[sdcantrell56]

Hey there. We are in the metro area as well although not quite neighbors. Our robot is entirely designed in CAD before machining. Almost nothing on the robot was fabricated without a CAD design as well as design review with at least one mentor. Part of this is because most of our fabrication is by CNC equipment, but also because we don't like wasting material or man hours on something that won't fit or work properly.

Using CAD will absolutely help you. It will not; however, be a revolutionary change without the knowledge to back it up. I recommend the most important step you can take is finding at least one engineering mentor, preferably a couple with different skill sets. I might even know of one who wouldn't mind helping out sometimes (PM me for details). The next biggest thing is learning how to analyze the game and decide what the important tasks are and what are tasks that you can reliably accomplish with your resources. This one is tough because you have to realistically assess your teams abilities and resources. Trying to do everything this year was pretty much unrealistic for most teams, especially teams in Georgia. Not being harsh, just reality.

Would love to talk more about it, so feel free to message me. We can maybe even set up some time to come down to Westminster to see how we work.