Electronics

Follow our electronics team!

ELECTRICAL SUBTEAM

The Electronics team takes the assembled robot and connects the various motors, pistons and any other vision or movement device to their respective controllers. We enable the robot to be controlled by our Drive Team, as well as autonomously during a match. We are responsible not only for designing, connecting, and troubleshooting the electrical and pneumatic components, but also for working together with the Build and Programming Teams to eventually build a fully functioning robot.

Members don't need any prerequisite knowledge in electronics as we will provide you with resources and workshops for you to learn the necessary skills, but enthusiasm and willingness to learn are important characteristics.

How to get Started

If you are interested in joining the electronics subteam, there are many different online resources you can use to get a head start. There will be workshops to help new members learn. We suggest checking these links below in your own time for a better understanding of the way FRC electronics works.

General Electrical System Notes

The intent of this document is to teach you (the reader) enough to go and do your own research and make your own informed decisions using the muscle between your ears about motors and their use in FRC. It is not an end-all-be-all but hopefully will introduce you to the tools we’ll be using throughout and teach you to use them yourself.

Additional System notes

Something to note is that we program in C++, so references to classes like “Encoder” and our sample codes are written in C++. However, classes are interchangeable in Java and C++, and there are topics covered in this guide that are not language-exclusive like the roboRIO and the Driver Station itself. We hope this is guide serves to be useful for you!

Wiring the FRC control system

This document details the wiring of a basic electronics board for bench-top testing. Some images shown in this section reflect the setup for a Robot Control System using Spark motor controllers. Wiring diagram and layout should be similar for other motor controllers. Where appropriate, a second set of images shows the wiring steps for using PWM controllers with integrated wires.

FRC pneumatics guide

The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) pneumatic components are outlined in this document. It is being provided as a courtesy, and therefore does not supersede any information or rules provided in the FIRST Robotics Competition Manual.

Major Components

DC motor component used in robotics applications

The motors are used in a number of different components on our robot. They allow our robot's claw to pick up pixels and place them high up on the board. They are also used to initiate our hanging sequence. These motors allow us to do heavy-duty work.

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Control Hub - the main processing unit of the robot

The control hub is basically the brain of the robot. It allows us to manipulate the entirety of the robot with much effectiveness. It connects our inputs from our driver hub, and turns these instructions given into brand new instructions for other parts of the robot, allowing it to initiate a number of important sequences.

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Servo motor for precise mechanical control

The servos are like the precise and nimble fingers of our robot. They allow us to perform more precise actions than motors, at a tradeoff of power. On our robot, servos are used on the claw mechanisms among other components, and they play a crucial role in the making of our robot.

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