How do I keep my wiring from coming loose during a match?

To prevent wiring from coming loose during a match, it is crucial to plan ahead, use strain relief, and secure connections.

Key recommendations include:

Plan and Space Ensure to plan ahead and leave space for wires, and use strain relief whenever possible .
Servo Connections Tape the connections between extension wires and servo wires with electrical tape, as these connections can become loose over time and are easy to pull out .
USB Connections USB connections are prone to wearing out; refrain from plugging/unplugging these cables more than necessary. Use strain relief by tying down cables to leave as little loose cabling on the robot as possible .
General Wire Management Ensure wires never protrude outside the structural parts of the robot to prevent them from getting caught. This can be achieved with cable ties, Velcro ties, or acrylic plates . For linear extensions, cable carrier and retractable coil cord are recommended .

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Wiring Guide

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Have you ever looked inside your robot and thought "what a mess of wires"? Wiring is extremely important in FTC®, but is often overlooked or hastily done the hour before competition starts. However, time spent in wiring the robot properly is crucial to the performance and maintenance of the robot.

Attention: It is highly discouraged for teams to overlook wiring, but many new teams seem to disregard it or put little thought into wiring the robot properly.

While tedious and often no fun, wiring can mean the difference between a win and loss. The best robot in the world won't be able to work if a wire is loose or gets tangled up in the middle of a match. Thus it is imperative that wiring is purposefully thought out when designing and building a robot.

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Wiring Guide > Specific Recommendations > Servo Wires

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Using heavy-duty extension wires are recommended.

Tape the connections between extension wires and servo wires with electrical tape. This is as the connections can become loose over time and are easy to pull out.

The VEX Motor Controller 29 has the wrong gender connector on the 3-pin end. You are required to either use an adapter cable, or add the right connector to the wires (recommended). Be sure to protect the MC29, as it is fragile and prone to failure if it takes impact from another object.

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Rigging > Cable management

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When extending outwards, wire management becomes increasingly important. Obviously, it is a necessity to use wires slightly longer than the extension length. However, it is not recommended that these wires are left unprotected, as they can get tangled or caught in the slides much more easily than with protection.

In general, teams should ensure that wires never protrude outside the structural parts of the robot, because they can get caught on other robots or game pieces. This can be accomplished by cable ties or Velcro ties, or by using acrylic plate to keep wires inside.

However, for linear extensions, other forms of cable management are needed. The two types of cable management recommended are cable carrier and retractable coil cord. Refer to the Electronics and Wiring section for more information.

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Wiring Guide > Specific Recommendations > USB

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USB is generally a strong connector, but is prone to wearing out over time. Refrain from plugging/unplugging these cables more than necessary, especially on the RC/DS phones.

USB loves strain relief. To keep disconnects low, tie down cables to leave as little loose cabling on the robot as possible.

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Wiring Guide > Miscellaneous

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REV Grounding Strap The REV Grounding Strap is currently the only legal way to ground your robot. Attach the end to the metal part of your robot frame, and plug the XT30 connector end into a free XT30 port on your robot. Power distribution blocks/panels The REV Power Distribution Block allows teams to have more than four XT30 connectors (2 on each Expansion Hub). The block can be connected to the Servo Power Module to boost voltage for servos. Dryer sheets Dryer sheets can be used to wipe down the robot after every match in order to reduce static buildup. This is not directly recommended by FIRST or any vendor, but our empirical evidence throughout the years suggests that it helps, or at the very least, can't hurt to do so. However, dryer sheets may or may not be on the boundary of legality, as grounding the robot to the ground is illegal. Staticide/static spray Staticide is a spray that helps to keep static off of the robot. Please be sure to spray your robot before an event and not during the event. Common causes of static - Every single contact point of your robot to the floor will increase the amount of static buildup. - Too much turning scrub (or traction when wheels try to turn). This is possible if a 4WD or 6WD (no center drop) with all traction wheels is used. - A conductive part dragging along the ground. For example, try not to have an intake touch the ground when the robot is moving as much as possible. Foam wheels and foam rollers are a common culprit.

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Design Strategy > General Design Tips and Mistakes > Building haphazardly Building for reliability

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Important: Build for the worst case scenario, not the best case scenario. When building, teams often overlook a key principle: build for reliability. All too often, teams skimp on the quality of construction as well as materials, which leads to one of the most common reasons for unsuccessful tournaments: part failure.

Teams also do not take into account the rigors of competition and build as if the robot will not encounter opposing robots. Sufficient driver practice will be able to better simulate in-game conditions and test the reliability of the robot. To remedy this problem, refer to the Materials Guide to gain a better understanding of what materials are recommended for use.

If possible, teams should build with redundancy in mind. For example, if one set of linear slides fails due to a wire snapping, having a second set will still allow the robot to operate instead of sitting dead in the water. Practically, doubling mechanisms, motors, and servos is a common method to build for redundancy.

In addition, teams often forget to account for twisting or compression forces that may occur upon the mechanism.

While we cannot give any specific recommendations, do keep in mind what forces the support structure of your mechanism must bear along the full range of motion, and account for what occurs when it might hit another robot/field wall/field. Building more robustly is always worth the time spent. However, it is good to think about the extra weight that results.

Furthermore, a common cause of robot disconnect is wiring issues. Refer to the Wiring section for more information; in short, make sure to plan ahead and leave space for wires, and use strain relief whenever possible.

All these tips combined will help your robot become more reliable, a key characteristic of all world-level robots.

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