Team 2485 Overclocked proudly presents CADtoons, our version of KrayonCAD for Solidworks!
Our Intent
When KrayonCAD was released for Onshape, we recognized that it was a great contribution, so much so that teams using other CAD software such as Solidworks were put at a disadvantage. There are many other forums to debate very valid reasons to move to Onshape, but we want to avoid those discussions here. Last year, we created a KrayonCAD-adjacent system for Solidworks just to use within Team 2485 for our own season, which was incredibly useful, so we wanted to allow other teams to use it as well. We cleaned up our system, resulting in the CADtoons you see now.
Why Use CADtoons?
CADtoons, like KrayonCAD, is a way to quickly visualize robot designs at the beginning of the design process through configurable subsystems. It does not give detailed CAD to use in a final robot design. As Solidworks is fundamentally different from Onshape, the solution is implemented may be completely differently. However, both systems can:
- Explore or verify geometries by inputting new values for variables
- See rough designs in 3D
- Investigate how subsystems may fit together
How Do You Use CADtoons?
We’ve created an in-depth slideshow to help guide you through the process of using CADtoons and its specific variables, but to start:
- Download the CADtoons Files
- All of the CADtoons will be in a shared Google Drive folder that you will have “view only access” to. You will have to download the file to be able to use it.
- You can download the whole folder or just the CADtoons that you plan to use (recommended to put them in a separate folder)
- Once downloaded, insert the Solidworks Part or Assembly file into a SolidWorks Assembly
- Whether it’s a part or assembly file just depended on how we decided to CAD it –most will be part files.
- Using Equations
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The variables in these parts are controlled through Solidworks equations.
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To access the variables, right click on the part/assembly, select “edit Part/Assembly” then right click equations in the feature tree and select “Manage Equations”
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Modify the Global Variables (do not modify equations!)
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- Now you can play around with the CADtoons and explore to your heart’s desire!
Subsystems Available:
- West Coast Drive Train
- 8-Wheel WCD
- Frame
- Swerve Modules
- Wireframe Structure
- Conveyor Belt
- Pivot Intake
- Roller Claw
- Single-Flywheel Shooter
- Spindexer
- Rotating Arm
- Telescoping Arm
- 2 Stage Elevator
Note from the Creators:
While we tried our best to be as thorough as possible, there were limits to the accuracy we could have with some subsystems and may have made mistakes. Please reply in this thread to let us know if there are issues with any of the CADtoons and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!
Credits:
- Special thanks to the KrayonCAD team for their incredible work and for giving us the inspiration to pursue this.
- Richard Lemoine (Head Design Mentor), original idea
- Kavish Kondap (2485 Alum), original idea
- Nicholas Soule (2485 Member)
- Sara Sariowan (2485 Member)
- Owen Walti (2485 Member)
Now, for what you have been waiting for: CADtoons Google Drive Folder
