24-03-2013 19:13

theawesome1730

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Very nice. May I ask how you manage PWM lengths? Are they custom made or do you just hide the extra cable very well?

24-03-2013 19:35

connor.worley

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Custom-made. We estimate the lengths with about 1" extra when we're laying out the cables, and then cut to exact length when we terminate them.

24-03-2013 20:40

jp1247

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Hehe, I like the battery box filled with several hundred dollars worth of modules

24-03-2013 22:04

Aidan S.

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

This is very impressive, Great job! How did you guys manage labelling wires?

24-03-2013 22:20

Iaquinto.Joe

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Good documentation and little changes helps keep labeling unnecessary. Unfortunately we haven't mastered this technique yet

24-03-2013 22:49

Aidan S.

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

I agree that good documentation is key, but even with that labelling is a necessity. It eliminates the risk of a mistake being made if a component has to be swapped. From experience, I can say that having labels at either end of our wires made my life a whole lot easier at competitions when I was on my team's pit crew.

24-03-2013 22:52

connor.worley

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Since everything is cut to length and zip-tied down near its relevant component, it's pretty hard to accidentally swap in the wrong cable. We've never had a cable fail.

24-03-2013 23:24

theawesome1730

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Doesn't mean they won't. On our practice robot we had a PWM short to 12 volts and it caught fire. It killed a victor, the PWM and the sidecar. Had our PWMs not been labeled a 5 minutes swap could have taken a very long time

Edit:Moral of the story: Label everything! Especially the little cables to festos. When you have 6 festos and 2 breakouts things get real hairy real fast if they aren't labeled

25-03-2013 00:03

shawnliner

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

How do you terminate the PWM's? Is there a special tool for that?

25-03-2013 00:05

connor.worley

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Yep, we use it and love it.

25-03-2013 00:17

kstl99

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Awesome job! The neatness of the wiring is great. Not everyone understands the vaue of it but in the real (working) world where someone is paying for a wiring job that is what they want to see. One sugestion: we have started using wire duct, McMaster Carr P/N 75835K74. It takes up some space but it makes wiring and changing soooo much easier. It eliminates the need for custom PWM cables. I would also highly recommend labeling the wires. Our labels are determined by the line number that they start at on our schematic so they can be easily found there. This is helpful also when you have some components far away from the electrical panel.

One question: How are you isolating the C-Rio? We use Lexan but yous seams to be mounted on aluminum.

25-03-2013 00:24

Kara_Walker

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Your wiring is awesome! Even when we spent a good week planning our board and wire routing it still wasn't that neat and we ended up with bundled wires. The metal you used for the board looks like a nice alternative to polycarb and having to drill holes.

25-03-2013 01:21

kiettyyyy

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

We use 1/16" rubber adhesive backed rubber sheet. It's underneath the cRIO.

25-03-2013 01:51

kiettyyyy

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

I'm not a huge fan of labeling where it isn't necessary, especially in our application.

As Connor mentioned, cables are neatly ziptied and cut to length.

At the San Diego Regional, we happened to have a metal shaving short out our digital side car, meriting a complete replacement. The digital sidecar was replaced and tested in under 2 minutes. Not many teams can replace a fully loaded DSC in that time even if it were labeled.

It's just personal preference.

25-03-2013 05:24

ohrly?

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

I count 12 motor controllers, but there are only 10 PWMs in the digital sidecar. Are you running two controllers from the same PWM?

I love the neatness. How do you keep it neat when you use light sensors and solenoids?

25-03-2013 12:25

Alan Anderson

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Two PWM signals each go to two speed controllers. You can see the Y-splices where the cables round the corner to the Talons with fans. Those are obviously intended for the drive motors.

The motor wiring, control system component power, and heavy battery connections are also missing. I'd enjoy seeing how they were kept from detracting from the neatness. Would you mind if I came over and took a look at Championship? (Congratulations on another San Diego Regional Chairman's Award, by the way.)

25-03-2013 16:49

connor.worley

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

I'll try to get a photo from our competition robot this weekend. The solenoids are tricked to get right.

Please, feel free to take a look. Things do get more crowded, but overall, the board is still neat.

27-03-2013 13:37

ToddF

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

What 1/16" rubber adhesive backed rubber sheet do you use? We bought a roll of Bump-On from McMaster-Carr this season, and the stuff costs a fortune.

27-03-2013 15:26

Jon Jack

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

The rubber isn't 1/16" thick. It's a 1/32" thick sheet of adhesive backed silicone rubber. The McMaster part number is 8622K41. Apply the adhesive side to the bottom of the cRIO chassis so that it travels with the cRIO. We covered the bottom of both of our 4-slot cRIOs and still had a lot left over.

30-03-2013 20:53

CENTURION

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

Any chance you could post a pic of the finished board?

I'll probably be by at Championship to check it out anyway, but I'd like to show it to my team as an example of proper wiring. (Our electronics boards tend to end up looking like a bowl of multi-colored spaghetti)

31-03-2013 15:55

GarrettF2395

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

What type of aluminum are you using for your board? Is there a specific reason for that shape of lightening patern?

This makes me cry a little inside, because compared to our electronics board, this is perfection...

31-03-2013 16:27

MichaelBick

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

My guess is 6061. There isn't much reason to do it in anything else. The lightening pattern is something a lot of west coast teams use. It makes it really easy to route wires.

31-03-2013 16:54

Cory

Re: pic: 1538 Wiring 2/4/2013

The belly pan/lightening pattern is actually inspired by 233 who used it long before 2009 when 254 and 968 started doing the same thing.