Battery mounting

[Phoenix Spud]

How does your team mount your battery? We know that we are going to mount it horizontally, and Velcro will (most likely) be used as a secondary holding device. But we are having trouble deciding how to secure the battery in the first place. (Pun not intended... ) If you could provide CAD/pictures that would be even better.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Phoenix,
Some teams actually make a battery box or tray that the battery slips into. Ours holds the battery secure and has a door to hold it in place. Angle aluminum works well to outline the battery to keep it from slipping around and a heavy belt with quick release buckle works well. Some team even use a large wire tie or two and sacrifice them each match.

[RMS11]

Sorry no pic, but last year we made a small tray for the battery out of aluminum angle to set the battery in. Then, we molded a sheet of lexsand around the battery using a heat gun. We bolted that on one side and on the other we used pushpins. To remove, we just pulled the two pins and flipped the cover up over and pulled the battery out. It worked great and we are going to use a similar system this year.

[Chris is me]

Last year on 1714 I made a little battery box out of Lexan that went around the lower third of the battery vertically. A piece of surgical tubing was attached to a frame member above the battery and routed under the cabling and hooked around a peg attached to the battery box. As good a method as any. I'll look and see if I have any pictures.

This year, I'm not exactly sure what 2791 is doing, I just know it'll be low on the robot and mounted to the frame. If your battery comes out, it's game over, so the more security the better. If you can't afford the weight for an enclosure for part of the battery (one made from 1/4" lexan with weight reduction was about a pound), then you should probably drill a few holes higher up in your chassis.

[kE7JLM]

Here is our current battery mount -
http://picasaweb.google.com/Falcon.M...96037253971554

There will be a upper frame on it, we will have a swinging arm that will latch down on the battery with a bicycle quick release clamp that are use on some bikes. Works Great, and BTW that is fiberglass, not metal.

We put it as low as we could go, it is off to the rear of the robot but the weight of the compressor is on the opposite end. Distributing the weight evenly will be vital to a good omnidirectional drive system.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

John,
Had you intended that all those pictures would be available for view or just the one for the battery?

[IndySam]

AndyMark sells this from eStop Robotics.

http://www.andymark.biz/am-0477.html

[kE7JLM]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

John,
Had you intended that all those pictures would be available for view or just the one for the battery?

Our team is very transparent, no secrets or teasers. We feel that giving the info out makes the competition as a whole much stronger, in turn making it much more enjoyable. We post videos and pic as much as possible. So please look at all of them. Week 1,2,3, and soon to come, 4. Thanks

[Al Skierkiewicz]

In that case nice job. I love seeing all the students involved and the robot coming together. Good Luck you guys.

[Phoenix Spud]

Thanks everyone. It was great to post last night, and know that in the morning I would have an answer. Sometimes, the time difference helps me sleep at night, knowing that CD will have an answer once I wake up!!!