Idea: "CAD-a-thon"

[cadandcookies]

Originally Posted by swaxman12345

One question: Would there be a specific CAD software that everyone would have to use? I worry that there might be some disadvantages for younger/poorer teams that can't afford complex software like TurboCAD, and would be forced to use less capable products (such as Autodesk)

While I'm generally pretty clear that I dislike Inventor, it's disingenuous to claim that, for FRC purposes, it isn't a perfectly capable piece of software. I'd prefer to work with someone with four years of experience in Inventor over someone who has a year in Creo (or TurboCAD, but I can't say I'm familiar with that package and I haven't ever heard of anyone using it for robots or in industry), and certainly wouldn't say that our theoretical designer working with Inventor is at a disadvantage.

I've been training a few FTC students in Creo for the past few weeks, and one of the things I've been impressing upon them is that Creo or any other CAD package is a tool, and it isn't any smarter than you are. The "best" CAD software in the world won't give you any advantage if you don't know how to use it.