Electronics board

From Team 449 Wiki

(Redirected from Electronics boards)

The electronics board is the part of the robot that controls the flow of electricity throughout, allowing power and instructions from the programming subteam to be directed as needed. The electronics board is powered by the on-board battery, and the electricity travels across it via the power distribution panel. Directions from programming come in through the roboRIO. The electronics board is wired by the electronics subteam.

Final Board

The electronics subteam's job during the FRC build season is to construct/wire the electronics board for the robot. However, electronics is very much dependent on other subteams having the robot's frame fully planned out and finalized. The board cannot interfere with the robot's structure; it must be designed around it. For this reason, the electronics subteam typically spends about the first half of build season completing other important tasks, such as constructing models of the game's field elements.

When the final board is actually constructed, it may be somewhat oddly shaped, or split into multiple segments- all depending on how it can fit best without being intrusive. The material for the board is usually either wood or polycarb.

Practice Board

Boards are constructed for reasons other than powering the robot for that year's game. Practice boards are (usually basic) electronics boards constructed by rookies on the electronics subteam to give them a feel for how components connect, what the competition board may roughly look like, and how to manage space on the board. For example, components that connect must be close by, but if they are too close, the wires have nowhere else to go but sticking inconveniently upward, requiring them to be tied down. This is a very practical and common component of electronics subteam education.

Test Board

Also, boards may be constructed to test specific functions. These boards are constructed throughout the First Robotics Year, including early build season. Other subteams may request boards be constructed for whatever they want to test, though sometimes they try to find ways around asking electronics, like attaching suicide cables directly to the motor rather than having a board made where the motors are operated with motor controllers.



This article is a stub. You can help us by expanding it.