3D Design
Once you have a general idea of your bot's design, you can start turning those ideas into reality with 3D modeling!
CAD Software
CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software is what you'll use to digitally build and visualize every part of your robot before printing or manufacturing. While there are several options out there (like SolidWorks, Creo, and Inventor), we highly recommend using Fusion 360. It's super easy to get into, makes sharing files with your team a breeze, and most club members have plenty of experience with it to help you out whenever you get stuck. The final choice is ultimately up to you!
Getting Started
We encourage you to run through a few basic tutorials to get comfortable with using Fusion before jumping into your bot's design. Learning CAD is usually the hardest hurdle for beginners, but once you get through the basics, bot-making gets way easier and a lot more fun! Never hesitate to reach out and ask for help if you hit a wall!
- Download Fusion 360 (Free Education/Personal License)
- Official Fusion 360 Documentation & Self-Paced Learning
- Fusion 360 Beginner Video Tutorials
Additionally, you can find existing CAD models for the parts we provide here.
Also, here is CAD for a bot that previously competed in our league. NOTE: this CAD model should only be used for inspiration; the parts used are outdated. Additionally, we only provide 2 N20 drive motors in the kits (which should be plenty of power).
Design Recommendations
Aim for an external wall thickness of around 3mm to withstand impacts. Any more is overkill.
Avoid screwing directly into plastic or modeling threads into prints, as they wear out fast. Use heat-set inserts wherever screws are needed (a 4.4mm diameter hole works great for standard M3 inserts).
Make sure to leave enough clearance around screw heads for tools to reach during assembly.
Model components separately and bring them together in an assembly file. This keeps your bot modular, lets you print and test smaller parts individually, and makes assembling much easier.
Fusion has built-in constraints which will allow you to specify specific relationships within parts in the robot. Using them will make resizing and fine-tuning your robot significantly easier. There is also a timeline on the bottom you can use to alter previous features and/or sketches.
Set up parameters for dimensions like hole sizes and clearances so you can tweak them globally later on without breaking your model.
Next Steps
Once you have a solid general CAD model together (it doesn't need to be 100% finished!), submit it to the club executives for review. As long as your design is headed in a good direction with no major flaws, you'll get approved for electronics so your teammates can start soldering and wiring!