A Tip for the PDB

[Pavan Dave]

Here is a tip that I believe most teams would enjoy when it comes to the power distribution block.

Kris Verdeyen's Post

Originally Posted by Kris Verdeyen

We went through a process of:

1. Removing the crappy slotted screws from the PDB.
2. Turning down nice caphead allen screws on the lathe so that they'd fit in the plastic housing.
3. Crimping and soldering on the end of each power wire an Anderson Power Pole pin.
4. Sanding and bending the pin slightly to become a hook that will fit flat into the PDB.
5. Tightening down the nice new capheads on top of the modified APP pins.
6. Locktite the screws from the side of each PDB section.
7. Tape the part of the APP connector that sticks out from the PDB

This process took an entire fixit window to complete, and although it was tedious and slow, we had not a single problem at the championship, after constantly fixing it at both of our regionals.

[MrForbes]

I recall seeing another post on the subject that was more like what we did, and we had no problems with the PDB wiring:

1. Strip the wire to the recommended length.

2. Tighten the set screw to the recommended torque.

It's not rocket science....really....

[DonRotolo]

We did not have any problems at all last year, and we went to 2 regionals and Atlanta.

We did use a torque screwdriver though.

Don

[ubermeister]

This process does seem like overkill a bit, but probably has great results.

Last year our main battery wire came out during a match, but we had no further problems after tightening all the screws, and re-tightening after every match.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Please remember that you may not modify the terminal block other than removing the unused sections and cutting the jumper to length.

What you should do:
Strip the wire to expose 5/8" yes that is long but it is the specified length.
Insert 1 #6 only in a terminal.
Tighten the screws and pull on the wire to make sure you have fully inserted same.
Secure wire with a tywrap near the terminal block.
Use the center block to connect to the power input so that current is split by the jumper and not carrying full robot current.
Check the manufacturer's website for further info.

What you should never do:
strip less than 5/8", 1/4" is a guaranteed failure.
Insert more than 1 #6 wire in each terminal.
Tin the wire before insertion.
Fail to insert wire until it comes to the designed in mechanical stop.
Attempt to reinsert a wire before fully unthreading the screw and checking for clearance in the terminal block.
Use a block that is damaged or has melted.