if anybody does and they are willing to direct me in links or some how get me the cad files it would highly be appreciated
im not sure if you can use inventor files in solidworks but if you sign up on autodesk firstbase then you pretty much have the whole KOP.
heres the link: http://firstbasefrc.autodesk.com/?nd=kitofparts
but you need an account to access it so contact your lead mentor about setting up an account.
cool thanks but i’d prefer one without registration through the school it’ll involve a bit of effort i’d like to refer to registration as last resort
this one is pretty old but its still good for some parts
http://www.firstcadlibrary.com/
this one is for 09
http://www.catalogds.com/db/service?d=first&c=browse
thanks but i already had those i was hoping for a different resource
if possible is there a site that packges all the cad files together for download instead of giveing them off one by one
Sorry seanl i was so busy with an assignment i’m doing I forgot to thank you especially for continuing to help me and any one else out there requireing help with this as well out
I am looking for all of the 2009 kit of parts for solidworks all of the files I can find are for Inventor and pro engineer.:yikes: Any help would be great. thanks:
SolidWorks should be able to open Inventor files and sometimes ProE files.
Another site to try is www.3dcontentcentral.com . Search for ‘First’ or ‘robotics’.
umm… thanks i’d like a a site without registration off the top
seanl had originally given me a link http://www.catalogds.com/db/service?d=first&c=browse which now has a link to download all of the kit in one download and the first cad libary as well which is a high resource and i’ll be using it a lot now pleas though post you’re resources to help the rest of the CD community
Greetings - I am a solidworks user and just got off the phone with our service company.
- Solidworks will not open inventor 11 files unless you have both inventor and solidworks on your computer (not me)
- Solidwork will not open Pro e files from Wildfire 4 (which I am assuming is bundle of parts you can find out there now), and it will not be able to convert them until SP3 comes out - not released yet
Your best bet will be to get somebody to export them in STEP or IGES. Anybody found any package of parts in STEP?
THX:(
thanks dude i was going to make this aware but i guess you beat me i tried and i had it saying process and waited so long until i gave up and quit
It looks like the PRO-E files made available are in a new format that isn’t supported by my SolidWorks Student Edition (2008-2009)
All is not lost!
Some parts from the kit are already in SolidWorks format. Available at http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/parts/browse/Robotic-Accessories/User-Library/140/185/185/Models.aspx?title=FIRST+Robotics&isredirect=true&level=1
and yes, you need a 3dcontentcentral login but it’s Free.
Some parts are in STEP format that SolidWorks can open:
i.e. You can get the C-Base Drive Chassis - Official Drive Base Frame for the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition. from:
http://www.andymark.biz/am-0205.html
The chassis link is:
C-Base Long CAD File (.stp format, right click and Save As)
The Rover wheels are here:
http://www.andymark.biz/am-0284.html
You can get quite a few of the parts from the http://www.andymark.biz home page, and also if you browse through their site.
Here’s how to open STEP files and save them in SolidWorks format (in case you wanted to know):
In SolidWorks, click File > Open, then change the “Files of type” to *STEP AP203/214 (*.step, .stp)
Browse to where you saved the file and click Open.
SolidWorks will open the file and convert it into it’s own format which you can then save.
Hope that helps. 
any idea on makeing the speed of opening faster it’s pretty laggy
It opens fast for me. You might need more memory in your computer or a faster cpu. How much memory do you have? I’m running a Intel Core 2 Duo with 2GB RAM and there is no lag.
You might also try defragging your hard drive to speed up part loads.
who knows i’ll try a bit later and post the results
Even with having to register, www.3DContentCentral.com is a great resource. You will not only use it in FIRST but also if you go on to become a professional designer. If you have non SolidWorks format files, then I would use STEP. Most likely the components you will download are purchased components and you will not modify them. You want these components to be as lightweight as possible. Add reference axis or plane if you need to (Insert, Reference Geometry, Plane). Concentrate on your value added to the design, the parts you have to machine - you are now down to 5 weeks. Marie
Suj, the one time you open the step file it WILL lag a bit of your computer is not “up to speed”.
The one time lag is ok, but just let it process the step file completely & correctly, & finish opening.
After it is opened, you will notice that is is now in your working directory as a .sldasm file with seperate .sldprt files for each of the components.
The next time you open that .sldasm file, if it does not open as quick as you would like, there is a way to get around that which I use.
I know this sounds strange, but ANY SolidWorks assembly can be saved as a part file & will open a lot faster the next time since it is now a single file, & not many files spread out over your working directory.
I advise this technique ONLY if you don’t need to move any parts on the “assembly” or modify any parts later.
(This will obviously require a bit of insight on your part).
(For example, I just performed this technique on the C-Chassis assembly file because in my application, it is a static item, which I will not need to move or modify any individual parts on.
On the other hand, the Toughboxes, I may want to be able to move around the gears in the future, so keeping it as an assembly was ideal for my application.
Your results may vary, but this has worked for me in the past to keep the files sizes & number of files to a minimum.
Btw, when you click to save an assembly as a part file, select the “All components” in the radio button options within the “save as” dialog box for best resuts or experiment to see what works best for you.
Some manufacturers offer models for their own parts, often in .STP format (or, rather, not always in .sldprt/sldasm). I recall Bimba offered actuator models (which I also recall are on 3dcontentcenteral in .sldprt form).