How do teams mount their Rios effectively? We have done it differently every year for various reasons. I think the main thing is learning how teams block out aluminum rain or dust from the many Rio ports (we tape over them), seeing how people mount them (swapped between flat and vertical in my time which were determined based on just where it would fit), and if anyone is doing enclosures for them. Also any recommended optimizations and space savings things people do (I’ve seen teams stack things on top of Rios and things like that).
We have found zip ties or a few strips of velcro tape to work wonderfully
The Rio is one of the more resilient electronics in FRC for sure, and for that reason I don’t usually see top teams designing protective cases or worrying too much about ESD. Mounting it effectively is definitely very dependent on robot architecture so I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily bad that it’s moved around for your team. The roughly constant things I would consider are:
- Keep it visible, but not too physically exposed. You’ll want to be able to see the status lights on the Rio and see all the wires for debugging. Ideally it should be visible without removing anything that needs tools. That being said, keep it either low down in the robot (as citrus and 254 did this year) or otherwise shrouded with Velcro/other easily removable panels to make sure nothing can physically hit it under match circumstances.
- Mount it solidly. Zip ties are pretty solid, but some VHB on the underside can’t hurt. Might not be necessary, but it can be a good idea, especially if using a rio-mounted IMU like a NavX.
- Connectors. Definitely cover the unused headers with electrical tape. I also personally hot glue all the non-locking connectors that I’m using. Just a dot of glue can be enough to prevent cables falling out, which is a really crappy way to lose a match.
- Quality of life. Add access holes for the Ethernet port and USB port if you have a shroud, even if it’s just Velcro’d. No harm in it and it makes the life of whoever has to push code at a tournament a whole lot easier.
Overall it’s probably gonna end up being a bit different each year. My priority for stuff like this is just to 1. Make it not fail in the first place and 2. Make it a 5 minute fix if it does. Beyond that is up to the designer.
2 Likes
I would recommend using the zip tie slots that come with it, velcro is great however in my opinion, the risk of the Rio coming loose and becoming damaged or worse broken is just too high for something that is so expensive and hard to get when it can be easily solved with just zipties.
Ethernet extenders can also be a good option for this. I don’t know if these exist for USB, but I would guess that they do and it lets you put the port in a good spot for access as well as driving the robot while tethered.
2 Likes
We had been using these 3D-printed compliant push-on holders over the years but we plan to not use them this coming build season as it’s clear that they shake too much which messes with encoder readings. If you have a navx or any one of those gyros that mount onto the Rio itself, I would strongly suggest using double-sided VHB tape and mounting it preferably on your belly pan or some other rigid material. There is really no reason for using Velcrom or other methods that allow the Rio to be taken out easily. If you need to take it out to plug in an ethernet cable you should suggest using a male-to-female cable.
My experience is that the RIO will break free of its zip ties in rougher games, especially with the added mass of, say, a NavX and protective cover over the NavX. I agree that some VHB underneath would probably fix this, though it would also make it a bear to replace the RIO.
Last year, we tried the screw holes instead of zipties, and the threaded inserts ripped out of the RIO. Oops, back to zipties.
This year, we had very close quarters around the RIO, which made it difficult to replace the zipties…or the RIO when it stopped booting right before elims at our second event.
The mid-season solution was to 3D print a “collar” to retain the RIO laterally and a bridge to clamp it down to the bellypan. The collar is attached to the bellypan with screws, and the bridge is attached to the collar with screws. The bridge also served as a mounting location for the radio and CANivore. The entire assembly got dubbed “the everything mount”.
Even with all of the ports taped this year, enough aluminum dust (raining down from the elevator) managed to sneak into the RIO and cause problems. We made a simple polycarb deflector that velcro’d to the chassis.
I would definitely make sure it’s towards the interior of the bot or otherwise protected in some way. Ours got knocked off our robot by a robot’s wayward arm this year!
Yes, USB extenders do exist, and we’ve used them before to have the rio deep in the robot, but a port right on the outer edge of the bot for pushing code. Works out great! Something like this… https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Panel-Mount-USB-Cable/dp/B00FSYBKPM/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3BGX52SRZK4JT&keywords=usb%2Ba%2Bto%2Bb%2Bfemale%2Bextension%2Bcable&qid=1701238049&sprefix=usb%2Ba%2Bto%2Bb%2Bfemale%2Bextension%2Bcable%2Caps%2C130&sr=8-4&th=1
or this
1 Like
Yeah we mount it flat on our belly pan and then secure by using a piece of lexan or polycarb on top then squeezing down to the belly pan with bolts nut on the other side it holds it down really well that way. Then we cover the channels with electrical tape to keep out metal shavings (works moderatly well). We are going to try and print some modular tpu channel plugs and that might work better / be nicer.
1 Like
Totally agree, ethernet and USB extenders are also great quality of life additions, make sure their in an accessible location though! An extender would probably come out of the network switch rather than the Rio itself, so if the switch is accessible than there’s no huge need. Putting access holes on the Rio shroud is just a fall back.
1 Like
I prefer zip ties and/or Dual Lock plastic Velcro, but in general I would not recommend using the screw mounts on the rio and I would recommend tapping over any connectors you don’t use with electrical tape.
We use 3d printed corner blocks (bolted to the bellypan) with separate 3D printed caps that bolt into those and retain the Rio plus the Swyft board we use on it. There’s a picture in this post - one of the blocks is visible at lower right. This provides a very solid physical mount, clamps the Swyft so it can’t work loose, and it’s still easy to swap the Rio if needed by taking off the caps on the corner blocks.
Electrical tape over all unused ports is definitely a must.
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.