Hi!
I'm waiting the arrival of the 50:1 High power motors from Robotbits and I was wondering how thick the cable should be that im soldering to the motor?
I'm also wondering if u ever have to change the wires on for example a Lipo pack depending on the amount of motors and stuff connected or are they definately gonna work with anything possible of stuffing into an ant?
Has anyone had any wires burning up in their ant during a battle at all?
Cable thickness
Moderators: BeligerAnt, petec, administrator
- BeligerAnt
- Posts: 1872
- Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:00 am
- Location: Brighton
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Given the (short) lengths of cables involved and the low currents involved, wire thickness isn't usually a problem in ants.
When you get the motors you will find that you can't realistically solder anything much larger than 7/0.2mm (16/0.2mm at a push) onto the motors.
I have never heard of the wires on a battery pack or servo overheating in normal operation. It may be possible if you shorted the ends of the battery leads together (don't do this!), but then the wires would be the least of the problem!
Calculating required wire gauge is a little complicated for small things like ants. All of the standards are concerned with preventing fire, so calculate the current-carrying capacity for a given temperature rise in the cable (usually 10C).
Of more interest in ants is the avoidance of voltage drop down the cable.
7/0.2mm wire is about 0.5 ohms per metre, so a 50mm length will only be 0.025 ohms. If you use a speed controller with screw terminals, the contact resistance between the terminal and the wire is likely to be of the same order.
So in practice the wire resistance is not a problem and self-heating is likely to be minimal.
Unless of course you're planning something really outlandish...
When you get the motors you will find that you can't realistically solder anything much larger than 7/0.2mm (16/0.2mm at a push) onto the motors.
I have never heard of the wires on a battery pack or servo overheating in normal operation. It may be possible if you shorted the ends of the battery leads together (don't do this!), but then the wires would be the least of the problem!
Calculating required wire gauge is a little complicated for small things like ants. All of the standards are concerned with preventing fire, so calculate the current-carrying capacity for a given temperature rise in the cable (usually 10C).
Of more interest in ants is the avoidance of voltage drop down the cable.
7/0.2mm wire is about 0.5 ohms per metre, so a 50mm length will only be 0.025 ohms. If you use a speed controller with screw terminals, the contact resistance between the terminal and the wire is likely to be of the same order.
So in practice the wire resistance is not a problem and self-heating is likely to be minimal.
Unless of course you're planning something really outlandish...
Gary, Team BeligerAnt
- peterwaller
- Posts: 3213
- Joined: Fri Feb 15, 2002 12:00 am
- Location: Aylesbury Bucks
- Contact:
The one thing you want to avoid is single strand wire.
Copper work hardens which means every time it is bent it get stiffer and slightly more brittle.
If you look at the very flexible wire it has lots of very fine strands but single strand wire in a robot where it can be stressed a lot will soon break.
Copper work hardens which means every time it is bent it get stiffer and slightly more brittle.
If you look at the very flexible wire it has lots of very fine strands but single strand wire in a robot where it can be stressed a lot will soon break.