[B95]

I agree with skypatrol in that it is important to understand limitations in fabrication, as it's especially easy to design a part that is impossible to create.

When I took the CAD and design class at our school, there was one assignment in which we were given an object with a complex shape and a maximum number of modeling features (individual extrusions/revolutions/lofts, not sure of the Solidworks equivalent) we could use to make it. I think this helped me greatly in finding how to make an object the most efficient way and what tool to use in order to get my idea from my head and into the part.

Additionally, this year I was looking at a part from a previous year's robot because we were creating a similar system for this year's, and I found myself appreciating how the tools were used to create it. This may also help in learning the software.