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FRC Team 2949 PWNAGE would like to present its new battery cart. Designed in the summer/fall of 2011, we just finished building it right at the end of January. It currently holds 12 batteries and has 2 3-Bank Chargers (sold by Andymark) and 3 1 Bank chargers. When the team raises more money, we will be switching out the 3 1-Bank chargers for 2 more 3-Bank Chargers. The Framing is made out of 80/20, and the sides are made out of ABS Plastic Sheets, also sold by Andymark. The lid, base plate, and back plate are all sheet metal. The wheels are spare wheels we had from a Lista Workbench. There are 2 Fixed wheels and 2 caster wheels. All of the wheels are Colson 6" wheels. Some features:
-The charger clips are fixed on a plate in the middle that allows for plugging in batteries easily.
-The middle section behind the plate allows room for the wiring, making it easier to organize and also allows room for a power-strip. An opening in the top allows for the power-strip cord to come out.
-The lid is held on with 4 thumbscrews. When the lid is taken off and the cart stood upright, the lid can be attached the same way on the back, covering the wheels. This allows for a smaller footprint in the pits.
-The handle sits in slots at the end of the cart. It is held in the slots with 2 pins. It can be taken out and stored inside the lid when the cart is upright.
-Decals (Team number, name, and logo) will be added soon.
We will be using this at all future events, including KC Regional and the Midwest Regional.
Any Comments or questions are greatly appreciated!
Good luck this season!
07-02-2012 21:31
pwnageNick
Battery cart with the lid and handle in place. Lid attaches to the cart frame with 4 thumb screws for easy removal. When the lid is taken off and the cart is standing up, the lid can be attached on the backside over the wheels and re-attach with the same 4 thumb screws.

Battery cart lying down with lid and handle seperated (top right). The handle when taken off can be stored inside the lid, sitting on 2 pieces of 80/20 extrusion that is on the lid frame.

Battery cart standing up (Pit position) with the lid and handle on the left. Spill kit will be kept right under the 3-Bank chargers and DeWalt/Drill chargers will be somewhere (TBD).

Underside/Backside of the battery Cart on left. 2 Casters with brakes on the top, 2 Fixed wheels on the bottom. All wheels are 6" Colson wheels taken off of a Lista work-table.

Battery wire clip in hand, charger clip attached to plate. All charger clips are mounted to the cart allowing for easy plug in. All of the batteries sit a ~10 degree slant while in the slots.
Sorry for the long post, but figured I would get all of the information about it out now rather then later.
Let us know what you think!
-Nick
07-02-2012 21:39
Steven DonowWow, that's a really nice cart and looks very efficient.
07-02-2012 21:47
PAR_WIG1350Well, I'm jealous. The only issue I can see is that the cover and the casters will take up valuable pit space. Are there any plans to use that void for anything to reclaim the lost space?
07-02-2012 21:54
Bill_BI can only begin to express my envy about your energy supply strategy. This is a gem for sure. I think the 80/20 people will join the rest of us in our desire to see construction details. There was a famous supercomputer, the Cray, that had its power supplies arranged radially around the perimeter of the CPU. There were seat cushions on them. I mention this as it is quite possibly the only way you could improve this cart. Oh we could go radical with a Droid interface that can report the status of each battery and turn on an indicator light next to the battery suggested for use in the next match. While you're at it a Wi-Fi hotspot? Home page to NASA select or the Blue Alliance on a built-in screen?
Siiiiigh......
The only thing I noticed was that the pins holding the handle in place stick out the back. (I think) If they do, it would be an exposure to the handler's shins that could be reduced by making the pin holes go side-to-side in the bracket holes. I know, big deal, right? I'm going to color this whole post green for envy. thanks for sharing.
07-02-2012 22:00
CalTranThat is one intense battery cart...I think all that could make this better would be a touch screen interface or a projector for matches from other regionals! Very nice
Now we gotta get started on ours...
07-02-2012 22:02
JeffyI'm scared to see what happens if you engineer a robot as well as the cart is engineered. Well done. Now I'm eagerly awaiting a release of the 2012 robot.
08-02-2012 13:16
pwnageNick| Well, I'm jealous. The only issue I can see is that the cover and the casters will take up valuable pit space. Are there any plans to use that void for anything to reclaim the lost space? |
| I can only begin to express my envy about your energy supply strategy. This is a gem for sure. I think the 80/20 people will join the rest of us in our desire to see construction details. |
| There was a famous supercomputer, the Cray, that had its power supplies arranged radially around the perimeter of the CPU. There were seat cushions on them. I mention this as it is quite possibly the only way you could improve this cart. |
). Unfortunately we went in another direction.| Oh we could go radical with a Droid interface that can report the status of each battery and turn on an indicator light next to the battery suggested for use in the next match. While you're at it a Wi-Fi hotspot? Home page to NASA select or the Blue Alliance on a built-in screen? |
| The only thing I noticed was that the pins holding the handle in place stick out the back. (I think) If they do, it would be an exposure to the handler's shins that could be reduced by making the pin holes go side-to-side in the bracket holes. I know, big deal, right? I'm going to color this whole post green for envy. thanks for sharing. |
| That is one intense battery cart...I think all that could make this better would be a touch screen interface or a projector for matches from other regionals! Very nice Now we gotta get started on ours... |
| I'm scared to see what happens if you engineer a robot as well as the cart is engineered. Well done. Now I'm eagerly awaiting a release of the 2012 robot. |
08-02-2012 16:37
CalTranThe more I read about this, the more time I'm going to spend over at your pit at GKC taking a look at this beauty.
27-02-2012 13:26
Johnny_5Any chance we could get some dimensions or the plans that you used for this charging station? We just want to have something to base our designs off of.
27-02-2012 14:50
DampRobotWow! A really slick charging station! Someone on my team is working on one. Ours, though looks like it was build by a 5 year old our of the kit of parts...
27-02-2012 15:26
pwnageNickWe can post a lot more information after this weekend. We're pretty busy preparing for GKC, but next week we'll have time to provide some more information. Thanks for your interest!
-Nick