How best to secure Cortex wiring, so that motors’ wires don’t get loose with all the ramming going on in the field. Is duct tape an option 
Under the manual on section < R7 > is says the following about tape
f. A small amount of tape may be used for the following purposes:
i. For the sole purpose of securing any connection between the
ends of two (2) VEX cables.
ii. For labeling wires and motors.
iii. For the purposes of preventing leaks on the threaded portions of
pneumatic fittings. This is the only acceptable use of Teflon tape.
iv. For securing and retaining a VEXnet Key 2.0 to the VEX ARM®
Cortex®-based Microcontroller. Using tape in this manner is highly
recommended to ensure a robust connection.
v. All other functional uses of tape, such as grip tape or duct tape,
are prohibited.
It looks like duct tape is specifically prohibited in the final bullet point.
I ziptie my wires onto the inside of my frame. It works pretty well as long as the wires are taught.
R7 j Specifically states:
Robots are allowed the following additional “non-VEX” components:
…
j. Commercially available items used solely for bundling or wrapping of 2-wire, 3-wire, 4-wire, or V5 Smart Cables, and pneumatic tubing are allowed. These items must solely be used for the purposes of cable protection, organization, or management. This includes but is not limited to electrical tape, cable carrier, cable track, etc. It is up to inspectors to determine whether a component is serving a function beyond protecting and managing cables.
So I think you’re fine using duct tape for management, securing, and protection.
Personally, I’ve always been more fond of zip ties as they just look ‘cleaner’.
1 Like
I thought about using colored duct tape to manage wires better and be able to diversify each wire set. I think it would look pretty cool and be effective.
1 Like
when we used cortex, the best was to zip tie the wires together.
1 Like
We’ve had issues with zip ties damaging wires (cortex), so be careful where you put them!
Most of our cable management is with the plastic tubes for cables and some electrical tape, plus the connection things for cortex wires.
I believe zipties are the best option. While it may be difficult at first to wire things up they create a very visually pleasing end result, at least in my opinion. It’s pretty easy to do as well, with small clippers and of course zipties being the only tools needed. I haven’t had issues with zip ties damaging wires like @TeamTX, but I’d be careful about that.
Two words. Zip-ties.
Sorry. I put alot of words together.