So for the past several years Team 116 has been refining our removable modular control system design. Behold the system for ED v17.0. As with past practice, the system contains all the control computing, communications, and power distribution for the competition robot. The entire assembly can be pulled from the robot and be on the workbench for maintenance in under 30 seconds. Re-assembly and re-installation admittedly takes slightly longer (and is best managed as a two-person job).
After several years of experimenting with methods for reducing the volume of the control system, this is possibly our penultimate design. Penultimate in that, based upon the current trends, we have one more iteration to go before the density of the control system box approaches that of a small neutron star and it gains the potential to become a singularity. Then, whether or not it fits in the robot will be the least of our worries.
This is very difficult work to do. Kudos to team 116 for developing some great experience for budding packaging engineers.
While this is all wonderfull and good, I am a bit distracted by your ********* 15 SPEED CONTROLLERS **********
What do you have? Here is a guess:
unicorn swerve drive (8 motors)
dual motor tuned shooter (2)
manipulators in front and back (2)
3-motor scaling arm, 2 for lifting, one for pivot (3)
If you’re pivoting that scaling arm, then you are planning on going under the low bar. Then, another question comes up: How on earth are you packaging this wonderful control system in with all of that other stuff controlled by your 15 SPEED CONTROLLERS???
This may be a ingenious contraption for the ages, or a hot mess. I wanna see pictures and video!
Only thirteen 20+Amp breakers though. The quantity of cables in their DIO/Analog and MXP ports has me flummoxed. I am quite curious for what 116 has up their sleeve
First I have to say that’s a pretty impressive packaging job. I can imagine how much work went into getting everything to fit.
I’m curious how you plan on addressing R40 though. “The PDP and all circuit breakers must be easily visible for inspection”
Do you plan on having to disassemble your robot as part of the inspection process?
The reason I ask, our PD board is “easily” visible if you remove our bumpers and crouch down with a flashlight, I’m dreading the inspection that finds my PD boards visibility not “easy” enough. There are few highly visible places to put it on a robot that’s got to fit under the low bar. I imagine this is a challenge most teams building a short bot have had to address.
Since it seems yyou’ve built this kind of box in the past, what’s been your experience with inspection?
It’s not uncommon for teams to wire more speed controllers than they need, in order for them to quickly switch to a backup in case of a failure. Based on all 15 being wired to the PDB but only 13 having breakers, I’m assuming this is the case here.
I’m guessing they have a 6 motor drive, 2 motor shooter, a motorized drop down intake (at least 2 motors), and 2 to lift with 1 for something else (extra motor for intake, or a pivot for their lift)
I meant there are 16 spots for breakers (16 Wago ports). They may have added an extra motor controller and not powered it in case something breaks. I know we always do that.
