Blender3d Collision Physics Simulator

[bsaleh03]

I know that CAD is used to model robot pieces, but i have lately been experementing with the Blender 3d modeling program, specifically their surprisingly realistic solid object simulators. Basically, it allows me to allow two or more meshes to collide with each other as in real life. I wonder if i could use this collision simulator to model parts of our robot, and see how they interact before we plasma-cut pieces for the robot. For instance, in the 2015 game, how different hook shapes would latch on to the side of the tote.

[tindleroot]

Whatever floats your boat, I suppose. Blender's physics engine is pretty good and can give you some useful insight, as you said. However, Blender's physics engine uses mesh collision, which is not the same as solid collision, so there may be some significant variance in results. Obviously, Blender's engine was created for animation purposes, not real-life physics or engineering purposes.

Most high-end CAD programs have their own physics simulators, so while they are harder to use, I strongly recommend learning how to use those as they will give you better results.

[Whippet]

I've been designing my team's robots like this since the 2013 season and is really a mixed bag. This year, I imported STL versions if the KOP totes and recycling containers and tried to get my designs to work. The problem is that Blender's physics engine works best with very simple meshes with primarily rectangular or spherical features. I found that no matter how I configured the simulator, I could not get my correctly-sized hook to not clip through the tote/container and drop it just because it how complex the collision meshes were. On the other hand, Blender was perfect last year for designing a launcher/catcher, as the game piece was an easy-to-simulate near perfect sphere. Actually, this year's game was, IMO, one of the hardest in a long time to simulate in Blender. It's your call, but my team is going to make the switch to Inventor this year because we decided Blender just wasn't worth the trouble.

EDIT: I still have the last 2 years of Blender files sitting on my hard drive. If you PM me your email address, I can send you some examples.

[MikLast]

What you may try is importing the .FBX files into Unily3D. While i haven't touched Unity in a while, you should be able to quickly rig it up so testing shouldn't be that hard.

(Also, you could stick with the Autodesk line and build it in inventor and export that to their physics engine (If they have one?)