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Unread 27-12-2002, 21:17
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Madison Madison is offline
Dancing through life...
FRC #0488 (Xbot)
Team Role: Engineer
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Rookie Year: 1999
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 5,243
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Last season, I used AutoCAD 2000i to make most of the parts for our robot. The rest were done 'by eye' or using some equally horrible method.

This season, I've begun teaching myself how to use Inventor. I was hesitant to use it, particularly because it works quite differently from AutoCAD, and I'm very comfortable in AutoCAD. With time, though, I've grown more accustomed to the Inventor workflow, and I really like the power it provides. I dabbled briefly with a trial of SolidEdge as well, and parametric CAD programs are far more powerful and versatile than traditional drafting platforms - or, so it seems right now.

This season, I plan on using Inventor to design every aspect of our machine. Inventor's adaptive technology and assemblies will make it easier for me and my team to collaborate over the Internet - a necessity for this season. If we're successful, I will be designing parts for the machine in Seattle, running them by an engineer working with the students in Smithtown, and he will then pass them along to our machinist. If changes or revisions need to be made, updating a single part in Inventor and having the rest of the assembly and its associated part files adapt that change will be integral.

I know next to squat about animating things, either in Inventor or 3D Studio MAX.
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--Madison--

...down at the Ozdust!

Like a grand and miraculous spaceship, our planet has sailed through the universe of time. And for a brief moment, we have been among its many passengers.