Doe syour robot’s battery have to be concealed? or do just the wires have to be?
Thanks!
~Chris Reynolds, and Team 1259
what do you mean concealed? no you dont have to have it covered as to be not seeable. and it has to be secured securely. and the terminals must be electrical taped or shrinkwrapped. as long as it is safe, there arent very many rules concerning how the battery is placed in the robot if there are any.
Chris,
try to be VERY SPECIFIC in your question.
I believe you are inferring about “concealment” of the battery during SHIPPING, versus the battery location during the tournament.
The rule book is very explicit about placing the battery in a “covered compartment” during shipping with proper labels. See rule book 6.2
http://www2.usfirst.org/2005comp/Section_6_Robot_Transportation.pdf
What I meant to say was… Does your robot’s battery have to be completely covered when you are competing? If we want it to be on the exterior (for whatever reason) does it have to have a box around it?
Thanks!
~Chris Reynolds, and Team 1259
There is no rule that specifically says your battery must be concealed (or, not one that I could find).
However, the forces involved when two robots collide are probably high enough to damage or crack the battery case. This would be a very hazardous and bad situation.
For that reason, I would strongly advise you to place your battery in such a way as if another robot runs into you, it would be difficult/impossible for it to make direct contact with your battery. It is not necessary to have the battery in a ‘battery box’, simply that it is not exposed to the playing field.
-Andy A.
If you really have a need to put the battery on the outside of your robot then the best idea would probably to put a piece of lexan or some type of durable material between the hostile world and your Robot heart… if you crack that baby you are done for… so is the playing field… toodles!
Also, make sure that an appendage can’t just come in and hook the terminals out… We had that happen one match two years ago, not pretty.
First of all, no - there’s no rule that says your battery had to be concealed when it’s on the robot.
If, for some reason, you are thinking about putting the battery on the outside of the robot … I’d think again. Like Andy A. said, one hard hit and it could get cracked or fall off. Placing the battery inside the robot chassis does take up a lot of space, but it protects the battery a heck of a lot better (assuming it’s strapped down and all - not just thrown in there.)
This is what 93 has been doing for as long as I’ve been associated with the team. Check this out:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v427/firstae2004/FIRST/battery.jpg
That’s the bare-bones of TOBOR V (2002.) The battery sits, on it’s side, on a piece of polycarb, swiss-cheesed for weight. Two small pieces of polycarb are glued on the first piece, so they sit on either side of the battery, when it’s in. There is just enough room for the battery to fit in between these pieces … it’s a pretty snug fit. To keep everything in place, a single buckle-strap goes from “top to bottom” and is tightened, once the buckle is … buckled. Of course, once the battery is connected, the connection is zip-tied for security.
It’s simple, easy to make, pretty light-weight, and your battery won’t fall out! 
i guess this thread would be a good place for this question, what do we do about old batteries this year? It says we need to ship them in the original containers, is there anything to do about this if you don’t have the original case?
All teams are to use the batteries that came in the kit of parts - and these batteries have their original cases.
Not only that, but by putting it on the inside of the bot on the very bottom you help lower your CG, which is going to be huge in this game
i’m talking about extra batteries saved up from years past
Chris,
The battery needs to be protected from damage due to collision, damage due to shorting of the terminals to each other or other robots, and falling out. No Battery=No Play. Many years ago a team built a box for the battery and used it at the end of a swinging arm for counter weight, it was a cool idea and well designed…but robots didn’t push as much as this game will. Six to eight feet of #6 spells reduced voltage available for drive motors.
Lastly, regaardless of what your decision, the battery must fit inside the size box even if it is left on the cart while weighing in. You run the risk of a picky inspector saying the battery is unsafe.(me included)
Per rule <R03> in section 5.3, an externally-mounted battery could very easily be considered to be a “protrusion” by the judges.
Yes, they’re really looking at it fromthe perspective of “spears”, “forks” and “offensive” safety hazards, but a battery (unprotected) would likely raise some serious issues.
However, don’t forget that weigh-in this year EXCLUDES the battery, so it must be easily removable. See <R08> under section 5.3.2.2.
I think that is a little bit of a stretch. This rule pertains to parts that hang over the field border and pose a hazard to staff or competitors.