pic: Small CIM in wheel swerve

[Rachel Lim]

Originally Posted by Chinske4296

Never trust inventors weight simulation. We tried it for our robot with correct materials and it was off by about 20 lbs

I've found the weight estimates in SolidWorks to be pretty good (and I'd be surprised if Inventor is significantly worse). What I have realized is all the "small" parts we don't add in really add up. Doing a weight calculation for our intake arms this year, I realized that just the fact that we don't add bolts/nuts to assemblies made my estimate under by ~0.6-0.8lbs.

My preferred method (if we're cutting it close), since I think we're unlikely to get complete enough assemblies to just use the CAD model, is to create a spreadsheet and list out every part and its weight. For custom parts I get the weights off the CAD parts, and for COTs ones I just look at the supplier's website. This way I can ensure I'm not missing a part that ends up to weigh a ton.

In all, even if we have the proper weights for all COTs parts that we add into CAD, and the correct materials for all custom parts, I wouldn't be surprised if the CAD was several pounds under because of the bolts / nuts / wires / pneumatic tubing / chain / belts / all other parts we don't add in.