We mount our components using a Pem standoff, nylon allen head screw, unthreaded shoulder spacer with flange. All components are placed using CAD into the belly pan model. We extrude the mounting holes from the components into the belly pan. Then the belly pan is punched. Our belly pan is actually the frame of our chassis. After forming the belly pan we press in the standoffs. To mount the components we screw the parts down using a nylon screw and the plastic washer. Every part is isolated from the metal frame. We cut off the end of the screw to make a flush surface on the bottom.

Here's a picture.


https://picasaweb.google.com/1177698...06907256715874