Onshape

This page contains links to resources designed to help FTC and FRC students gain an increased mastery of Onshape, a parametric CAD package we use to design and build better robots. All students, even programmers, are encouraged to know the basics of Onshape, as it is a critical tool in our toolbox that we should all know!

Our Onshape training is set up as a ladder, with each rung representing a new set of skills. We expect every mechanical team member to get through at least rungs 0 and 1. Mechanical leads and veteran students are encouraged to climb higher on the ladder so we have enough collective experience to design winning robots.

Note on Onshape's official tutorials: If you click on a link below and see "Purchase Required", it just means you are not logged into your Onshape education account. Follow the instructions under "Rung 0" to complete your education account registration then click on the "Sign In" button to log into your account. Alternatively, go to onshape.com and log in first, then browse back to this page and follow the tutorial links.

Rung 0: Basic Training

ALL students on mechanical teams are expected to complete the steps on this rung in order to participate in the robot build.

Do:

Create your Onshape educational account and join the team. Follow these instructions to create your Onshape Education account and request to join the Centre Punch team account. Note that you need to renew your Onshape educational account annually to continue accessing the team's content.
Complete the Introduction to Parametric Feature-Based CAD Course (Average completion time 45 minutes)

Goal:

Confirm that you can find and open the team's CAD from the previous season, browse between tabs, and find subsystems.

Rung 1: Onshape Fundamentals

All students who expect to contribute to the design of a subsystem should go through the Onshape Learning Center tutorials below.

Do:

Complete Introduction to Sketching (Average completion time 1 hour)
Complete Introduction to Part Studios (Average completion time 2 hours)
Complete Introduction to Assembly Design (Average completion time 1 hour)

Goal:

Understand best practices like fully constrained sketches, clearly named parts, and properly mated assemblies.

Rung 2: Basic FRC CAD

At least 50% of our mechanical students should complete Rung 2, which explores the tools specifically developed for FRC teams like custom featurescripts and MKCad.

Do:

Install the Required Course Tools from FRCDesign (MKCad, featurescripts)
Complete "Stage 1 A: Onshape Fundamentals" from FRCDesign. Some of this is a bit redundant with the Onshape tutorials in Rung 1, but you'll learn how to use some of the FRC tools like the tube creator featurescript and you'll be doing it in the context of an FRC chassis.
- NOTE: FRCDesign was updated and includes a link to a different part library than we have usually used. I have not evaluated this and don't know how much it changes things.

Goals:

Understand the FRCDesign workflow for part studios and assemblies. Note that the use of the "Origin Cube" featurescript is not something we've done historically, but it's good to learn different approaches.

Rung 2 Evaluation: All students planning to participate in a mechanical team should be able to make the part below from scratch. CLICK HERE or on the part for the reference CAD, instructions, and suggestions to create the part.

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse