Offseason MK5n Drivetrain Blog
With the introduction of the new SDS MK5n swerve modules, we decided to build a 26.5 x 26.5 (our team’s preferred frame perimeter) drivetrain during the fall season. We wanted to make sure there would be no surprises during the build season, and we also wanted the opportunity to work on a new layout of upside-down belly (brain) pan. We spent a lot of time and energy planning out the layout of all our control system components on the brain pan. We worked out how the wires would route inside the brain pan and how to implement strain relief on key connections. We also planned out the CAN bus, and decided to implement two CANivores to isolate the drivetrain devices and the subsystem devices. We will also be using jacketed CAN wire whenever possible, black for drivetrain, grey for all sub systems above the drivetrain, we believe different jacket colors will help with serviceability and troubleshooting. We decided to use Refire quick connect adapters (Anderson and Molex SL connector option) on our Krakens to simplify wiring, improve serviceability and troubleshooting. This also allows us to implement direct runs on the CAN bus, reducing the number of connections, which typically are points of failure. The goal is also to isolate and keep all drivetrain power, [...]
