What to do in the off-season

[Adam.garcia]

Originally Posted by ThaineP

Anyone have any recommendations for CAD software that is free/cheap and you can get a library of FIRST parts for it? (Not demo versions, please) I need to work on my CAD skills in the off-season, and Google Sketchup is just a tiny bit awkward for making robots with, and I haven't found any FIRST parts so far.

There are a few different free CAD programs at no cost for you.
The ones I use are Autodesk Inventor and Solidworks.

You can obtain a free student Autodesk License by signing up at www.students.autodesk.com. After making an account, you can download all the programs for free (If you are a student of course).

You can also obtain a free solidworks license by contacting your local reseller and explain to them that you are from FIRST. They have a special version of solidworks called Solidworks Student Design kit.

Personally, I prefer Solidworks over Inventor. It is much easier to use and much more intuitive.