We had some of our wires unplug during various competitions and even at Worlds at one point. Granted, we used a LOT of the extension cables, but everyone has to use at least some to connect the 2-wire motors to Motor Controller 29s. And when those come loose, you’re done.
To that end, I would ask that VEX either sell or allow us to use heat shrink. This link is the kind of stuff I’m talking about. It’s safe, cheap and would let us just make absolutely sure that our wire leads would not come apart.
Our teams use electrical tape to wrap around the two wire ends and then we use an additional (small) zip-tie that goes around the two ends. I’ll try to remember to post a picture when I get in to robotics tomorrow.
We zip tie the two wires together. It probably causes the connections to degrade quicker when pulled and tugged on, but so far over the course of 3 years we haven’t broken anything with this method. Also, we have never had two connectors separate using this method. I had to use a picture from one of sbdrobotics’ posts since I don’t have my robot with me today. If you are worried a connection may be pulled on during normal use, coiling wires like shown works like a charm.
Wrapped them tight around an allen wrench and slid it out. That simple, they are fairly stiff so they hold the shape well and dont get tangled. We needed some loose wire for good range of motion but shuddered at the though of actually having loose wire!
I saw that. It specifically talks about “in the act of repair.” I want to secure the ends of wires together. Not quite the same thing. There’s a seperare section talking about using electrical tape to secure those ends with no mention of shrink wrap. Which is why I posed the question.
