Second FTC season and FRC training about to start and we really would like to get better with CAD. We had a few seniors on it last year during our rookie year, but that was when the coaches request them and was very ad-hoc versus being an actual tool that we use…
We bough 2 dedicated computers and got a sponsorship from SolidWorks. One of our coach on our team is very good using it and we just got a license for SolidProfessor to use. We used GrabCAD last year a little bit… so it feels like we have the basic foundation elements to make this very successful.
Where we are a little puzzled is how to get kids excited about it. So here is a few questions that we could use some help with. Any feedback and or ideas from your team would be appreciated
1- Does your team have a dedicated CAD team?
2- What is your ratio of CAD students/total team members for your team?
3- Are the students doing CAD also part of the built team?
4- What is your “rules” around draw before your build, or build than draw…?
5- Any “perks” for being on that team?
6- What is your team strategy to promote CAD within your team?
Honestly, I don’t think you will be sucessful trying to force or push someone to do CAD. It is a very hard task, and requires people that enjoy doing that sort of stuff. Spending long hours behind a screen, figuring out problems on design etc. Before a fellow junior, and I came along our freshman year, our team did not have a CAD team. The general vibe I got at that time, was that the head mentor tried to push a few students to do it and it ended badly.
My fellow junior was straight away interested in CAD and jumped right into it in freshman year. I took a little bit more convincing. However, I did realize how much better the team can be if I helped CAD so I picked up on it. And eventually actually started enjoying doing it.
I guess my only advice can be, show your students how much CAD can benefit a team. Then attempt to single out the students that might be interested in such a task, and try to tell them how much they would be helping if the CADed. Other than that, I dont really know.
Students need to understand that in industry, nothing is built with “hammers and hack saws.” It’s all built for mass production, by very precise computer-controlled machinery. Developing the commands that move that machinery is a process that begins with a CAD model.
If you really want to show the value of CAD, consider getting some kind of automated machine (3D printer, CNC router, etc) that creates objects based on CAD designs.
This is the number one thing. Sure, you’ll find weird exceptions (like me!) who just enjoy spending time designing things, but far more people are motivated when they’ll have an opportunity to see their designs recreated by a machine in front of them. Getting a CNC anything in house or visiting a sponsor who has such machines can be huge for getting students motivated to do CAD. Having a mentor who is excited about it and willing to teach students and help them along the way is also very nearly essential for learning and getting people motivated to do CAD.
My biggest recommendation is to get some sort of digital fabrication whether it be a CNC router, mill, 3D printer, or waterjet sponsorship. This absolutely forces students to CAD out the robot because they must have a digital copy in order to produce parts. If you want to play around in the offseason, I recommend getting an X-Carve (upgraded) or a 3D printer. These items have relatively low barriers to entry and can let students quickly turn their parts into actual models.
The X-Carve is slightly harder to get into but is very inspiring after getting it fully tuned and upgraded to your tastes.
As to your question about drawing before build, we come up with concept on a whiteboard and some basic dimensions before CAD starts. However, students eventually find it easier to express their designs through simple 2D sketches using CAD (we use Solidworks). This prevents them from becoming too invested in creating parts and mating things together, and more focused on the geometry and layout of their idea. A fully dimensionsed robot design can take about 20-30 minutes to create and can include all the dimensions and mechanism layout that you need.
IMHO it is very important to get as many people on your mechanical team to learn CAD. Everyone wants to prototype, but few can properly plan out their prototypes without CAD. Even just knowing 2D sketches can greatly benefit your team.
1- Does your team have a dedicated CAD team?
Sort of. This year we will have 1 member who is going to continuously CAD throughout the whole season and then 4-5 members who are just going to CAD for the first few weeks and then go into building. The dedicated CAD member will work on new upgrades, stress testing, and making the CAD model pretty for renders.
2- What is your ratio of CAD students/total team members for your team?
Ours is quite high. Out of 25-30 students about 8 could CAD if they had to and we will have 6 or 7 CADing during the season.
3- Are the students doing CAD also part of the built team?
Answered this earlier but yes some. I am the build lead but I almost exclusively CAD in the beginning. We have a prototyping lead to handle build members during that time but I am not involved in it.
4- What is your “rules” around draw before your build, or build than draw…?
We CAD everything first and a lot of times before we start CADing we are sketching stuff on a wipe board. We don’t have the money to make very many mistakes.
5- Any “perks” for being on that team?
I always say to members if you want the full engineering experience join the CAD team. You definitely learn the most in that sub team on the mechanical side and overall its a really fulfilling job. This year the CAD team will be working in our new clean room which is connected to our main room. The clean room will have a fridge and microwave so I guess one perk will be quickest access to food.
6- What is your team strategy to promote CAD within your team?
If you want to design robots learn CAD. From there I really have not had to push members to learn.