Mechanical CAD Training
From sketch to robot
A step-by-step Onshape series. Four foundation lessons from the Onshape Learning Center, then FTC work: a competition drivetrain and animated mechanisms, building toward modeling our whole robot.
How it works
- Do the lessons in order.Each one builds on the skills from the last.
- Try each exercise before opening its walkthrough.The videos are there for when you're really stuck, not to copy along.
- Save everything in the team training folder.Lesson 01 shows you where it is.
You'll need
- A free Onshape accountUse a student/education account so it stays free.
- A computer with a mouseA trackpad works, but a three-button mouse makes 3D much easier.
- The FTC parts libraryFrom Lesson 05 on. Setup steps are in that lesson.
Foundations
Learn Onshape
Courses from the official Onshape Learning Center, with our notes and walkthroughs for the exercises.
- 01Getting startedLog in, find the team folder, then learn parametric CAD and constrained sketching.2 modules
- 02Part StudiosExtrude, revolve and fillet: turn sketches into solid parts, then build five of them.5 exercises
- 03AssembliesConnect parts with mates that define how they move.3 exercises
- 04Inspection & repairRead the warnings, find missing references and fix a broken model.1 course
FTC design
Build robot parts
Real FTC mechanisms built from real FTC parts.
- 05Parallel plate drivetrainA competition-style drivebase from scratch, following a Renert Robotics tutorial.FTC
- 06Mates & animationModel a crank-slider, mate it, and animate it to check the motion.FTC
- 07Our robot in CADComing soon: designing mechanisms and modeling the full robot.Soon