[Garret]

We do all fabrication except for welding in house. If you can get a welding sponsor you can do very well using COTS parts and simple brackets for everything else. Even if you don't have welding you can get by with simple gusset brackets made on a bandsaw and aluminum angle. All you really need is a drill press (or hand drill) and band saw (or jigsaw). We do almost all our work with hand-held power tools, and we do not have access to a lathe, mill, or router at our build site so we do not design to use them.

My point is that you don't need to use expensive computer controlled equipment to build a fully custom and competitive robot, we used to build out of a garage and we have always done custom. You should always do CAD no matter how you plan on having parts made.