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Day 25: Open CAD Release

Spectrum is using GrabCAD Workbench this year to do version control and content management for our Solidworks CAD files of our robot. One of the nice features of GrabCAD Workbench is it allows for you to share your CAD with others even if they don’t have a GrabCAD account. We didn’t really know how to use this feature until a couple days ago. Since we learned to use it and we are a fan of open designs, we are opening up our CAD files for public consumption.

There are some caveats.

1.  Our CAD is all still very much experimental. Do not expect anything to work. We haven’t tested most of it and will be making countless changes before and after we assemble the robot. The robot isn’t even complete at this point. Many of the models are just good enough for us to be able to build and test from. So please use anything at your own risk and your millage may vary.

2. We will try to update the partner space with our nightly updates but we will probably forget sometimes. That means you may not always see the latest CAD files. 
3. The GrabCAD online viewer shows suppressed and hidden parts in assemblies. We may have removed some things or have different versions that will show up in the web viewer. If something looks strange please download the entire assembly and see if it is a suppressed or hidden component.  

4. The names associated with files are just the people that moved them to the Partner Space and not necessarily the people that updated or made the original files.

5. If you happen to think of ways we can improve our robot we are more than happy to hear them. Our sharing isn’t entirely selfless; we love the feedback we get from all the other eyes that look over our designs. We know we aren’t right most of the time, so please feel free to give us a hand and point out areas we can improve. Leave comments below, tweet at us, Facebook us, Snapchat us, email us, call our mentor, or use any other form of communication you prefer.

6. The COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) folder is largely filled with models generated by other people and organizations. This includes many manufacturers of the parts. If anyone wants files removed from this repository please let us know and we will be happy to do it. We are adding this to our repository so that if anyone wants to download the complete model of our robot in Solidworks they are able to do so with all the referenced parts. Thank you to all the organizations that release high quality 3D models of their components. Our COTS folder isn’t the most organized or up to date, so again use anything at your own risk.

Thank you to Solidworks and GrabCAD for their generous donation of software to FRC teams. We truly appreciate it.

Link to our GrabCAD Partner Space

CAD.Spectrum3847.org

– Spectrum
“When you give something away, you benefit more than the
recipient does. The act of being generous makes you rich beyond measure, and as the
goods or services spread through the community, everyone benefits.” – Seth Godin