I think most engineers are retarded when it comes to solving a problem that has already been solved.

In that regard, a little 'backwoods racer' isn't a bad thing to have in you. While Engineer A is finding the best way to sketch up a set of wires in a cockpit to minimize weight and avoid heat sources and make a solid model with proper mass properties, Racer Joe A has put some wires in based on previous experience, noticed they were getting a little hot, rerouted them, and run for a month in the time the Engineer decides on a loom color in the modelling software. Wires are cheaper than software, and who says the designed version will work out of the box anyway?

Just because the testing was done without an engineering degree doesn't invalidate it. I see too many uppity engineers who think you can't do anything without a degree, and look down on people who consistently go faster than they do because they don't do the mental masturbation. Being a good engineer is knowing when to calculate and when not to reinvent the wheel.

Math is great, and computer software is terrific. But you're building a car, not a simulator. Look at what's been done, regardless of who's done it, and choose an appropriate compromise to suit your needs.

I think the point you may be missing, Wesley, is that FSAE is far less about building a race car than it is about learning how to design and build a race car. You can either buy a harness from one of about three guys I know who build top notch ones, you can just buy a car loom and dash/data logger from Pi or similar, or you can learn how they did what they did and do it yourself. I have a nice Pi Pro dash system sitting on my desk, with beautiful Lemo connectors, and in my three race cars I use 1/4" spade lugs. Two ends of a spectrum. FSAE could use either - if it was jusifiable and it made sense!

Brian

Its the same old argument: Do you want to learn as much as possible, or do you just want to go fast on the track?

the same old argument is also off topic....

You can learn a lot and still go fast on the track. It takes good preparation, good notes from year to year, good leadership/mentors, and most importantly attention to detail. Building a good harness doesn't necessarily take a long time. It usually will if you don't know what your doing which is why I think a lot of people come here and ask for help.

Hi Guys,

I hope I'm not posting in the wrong thread, but I'd like to ask a question re: crimpers.

We are keen to purchase a new crimper for our connectors (mainly DTM and deutsch Autosport). I have looked through the website for dmctools, and have decided to buy the AFM8. Does anyone know which positioner I should get to go with this crimper?

I've looked through all the datasheets and now I'm even more stumped than before!

Thanks!

Richie Wong
Electron
University of Auckland FSAE

lozo,

I had some trouble with this myself. I would contact Deutsch or your local distributor directly and ask for them to specify the DMC part numbers for the correct positioners. You could also try asking DMC, but when I tried that, I ended up with the wrong positioners. You may have better luck. I believe the AFM8 is good for size 20 and smaller contacts. The AF8 is nice because it is available with a turret head that adjusts to different sized contacts. I don't know if they have an option that would work with all of the contacts that you will be using, but it is worth asking about.

Dan G,

I stumbled across this page today while looking for some connector info. Lots of good tips for doing sensible aircraft wiring (splicing, connectors, wire sizing, crimping, fuses vs circuit breakers, etc) which could easily be applied to a FSAE car. Sure, it's not quite an instruction manual on building a modern "motorsports" harness, but if it's reliable enough to keep a plane in the sky, it ought to suffice for a FSAE car. The articles actually go into some technical (but easy to understand) detail, unlike most of the home-brew stuff you find on the web.

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles.html

Excellent resource, that's exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Thanks Courtney, keep them coming!

These are some nuggets right here off that link.
I think I might pick the book up.

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/rules/review.html

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/CrimpTools/crimptools.html

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/terminal.pdf

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/excerpt.pdf

http://www.aeroelectric.com/Catalog/pub/pub.html

I have build the harness for the delft team for three years now and made a lot of mistakes, but right now we have a harness which didn't fail once although we tested for hunderds of miles.

What I found out is that most of the time it is worth it to spent a few euro's more on a connector that can take the abuse. We design our harness to have as few connectors as possible in the first place, and than go on by looking which connector to use for the different purposses.
Make sure you know how high the currents are in your harness and use that to choose the the appropriate thickness for your wires. Ohms law shouldn't be to difficult for an engineer I hope...

Most important though is fabrication. A well designed harness is worthless if someone is not able to crimp the pin on right. So make sure that no pin is crimped on a wire which is not easy to reach. Also soldering is nothing to be scared of. We solder every single connection on top of the crimping. It's all in the strain relief. Fix your harness every 10 to 15cm, of course away from any sharp edges.

One more thing: If your team runs a single like we do. Make sure that you spent at least twice as much attention to your harness than the four cylinder guys do. Belief me, you'll need it.

Probably not a problem with the DAS type/MIL spec connectors as the contacts are effectively shielded from heat, but soldering crimped connections generally isn't best practice. High current = heat & can tend to melt the solder and then interesting things can happen. Something to be aware of

I have had good results recently with the Deutsch IMC series of connectors. Cheaper than proper Autosport connectors, easy to seal to a loom with adhesive-lined heatshrink.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.h...294905148+4294953928

Best of all you can use these fantastic crimp tools set:

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.h...294743606+4294955288

Regards, Ian