Hi,
We’ve experimented with last years electrical components. We have built a box out of lexan and metal framing that contains 100% of all electrical devices with the exception of the wiring to the motors and sensors and the battery. Currently it takes about 5 minutes to change the unit out because of the wires that must be disconnected from the M+ and M- on the speed controllers and relays running to their respective loads.
Has anyone experimented with heavy duty plugs/receptacles (to carry motor current) or edge connectors so that a quick disconnect or two allows the entire control system to be removed in one pull?
We would like to have a complete spare unit. In addition to quick repairs it could allow the programmer to add program changes to the bench unit just before replacing it with the robot unit.
Check out Anderson Connectors (the company which makes the disconnects we use for the 12V batteries). They make a wide range of connectors which would be of interest to you. The power pole (http://http://www.andersonpower.com/products/pp/pp.html) product line comes to mind.
We used molex-type connectors last year. For lower current spikes and motors we used AMP Universal MATE-N-LOK Connectors. These are rated for up to 15 amps and accept 14 - 20 AWG or 18 -24 AWG wires, depending on which contacts you buy.
For the higher current PWMs and drive motors, we used Molex Mini-Fit Sr. Connectors. I believe these were rated for either 30 or 50 amps. The contacts accept 8 - 12 AWG wires.
Unlike the battery connectors, these both mechanically lock to their mating connector so they can’t vibrate loose.
I was looking for the exact same thing. The small anderson powerpole 15/30/45 housings (like used in RC cars sometimes) would be great. However, the 30 amp contacts which are nice and easy to crimp an/or solder only can take up to 12 gauge wire. The 45 amp contacts which can take 10 gauge appear to need a very special crimping tool.
Has anyone used these who can tell us exactly how the wire is “attached” to that contact. They easiest way that I can see (without special tools) would be to lay the wire in the “tough,” solder it, then manually bend the top “flaps” around, and perhaps solder a little more. Thanks.
We bought new Connectors for our batteries last year, and they come with the exact same connector, this connector gets inserted into the plastic case after the wire is crimped on. We didn’t have any special tools but its not hard to get a really good crimp by bending the flaps over with a pair of pliers, then inserting the wire, and then snugging it up with the pliers. To get it really tight we just put the connector in a vice and tightened it down on the crimp. We never had any problems with doing it that way. Made the crimp kind of flat but also very strong.
Sanddrag:
We used those connectors on our drill motors and I can attest to their reliablility and usefulness. We used correct guage wire all around, and the connectors had no problem taking the current. They came in handy when we started overheating motors and brush mounts started coming loose. I think we had a total of 4 motors with those connectors. I love those things, and we plan to use something similar on our '05 bot. How to use them? Pretty much exactly as you described, except without the soldering bit. If I remeber correctly, we got ones that had a cylinder with one end closed so the wire simply poked in, and we soldered that in. In your case, I’d say crimp first, solder next. Soldering a free wire is a real pain.
The ones with the cylinder are the 30 amp contacts. I’m confident that they can handle much more current than that but they are sized for a maximum of 12 gauge (per anderson). I bet you could shove 10 in there, but it wouldn’t be proper and it wouldn’t be pretty. You might not get all of your strands in.
For the open ones pictured above, I’d like to crimp it, but I’m not sure exactly how. I’'ve only crimped stuff that was cylindrical. I know I can solder it really nicely, but I know they are meant to be crimped.
A proper crimping tool can crimp those, but it probably won’t be cheap. The molex connectors that we use to make PWM cables are similar (with a v-shaped crimp area), and a tool like this crimps them very nicely. I can imagine the proper tool for the Anderson connectors costing much more.
Without the right tool, I’d suggest going with the solder and manually crimp route.
With this type of connector, if you don’t perform some type of crimp action, the contact cannot be inserted into the housing. Always crimp before soldering, a good soldered connection is one that is mechanically stable first. We use a similar connector available through McMaster. They are a round insert type for #12 wire with a seam down the top side. A long nose plier tip will nicely open the connector enough to slip the #10 in and then crimp with any round crimp tool. A convention we use is when holding the wires with the connector facing away from you, the red contact should be on the left side facing up when you insert it in the connector body. Remember that the housings snap together.
for my rc car i use deans ultra connectors. they have very little resistance. and are one of the most highly praised connectors for rc. almost as good as a solder job. better than a bad solder job. im in school right now and as hobby sites are all blocked cant give you any links, but towerhobbies has them, and im pretty sure the robotcombatmarketplace (was it?) has them too. or your lhs should have them.
oh and i use 12 gauge wire in my rc car with these, a little hard to solder maybe, but still doable.
That’s the one we bought for our team. It makes a VERY nice crimp in all three contact sizes. I question the need for soldering when you have a proper crimp. This tool is well worth the investment.
