973 Remote Assistance and Mentorship Program (RAMP)

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by DampRobot

It seemed like a lot of your sketches for parts put essentially all part geometry into one sketch. I'm not saying that the way you're doing it is wrong or bad, but I've always been taught that having multiple 3d features produces a more robust and adaptable model than including a lot of complication in sketches. Additionally, I hope that when I teach kids to CAD with a lot of features (for example on frame tubing, first the profile extrusion, then any wheel holes, then top gusset holes, then gearbox holes, etc), that they realize that the way they model a part should reflect what depends on what and how it will actually be manufactured. Of course, I can definitely see how you might find putting a lot of stuff in a sketch faster.

Most of the parts that I do the massive sketch for are essentially 2d parts (even tubing is 2d in my mind in many cases). I don't see how this makes the model less adaptable in any significance, I actually find it to be more reflexive as it's much faster/easier to change dimensions. If you want gearbox holes 4.5" spaced on center, how is it different to do that in the same sketch as the bearing block cut versus another feature in terms of robustness? However, putting them in the same sketch lets you see everything at once and iterate dimensions faster.

At some point I'll go over our swerve corner plates, that's a part that really literally I would not have done if we didn't do it one sketch, it just would've been too much time spent jumping between features.

Thanks for the tip on face fillet, that's a good one.

[Adam Freeman]

Adam,

These videos are really awesome! As someone who only opens Solidworks between Jan-Apr (and mostly works in AutoCAD 2D), they help provide a nice refresher on an efficient way to model parts.

I think the symetric mate and configuration tool will be very helpful for me this season and hopefully eliminate a lot of frustration I have with working with a Solidworks model.

You've mentioned some keyboard short-cuts a couple of times.... I'd be interested in knowing some of basic ones that you use most often.

Thanks,
Adam

[sailer99]

Have you ever played around with the weldmets tool in Solidworks? I have found it makes working with tubing a lot easier and faster once you get some experience with it,

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by Adam Freeman

Adam,

These videos are really awesome! As someone who only opens Solidworks between Jan-Apr (and mostly works in AutoCAD 2D), they help provide a nice refresher on an efficient way to model parts.

I think the symetric mate and configuration tool will be very helpful for me this season and hopefully eliminate a lot of frustration I have with working with a Solidworks model.

You've mentioned some keyboard short-cuts a couple of times.... I'd be interested in knowing some of basic ones that you use most often.

Thanks,
Adam

More or less I just map my most commonly used tools (not just features/geometry, but measure, mass properties, etc...) to different keyboard keys. Some are already mapped by SW. I then go further and use a mouse with many keys on it (I use the logitech g700 now, but am debating getting something with more buttons). This has 3 sets of keys per program you can cycle through, so I have a mode for sketches, one that is kind of half way sketches/features (for part level work) and one that is for assemblies (mates, mass properties). I also map the enter key in all 3, so that saves a lot of time being able to enter with the mouse.

When I first did this I had to spend some time and make a cheat sheet and practice, but it ends up saving a lot of time in the long run. The mouse I use saves its settings locally, and then I have a SW settings file that can be used to setup my shortcuts on other computers.

Originally Posted by sailer99

Have you ever played around with the weldmets tool in Solidworks? I have found it makes working with tubing a lot easier and faster once you get some experience with it,

For most of the frames we do in FRC they are simple enough, and I want to control the end conditions more closely, so that the weldment tool is kind of a funky fit. I do use it all the time outside of FRC for larger frames and really love it. The tediousness of the end conditions makes it a rough fit for a frame in FRC where an inexperienced SW user would be working with assemblies I've made.

I definitely agree though, it's a cool tool with a lot of power. I love how it generates essentially unique drawings per tube and a complete cut list.

EDIT: Just caved and ordered a g600 with more buttons.
Also, some good videos on shortcuts (SW has WAY too many methods for mapping shortcuts).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmAk7lOby24
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFS71Cb9yeg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owKlVEGT7Ak

[AdamHeard]

6 New Videos are up!

They are;
-Motor Curves
-Motor sizing for Arms
-Motor sizing for Elevators
-The Power Transmission and Cable rigging on our elevator
-Designing linkages with sketches
-Designing robots with sketches.

[Mark Sheridan]

Very awesome videos.

I wondering about if you have time to post a video on how to CAD your sheet metal (or was that water jet?) gears/racks. I have heard many methods and I was curious about yours. I have always done the sketching of gears by making arches and I am really slow doing it that way. I know solid works has a gear generator and I was not sure how accurate it is. I have heard of people taking a profile from a step file of a gear. Lastly, do you compensate for anodize or coating?

[ttldomination]

Looking through your videos, it's logical that when you cascade, the linear speed goes up and the force goes down, but I'm curious about where that "reduction" takes place? By my guess, that would happen at the transition from the 2nd stage to the carriage, but I'm not seeing why the stall force would go down...

In the same video, when you're calculating the combined weight at the carriage, why do you divide both the 2nd stage weight and the constant force spring force by two? I suppose this ties into the first question, but wouldn't the CFS just be responsible for lifting the weight of the 2nd stage + carriage outright?

- Sunny G.

[artdutra04]

Just watched a few of these videos, and they have some great information in them. I've also used the 2D sketches to "design" robots and layouts for years now, but there is one thing you can do to make the process even better. Draw all the fixed geometry things (such as the height of 2011 pegs or a tipped bridge in 2012 or pyramid profile in 2013) or sizing volume limitations or robot chassis/bumpers (if size is already nailed down) on one sketch. Close the sketch, turn on Visible Sketches, then right click on the sketch in the feature tree and click Edit Sketch Color. Make this red or green or a different color.

Then start a new sketch on the same exact plane as the original sketch, and start drawing drive trains, arms, elevators, etc in this new sketch. This does three things: 1. it hides all the sketch dimensions for fixed geometry that clutters your screen, 2. it make it easier to see the difference between field/robot lines when you start adding all kinds of mechanisms or linkages and 3. you can iterate through ideas quickly by closing a sketch, hiding/suppressing it, then starting another new sketch on the same plane= without having to redraw all the fixed geometry.

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Oh boy. You're not going to like the pocketing video that just finished uploading...

I agree with your point, and I'm a bit sloppy in that regard but generally do trim to make things clean (except in the pocketing example).

I also cringed at the untrimmed lines in the pocketing video, as I've lost track of how many times I've been sloppy modeling stuff and it takes more time to fix things if when there's more iterations and everything breaks. For the past two years I've always used a model-it-right-the-first-time attitude towards all CAD.

[David Guzman]

Adam,

Great job on these videos. Just saw a few of them and I am very impressed. I use Autodesk Inventor, but I found most of the practice still apply and even learned some new cool ones I plan on using.

Thank you for doing this. I wish someone had done something like this 8 years ago when I became interested in CAD and Robot Design.

Keep it up!

[Nemo]

I love the Designing Robots with Sketches video. I've been trying to push people in this direction on my team, so this will be a good video link for me to send their way.

[wilful]

Originally Posted by Nemo

I love the Designing Robots with Sketches video. I've been trying to push people in this direction on my team, so this will be a good video link for me to send their way.

I agree. One of the most useful things I have learned about soildworks

[audietron]

The videos explaining the elevator were really good.
You said in part 2 you might do another one showing how to do the same cascading elevator but with chain instead of rack and pinion. This would be great to see for teams who don't have water jet to create the rack or like you said have limited use for it. Great videos!

[peronis]

Awesome job on these videos. I emailed the link out to my team today as a primer before kickoff.

Thank you so much!

[AdamHeard]

Another video on Cascade elevators is up, specifically using chain to drive the first stage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJrSk...ature=youtu.be

[AdamHeard]

Now that season has started I wanted to remind teams that we're here to help and feel free to contact us.

Also, know that we all know the game, any video request specific to it?