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Now that your team has a good plan, it’s time to start building! Deadlines are important, so you want to make sure your robot is finished before your first competition.
But remember, just because you’re building doesn’t mean you stop writing in your engineering notebook! You should keep track of every step you take to build and program your robot. Try to include lots of details so you don’t forget anything later.
There are many ways to keep track of your work. Here are a few helpful methods your team can use to remember how you built your VEX robot.
Build & Program The Solution Criteria
Exceeds
Records the steps to build and program the solution. Includes enough detail that the reader can follow the logic used by the team to develop their robot design, as well as recreate the robot design from the documentation.
Meets
Records the key steps to build and program the solution. Lacks sufficient detail for the reader to follow the design process.
Below
Does not record the key steps to build and program the solution.
Method 1: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
One of the simplest ways to record the steps to building your solution is to take a picture as you build and construct the robot.
After each step of the build, pause and take a photo of what you made so far.
Add the picture to your engineerin notebook and label the parts you used.
Add notes to explain any important details the builder has added to the design that someone following the instructions should pay careful attention to.
Method 2: A Technical Drawing Goes a Long Way
Sometimes, drawing a picture of your robot is actually better than taking a photo--Especially when your robot has a lot of small, overlapping parts. These special kinds of pictures are called technical drawings.
A technical drawing usually shows the robot from the top view (like if you're looking straight down at it). It uses simple shapes and outlines to show where each part goes. The drawing should be the right size (to scale), so the parts are in the correct place and the right size compared to each other.
When you're making a technical drawing, try not to show everything all at once. Instead, break it up into smaller steps so that someone else can understand it easily.
Now look at the example drawings below. What could each team do to make their drawings better?
Example A: A drawing showing a top down view of a V5 Drivetrain build.
This technical drawing could be improved by breaking down the build into individual steps versus the entire robot all at once.
Example B: A top down view showing how to build half of the overall drivetrain.
This technical drawing could be improved by stating the specific size of parts used versus just the part name.
Example C: A top down view showing where all the pieces of the robot are.
This technical drawing could be improved by stating the specific size of parts used versus just the part name.
Example A: A CAD Model showing step by step directions for VEX IQ Model made in Onshape
Example A: A CAD Model showing a top down view of an entire modeled robot at the completion of all the steps.
Method 3: Computer Aided Design (CAD)
CAD stands for Computer-Aided Design. It’s a way to design things on a computer, like your robot! With CAD, you can build a 3D model of your robot using special software. This lets you see how all the pieces fit together before you even start building. One of the cool things about CAD is that you can use it to create step-by-step instructions, just like a LEGO manual. These instructions show exactly where each part goes, one step at a time, which helps your team build the robot faster and more accurately.
There are a variety of tools can you use to create a computer-aided model of your robot. Some of the most notable ones are:
You can also check out the RECF's Knowledge base for more resources.
WIS Robotics has also developed a CAD Guide to support our robotics students.
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