Components of a Successful
FRC Electrical System
Team 2177
Basics of Electrical Systems
• Components
• Custom Circuits
• Design
Components
• cRIO (brain)
• Digital Side Car (spinal cord)
Motor Controllers
• Speed Controllers (muscles)
• Relays (muscles)
Speed Controllers
Jaguar
Victor
Talon
Speed Controllers
Speed Controllers
Speed Controllers
Speed Controllers
Speed Controllers
• How do you choose?
• Linearity (great for drive train,
possibly not needed for other items)
• Size (smaller is always better)
• Control (direct sensor feedback can
be very useful)
• What do you have in stock?
Relays
• Spike
• No variable speed control
• Small footprint
• 20 Amp Limiting
• Factors into motor choice
components
• Fans (sweat glands)
• Battery (heart)
• Radio (mouth)
• Converter (lungs)
Components
• Power distribution board
(circulatory system)
• Everything plugs into power distribution board
components
• Wiring (nerves)
• power wires (blood vessels)
• 40 Amp -> 12 gauge
• 30 Amp -> 14 gauge
• 20 Amp -> 18 gauge
• signal wires (nerves)
Sensors
• Provide feedback
•
Encoders
•
Potentiometers
•
Limit Switch
•
Ultrasonic senor
•
Accelerometer
Components
• Custom circuits
•
LEDs
•
•
Teams with LEDs that lit up when they shot
Camera
•
Light up vision targets
•
On-board computers
•
Anything else you can think of!
Organization
• Wiring organization
• color code
• number system
• zip ties
• tie downs
• power polls
Board Layout
• How do we lay out our board?
• List all items on board and get all of
them
• How much room you have for board?
• Where does the board go?
• Spacial constraints
• Lay out all components and their wire
routes to make sure they all make
sense
Thank You
• Thanks for coming! If you have any
questions, feel free to ask them now!