Quote:
Originally Posted by BigMacFatAttack
Now that 5288, The Spartans rookie year is finished, we are now fully experienced in what FRC is all about, and what it takes to do well. When in St. Louis we learned many ideas which we wish to implicate in the next season.
However, I want to know the benefits of both CAD and SolidWorks in ability to learn, the diversity of the program and how they integrate with a 3D printer.
In short, which program is the most beneficial to a team who has no experience in either?
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CAD stands for Computer Aided Design, SolidWorks being one. I would say that using CAD has a huge benefit for a team!
It lets you design and test your ideas without using any consumable resources such as metal or wood for prototypes, and if you design the whole robot in CAD beforehand, you have a detailed model/drawings to go by. It makes fixing things and building things easier!
It makes your robot look more professional as it makes your team look that way as well. Real designers all over the world use CAD programs every day, and they are a great resource for teams.
SolidWorks is one of many CAD programs, and which is best for your team depends on many factors. SolidWorks is probably most like what is used in the aerospace industry, due to the fact that it is very similar to Catia V5, which is what many aerospace companies use, but is much cheaper, but can still be an investment for teams.
Creo (Previously Pro/Engineer) is used by many other engineering companies as well, and is available for free to FIRST teams, but I am not a huge fan of Creo, so you might want the opinion of another person on it. I find it annoying and difficult to use, but that's just me.
Autodesk Inventor is also available to FIRST Teams/Students for free and is my CAD program of choice. It is very simple to use and understand, but can still do very complicated things, and many companies use it as well. It is easy to pick up and the lay out is similar to the newer versions of Office, and if you have no knowledge of CAD at all and don't think parametrically and want to learn quick, it's what I would recommend.
And as for 3D printing, basically any CAD program will work, you just design a model in CAD and convert it to a STEP file before you import it in to a slicer program, which analyzes the model and makes it possible to print it from there.