Team 1619's 2015 Electrical Panel

[Pretzel]

Originally Posted by wilsonmw04

Greetings,
what crimps are you using for the PDB connection? also what crimpers are you using?

I can double check on the exact model of crimps/crimpers we use, but the crimp connectors we have are very similar to those found at http://www.amazon.com/Ga-Orange-Insu...Crimp+ferrules, except in yellow. We also have a number of different sizes in various colors that we use for the CAN bus wires to the RoboRIO and PDB, as well as for the smaller power wires that connect to the PDB and VRM.

Our crimpers look identical to those found at http://www.amazon.com/Crimpers-Ferru...errule+crimper, but I can double check that the make and model are the same when I return to the shop tomorrow evening.

One thing we found about our crimpers is that, to allow the 12 gauge ferrule to fit into the PDB we have to crimp them twice, flipping the ferrule 180* in the crimper before crimping again. On larger gauge ferrules such as these, it crimps the tube into a rectangular shape with two flanges protruding from opposing sides of the rectangle. These flanges that are left prevent the ferrule from slipping cleanly into the PDB. By flipping the ferrule 180* and crimping a second time, the flanges are folded over flat against the sides of the ferrule so that it fits into the PDB smoothly.

We prefer to use ferrules as it prevents the wires from fraying, especially during removal from and reinsertion into the PDB, and decreases the likelihood of stray wire stands separating from the stripped portion of the wire and falling into the rest of the electrical panel. It mainly serves to keep the wires that are inserted into the PDB in a neat bundle that's much easier to work with than wires that have merely been twisted before insertion.