Effects of Electrical Components Dropping

[nadya1196]

Hey,

My team was wondering what effects would the electrical components have if they were on a robot that was dropped from a height of approximately 6 inches? We are talking about specifically the jaguars, cRIO, power distribution board, radio, and digital sidecar (and the battery). Thanks ahead of time!

[MrForbes]

I'd worry about the battery long before I'd worry about those other parts.

[nadya1196]

So would this have any effect to the internal parts of the battery?

[MrForbes]

Yes, dropping can break things inside the battery.

[nadya1196]

Okay, but since there would be damage to the components, is there a good way to protect them to prevent this from happening? (For example, if we were to use a material to cushion the components, what type of material would be good to use, etc.?)

[EricVanWyk]

Are you planning on doing this as part of a strategy, or did you accidentally drop it and wondering if you can "trust" the components?

Please be nice to the electronics, and they will be nice to you.

[dtengineering]

The "bumps" in 2010 should have served as a good testing ground. Machines like ours http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/photos/35517 could almost "get air" off the 18" bumps, resulting in impacts similar to a 6" drop.

We did this repeatedly, in competition and testing, to the point where we broke the spokes on one of the AM wheels.

The electronics board was supported by an inch of closed cell foam, and the battery was surrounded by an inch of foam as well.

All of our electrical systems still function just fine... the robot has actually been lent out to a school planning to start a new FRC team so they can get some practice in.

Jason

[StevenB]

The cRIO can take quite a bit of abuse. The other stuff, not as much - but thousands of those components have survived thousands of rough matches, so they're not fragile, either.

To state the obvious, don't abuse electronic components as part of your strategy or design. Use stiff foam or rubber to shock-mount things when common sense suggests that you do, but you don't have to be paranoid either.

[Sparks333]

The largest thing you have to worry about with electronics and high-g situations isn't really the components themselves, but board deflection - it's a good way to break solder joints and traces. Mounting your stuff on a nice, stiff backplate with vibration-dampening mounts with many points of contact between the board and the support structure will go a long way towards preventing accidental breakage.

Luck,

Sparks