Flat cables over deck (boosted board)

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know what these cables are and where to buy them? I’d like to run my cables over the deck of my board connecting the batteries to the Vesc :slight_smile: . But i’m looking for flat cables that can handle the voltage and amperage.

Thanks!

You can use copper braid, just be careful not to short anything…

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Parts-Flat-Copper-Braid/dp/B003R501JK

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Oh so there is no insulation around the cable at all? Won’t it cause fire to the wooden deck? And what is the orange foil they are using then?

Thanks for the information! It’s my first build so i don’t know that much :slight_smile:

@AugustM keep in mind that there is a 20-30cm maximum length you can use with VESC if you run in FOC mode. If you BLDC the battery cable length matters less.

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I don’t think the cables would get hot enough to start a fire on your deck, but you could sandwich it with some electrical tape for peace of mind.

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I know about braiding and all… But what do you all think about using like 2 doubles up layers of 10mm wide nickel strip?

Even one layer can handle like 20 amps or more.

I’d just be worried about the repetitive motions of the board flexing and turning, it may wear the strip down. Also, I have NO idea about this, but wouldn’t nickel strip have higher internal resistance than copper?

Yea it’s like 4 times more resistive than copper or something

How about keeping the battery and VESC next to each other to avoid short/power issues and running the motor phase wires across the top?

I use flat wires on all my builds with no problem thus wires have less resistance than round wires, they come with no insulation but heat shrink will solve that.

Heat shrink

12AWG equivalent flat wire

Tip:

When soldering to a round wire just open the braid a little bit and stick 1/4 inch of the tinned round wire into the braid, use a strand of thing wire to loop 1-2 turns around the braided wire and solder.

I have use this wire with 12S lipos and 40V lifepo4 packs as well.

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My board has a lot of flex so, i’m afraid it will damage the batteries when they are placed in the middle. That’s why I was thinking of having my vesc+motor at one end, and the batteries at the other :slight_smile:

Thank you @Kaly and @Jinra , This was exactly what i needed to know!!

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@AugustM that orange foil is actually Kapton tape. Its a great electrical insulator.

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Hey Kaly,…Why is that braided wire Tin plated , do you know?

to prevent oxidation

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Like @Jinra said because the oxidation. The fact that is pretinned makes it perfect for eboards.

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So let me get this straight…If I drop a screwdriver from the right angle, I can short out the wires on a boosted. That could be wicked dangerous!! What about if you crash a boosted? Is it possible that the “solder wick” wires could become exposed? I really despise that design. IMO

it would probably be fine, the cables are taped under the grip tape. If you had a catastrophic failure where the cables are ripped from the board and short, I think you’d have bigger problems to worry about.

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That yellow tape is kapton tape. Foxnovo High Temperature Heat Resistant Kapton Tape Polyimide Film Adhesive Tape (20mm*33m) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N1RHE2Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_g7gzxb38RW287

I am down with you on the poor design choice at least use shrink wrap.

On my vanguard i use heat shrink on top of that made 2 shallow channels in the deck for the wires and use epoxy to seal the cables. This high discharger and power battery packs are no joke, once shorted a 40V 20Ah pack and the current vaporized 1/4 in of the metal that touched, no melting just disappeared in smoke and i almost pee on my self.

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