New AM Shrink Tube Solder

[Ari423]

I'm wondering what CD's opinions are of the new soldering heat shrink tubes that AndyMark just released. They require no soldering skill, only a heat gun and these (or these)heat-shrink tubes.

In my opinion, learning how to solder is an invaluable skill that students can learn to do well through FIRST and carry on with them into their careers. I would say that, for most of the robot, these aren't necessary and it will be cheaper and a better learning experience to solder and heat-shrink by hand. I do think this is a great option for those quick electrical modifications between matches where you don't want to have to wait for a soldering gun to heat up and then have to squeeze inside the robot to solder two wires. It just takes ~30 seconds with a heat gun, which heats up almost instantly.

What do you think?

[JR0405]

I'm wondering if a 12 AWG version will be released

[cadandcookies]

I'll support most things that make robotics programs more accessible. This is certainly one of those things.

Edit: This quite clearly isn't a magical replacement for all forms of soldering. Even if it were, I'd still support it, because I have seen so many robots fail on the field due to faulty wiring. Anything that makes it easier for students/teams to make robust connections should be encouraged.

[jajabinx124]

I agree that learning how to solder and heat-shrink by hand is a good skill to have, but this can make life easier in some cases. (like during situations where you need to make a quick swap, etc.) I like it.

[Billfred]

We also released two things:

1) This how-to video so you can see the process for yourself.

2) This rather satisfying GIF of the solder melting in:

[Sperkowsky]

When I saw these I immediately put them on our shopping list. Our electrical team is more than capable of soldering. The lead even does chip repair in his free time, but having these look like they could be a life safer for fast repairs at competitions.

[Ernst]

I won't pass too much judgement on these until I try them or see other people try them, but I'm skeptical. I don't understand what advantages these would have over a butt connector. If anything, I would think crimping on a butt connector would be even quicker and offer a better physical and electrical connection, all for less money.

Edit: Huh, I guess I've just never heard of these and they're available elsewhere under a few different names, including in different sizes. Some market them as waterproof and for marine or automotive applications. Neat.

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by Ernst

I won't pass too much judgement on these until I try them or see other people try them, but I'm skeptical. I don't understand what advantages these would have over a butt connector. If anything, I would think crimping on a butt connector would be even quicker and offer a better physical and electrical connection, all for less money.

+several

Whenever I buy a generic package of automotive crimps, the butt splices always seem to live on past everything else. Why do we really need these at all, unless we have runs longer than a spool of wire?

In any case, most of our robotics soldering involves a PC board and/or a component, and is not wire-to-wire. The relatively small number of wire-to-wire solder joints I have been part of over the years have involved things where appearance more important than substance (e.g. Christmas Door Decorations, and an illuminated 8+8+carry adder for one of Gixxy's high school projects), and most of those have been solder joints of 3 wires, not just 2. On a robot, crimping or a 3 position lever nut or a Power Pole was regularly a better solution than solder.

[mman1506]

Anything that reduces the chance teams will show up with screw terminals or wire nuts for all their connections is a good thing in my books.

[electroken]

We've used them for making PWM Y-cables many times and they have served us well. The finished splices are stronger than the wire at either end. We have never tried them on wire larger than 22 AWG.

They do require a lot of heat to melt the solder cylinder within, much more than most wire insulation can tolerate, so some care is needed to avoid damaging the wire insulation.

[ahartnet]

Originally Posted by electroken

They do require a lot of heat to melt the solder cylinder within, much more than most wire insulation can tolerate, so some care is needed to avoid damaging the wire insulation.

I've used them at my day job (NASA). They definitely do require more heat than many other things that require a heat gun.

My use cases have been when we need to solder a wire to a braided shield (surrounding the wires). I do not know if that is the main purpose of them or not, but soldering a wire to a shield can be either tricky or difficult to provide a strong mechanical connection.

I agree with the other sentiments expressed here - if it is able to help those teams that may not have someone to teach them how to solder - great! Do I think this is particularly helpful in FRC (as opposed to butt splices, levernuts, andersons, or soldering) - eh I won't be pushing to move to these instead, but I won't deem it a poor decision by those that do.

This is what I see:
-Advantage over levernuts: cheaper
-Advantage over butt splices: stronger connection and more obvious that it's completed (crimping done by inexperienced people are likely to either crimp the wrong place, or not crimp hard enough). It is obvious (and like bilfred said - satisfying - to see the solder melt
-Advantage over Andersons: cheaper (probably, I haven't confirmed), more permanent, and same crimp issues noted before
-advantage over soldering: probably quicker, requires less experience

-disadvantage over levernuts: takes longer, requires more tools than a wire stripper (or sharp edge), requires electrical power (or battery powered heat gun)
-disadvantage over butt splices: more expensive, requires electrical power (or battery powered heat gun)
-disadvantage over andersons: can't disconnect
-disadvantage over soldering: more expensive, requires a decent check of wire on both ends (i.e. - there are some situations you can only solder to connect wires)

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by Ernst

I won't pass too much judgement on these until I try them or see other people try them, but I'm skeptical. I don't understand what advantages these would have over a butt connector. If anything, I would think crimping on a butt connector would be even quicker and offer a better physical and electrical connection, all for less money.

Edit: Huh, I guess I've just never heard of these and they're available elsewhere under a few different names, including in different sizes. Some market them as waterproof and for marine or automotive applications. Neat.

They have been around for many years in a couple of different forms. They are much more likely to create a strong mechanical and electrical connection than a standard vinyl insulated crimp connector. In fact Ford and GM require a version that includes a crimp section as well as the solder and adhesive for warranty repairs in specific circuits and locations. So that type of connector is well proven in industry.

[bobbysq]

I can't see it being too useful for our team (already bought some bulk levernuts), but it seems cool for people wanting a more permanent way to patch together cables quickly.

Also, there definitely needs to be a yellow version for 12AWG, so that people can use it for motor wires.

[Fusion_Clint]

It looks pretty neat, I will most likely get some for my boat connections.

For FRC we have made a complete transition to the Anderson Powerpole series of connectors this season.

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Billfred

We also released two things:

1) This how-to video so you can see the process for yourself.
...

Another recommended process includes mechanically interleaving strands of the two wires to be joined. Less risk of cold joint.