Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisH
Actually as I understand it, Ed does not generaly upload parts from others. He wants the parts in the library to be RIGHT. So he only uploads parts he has measured and modeled himself.
This might sound like a pain, but I can think of one year we used an "off-brand" model of a Fisher-Price gearbox to design our robot. It turned out that the models were slightly off from the real parts. We figured this out because we couldn't install the gearboxes without cutting apart and re-welding the frame. The frame members we were using for mounts were too close together, even though the model showed clearance. We measured and found the frame was built according to plan but the FP models were off.
Fixing it by reworking the frame would have taken time we didn't want to spend and would have required re-designing other subsystems. The "easy" way out was to change the manipulator design concept and build a custom 1000:1 gearbox, in two weeks. We took the easy way
I appreciated Ed's approach a lot more after that.
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Indeed.... we used some bad models this year, but luckily we caught the error before production started when someone found a .pdf with different dimensions.
Also, be carful with the motors.... Some can be slightly different year to year and not exactly match the cadlibrary website. I know this happened this year when I compared the model to what I was calipering; I just don't remember what motor.
Either way, FirstCADLibrary is awesome. Don't forget though, IFI has CAD files of their wheels (and sprockets... which can be useful even if you don't buy theirs) and AndyMark has most of their products' files.