What are some of the advantages and disadvantage of each?
Speaking as an electrician, it depends on what you are using this for. Both can have problems with loose connections. You need to make sure your quick connects are either soldered or crimped completely. We have been know to do both to ensure a good connection. That is what my husband has taught our students when making the battery connections. We have not had any issues that I know of (except if they use the cables to carry the battery and break wires). The terminal blocks can loosen up over time with a lot of jostling and bumping. They should be tightened every so often to ensure no loose connections. You also might use a ring connector if your connector does not have a clamp part to it.
Terminal blocks tend to exhibit lower connection resistance than any kind of connector, and are considered to be more reliable. But terminal blocks take longer to disconnect.
This applies only when they are being used properly, in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.
The obvious advantage of a quick disconnect is that we can quickly swap out parts. Our team usually only uses this connection for disconnectable subsystems, or motors that like to burn out.(cough, cough banebots…). Although not really related, you can use quick disconnects so that pairs of wires can only be connected in one way, and you can easily find color-coded disconnects as well.
Terminals are mountable (depending on the terminal), and make solid, low resistance connections. We use these for things like power to sensors, camera, and other things whose wiring is not likely to be changed/removed. A little super glue (or nail polish for a strong but temporary hold) can ensure an “out of sight, out of mind” connection that can be hidden inside a robot.
Here at team 1515 we use quick disconnects throughout our entire robot. I am the electrical captain and for the past 4 years (3 of which I was a part of) we have utilized modular electronics boards. The advantages that these boards bring are numerous. Easy to matinence / replace components, easy to remove components when shavings could be involved, programmers can have the electronics to play with while builders work on the robot itself.
Are whole system revolves around the WAGO Xcom series connectors. We use a 2 tiered system which can support any number of wires. The way they work is similar to a terminal strip, yet they are fully modular. I see someone mentioned resistance is lower for terminal strips, I haven’t researched the resistance imposed by the XCOMs but it has not been a problem. I recommend that teams look in to this system and consider implementing it in future years.
My experience with the terminal blocks has been nothing but loose connections. They never seem to stay tight. I’d avoid them at all costs on an FRC robot.
who was the manufacturer of Terminal blocks?
Can I see some pictures of how you have implemented it? It looks like a very diverse system and it looks like it could get pretty heavy.
Another thing to note is that many (I would cautiously say most) terminal block systems are designed for stationary mounting on a factory floor, i.e., a (nearly) vibration free environment. Automobiles (and just about any other mobile vehicle) almost exclusively use quick-connects.
Clayton,
This question is better answered when aimed at a particular use.
If you are asking about a First robot, then different terminations are often used for different applications.
We use Power Pole for most motors to make them easy to replace. We have the correct crimper and then follow with a bit of solder for insurance. We use spade terminals on Victors, uninsulated, crimped and soldered then heatshrink for insulation. The same for female pushons used on Spikes. For PWM styles, we have the military crimper for those connections. We use D connectors for many of the other connections all soldered.
As Al says, the application helps determine what you need. If it’s a prototype that you’ll probably be playing with the wiring on, then terminal blocks can be handy.
1836 is very good friends with 1515, and I know that the system is heavier(maybe 3 lbs extra), but they really like the modularity. It uses 4 of the wago blocks, and makes it very easy to add/subtract/change any wiring on their robot.
I didn’t find any pictures of the system as implemented on 1515’s robots (still searching); however, you can see the type of terminal block they use on page 56 of 1515’s build manual.
BTW, that is a really great document.