No its not required but if you've designed your bot in CAD its probably a good idea to have them up in your pit to show your work!
This is the First year we've fully utilized CAD.
I learned Inventor over the course of 2 days going through the tutorial CD, and have fully CADed up our bot for this year. It is proving to be SUCH a useful tool!
Its also amazing to watch the process of your ideas becoming reality.
I also think of Inventor as a filter. It clears up the transition of your idea to a real physical object, and provides much more accurate results.
My suggestion to teams who haven't yet had the opportunity to work with CAD: get at least 1 person to go through the tutorial CD. It will change your team's life
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-=Sachiel7=-
There's no such thing as being too simple!
Look for Team #1132, RAPTAR Robotics at the VCU Regional this year!