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Field-Ready Reliability: Inspection, Spares, and the Pit Checklist

Turn a working robot into a reliable one: failure-mode triage, a pre-match pit checklist, spare-parts kit, and CAN/wiring habits that prevent dead modules.

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The mindset

Most matches are lost to reliability, not strategy. A robot that does one thing every match beats one that does three things sometimes. This lesson converts the prior failure modes into proactive habits.

The pre-match pit checklist

Run this before every match:

  1. Battery: charged, >12.4 V resting, securely strapped, and the main Anderson connector tight, loose battery leads cause brownouts.
  2. Fastener audit: wrench-check drivetrain, gearbox, and superstructure bolts. Re-seat anything backing out.
  3. Pneumatics: charge the system, confirm the high side reaches system max and the regulated low side reads ~60 PSI, listen for leaks, and confirm the system holds with the compressor off.
  4. Bumpers: within the legal mounting zone, numbers visible, hardware tight.
  5. CAN/wiring: tug-test motor controller and CAN connectors; a wiggled CAN wire drops a device mid-match. Confirm no flashing fault LEDs.
  6. Mechanism dry-run: in the pit, cycle every mechanism through its range and watch for binding or odd current draw.

Spare-parts kit (bring duplicates of failure-prone items)

  • A charged spare battery (always more than one).
  • Spare motor controllers and a spare motor of each type used.
  • Pneumatic fittings, tubing, and a spare solenoid.
  • Hex shaft stock, hex bearings (1/2 in hex), sprockets/belts, and assorted fasteners + nylocks.
  • Blue threadlocker, zip ties, electrical tape, and spare Anderson connectors.

CAN and wiring discipline

  • Strain-relieve every connector so vibration can't unseat it.
  • Keep CAN runs away from sharp edges and moving mechanisms; a pinched CAN wire kills the whole bus downstream.
  • Label CAN IDs and keep a wiring map in the pit. (Remember: PDP and legacy CTRE PCM at CAN ID 0.)

Triage during an event

When something breaks between matches: reproduce it, look at the failed part to read the root cause (per the gearbox/fastener lesson), apply the matching fix, and re-test the full cycle before queueing again. Don't ship an unverified fix to the field.

After the event

Keep a reliability log: what broke, the root cause, and the permanent fix. Teams that log failures stop repeating them season over season.

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Key takeaways

  • Reliability wins matches: run a fixed pre-match checklist covering battery, fasteners, pneumatics, bumpers, CAN/wiring, and a mechanism dry-run.
  • Carry a spare-parts kit (extra batteries, motor controllers, fittings, hex shaft/bearings, threadlocker) for fast pit repairs.
  • Strain-relieve and route CAN/wiring away from moving parts (PDP/PCM at CAN ID 0), and never send an unverified fix back to the field.

Lesson quiz

Required

Answer all 4 questions correctly to complete this lesson.

01.In the pre-match pit checklist, how should the battery be prepared before a match?

02.What does the pneumatics step of the pre-match checklist ask you to verify?

03.Why is it important to strain-relieve and carefully route CAN wiring?

04.When something breaks between matches, what should you do during event triage?

Answer every question to submit.

All 47 lessons in Mechanical, Build & Pneumatics
01 · Engineering Foundations: Forces, Torque, and Machines
02 · Drivetrains: Moving the Robot
03 · Power Transmission and Gear Ratios
04 · Structure, Materials, and Fasteners
05 · Mechanisms, Fabrication, and Assembly
06 · Pneumatics Fundamentals: How Air Becomes Motion
07 · The Components: Controllers, Compressor, Valves, and Cylinders
08 · Building, Wiring, and Programming a Pneumatic System
09 · Safety, Rules, and Testing
10 · Worked Examples & Mini-Projects
11 · Common Mistakes & Troubleshooting
12 · Advanced Techniques & Case Studies