The Process of CAD ing the Robot, From Start to Finish - Pattonville-Robotics/Library-of-Alexandria GitHub Wiki
An Introduction
To win virtually any design award beyond local qualifiers, a full CAD assembly of the robot is required. To accomplish this, the individual doing using the CAD software, in this case Autodesk Inventor, must be involved in the actual designing and building of the robot. Furthermore, each builder must have experience using CAD software so they can effectively prototype without having to use materials.
Once the model of the robot is complete, a schematic of it should be included both in the notebook, and on the table display. Alongside the diagrams should be high-quality renderings of the robot in different positions, as well as in-depth looks at each notable subassembly.
What is an assembly?
In any large model, it is advantageous to break it down into smaller pieces. By creating each piece of the robot and then merely assembling them together, reusing pieces, the process is much faster. A full set of Tetrix models should be available to the CAD-er, and any custom designed pieces should first be developed in CAD, and then either 3D-printed, cut out of aluminum, or created in polycarbonate.
To create a robot in an assembly, just place each Tetrix or custom piece in the assembly at an approximate location within the robot, and constrain the holes together with an inline constraint or, if you are more of a perfectionist, a nut and bolt with a mate constraint.