[DonRotolo]

Some teams approach CAD as a way of documenting what the rest of the team has built. We see their CAD sub-teams carrying rulers and calipers a lot.

Other teams approach CAD as a tool to design parts and perfect* them before spending the time to make it out of metal or plastic.

Still others approach CAD as a way to win an award. I don't think this is a good idea. Do good work and the awards will follow.

When Boeing designed their 787, they designed the whole plane on the computer and then started making parts. That is typical of how it works in the real world. And, my advice is to try to do CAD like that.

The reality is that unless you and your CAD subteam are highly skilled, you will not have enough time to design the entire robot before it is built. While I do encourage you to try (make sure the team is behind you on that) you might consider taking the approach of focusing on a single element of the robot.

For example, an easy project would be the layout of the electrical board (for example, make sure there's room for wires, tools and fingers...). Many teams have a standard drivetrain they build each year, so instead as a more challenging project focus on the game-specific manipulator (such as last year's "kicker") - but you need the mechanical subteam working closely with you on this, and remember you don't have more than a few days.

Once the team decides on how they'll play the game and what capabilities the robot needs (all in the first week after kickoff), another week can be used to design a mechanism in CAD, after which it needs to get built. Ask yourself: Am I good enough to put their design into CAD and prove that it'll work as desired in a week?

If the answer right now is no -then get better at CAD so you can. That will make CAD a huge asset for the team.


*Perfect meaning "good enough to work" not without any flaws.