Thursday, January 23, 2025

Minimal Carry Handle for FRC Robot Batteries

This 3D printed minimal battery handle requires less than 15 grams of filament (I recommend PETG in a bright color) and quickly clips on and off of the battery. 

https://makerworld.com/en/models/1015389#profileId-995541

One of the most common electrical issues with FRC robots is loose batter terminal connections caused by lifting the battery by the cables. Loose terminals tend to reduce the quality of the contact surface with the battery terminal, and can lead to random reboots or loss of radio connection with the FIRST Field Management System.

Rechecking (because you checked them back in lab, right?) the terminal connections on all of your batteries the morning your competition is always a good idea. If you can wiggle a battery cable terminal using only three fingers, then it is too loose for match play. But it only takes a few minutes to loosen, clean, and retighten the ring terminals. 




I hope this can help provide a starting point for improving battery handling habits.

Good luck on the field!

Shane
Battery Nerd
Mentor, FRC #4561 TerrorBytes



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