Design Handbook
These sections form an extensive and in depth reference manual that covers both fundamentals and advanced techniques in FRC robot design. While examples are given in Onshape, the content is largely CAD software agnostic.
Keep in mind that this category is a large work in progress, and will continue to be added to long after the design guide is finished. Feel free to write your own content for something we don't have yet and we'll try to incorporate it into the website (See contribution guide).
Strategic Design
(WIP) Strategic Design is the holy grail of fundamentals. It can take any team's performance and raise it significantly (with a solid support structure of students and mentors). Strategic design is about all the factors that go into what robot your team decides to build, creating a successful build season schedule for getting it done, and executing it well for competitions. It's about priorities and tradeoffs. It's about designing a robot and playing the game within your capabilities.
Hardware
These pages are all about robustness and designing with fabrication in mind. This means materials, types of structure, hardware, tolerances, and tools and machines.
(WIP) Materials: Different types of common materials in FRC and how to use them best, how to design for manufacturing, and a guide on lightening.
(WIP) Structure: A guide on creating robust and versatile robot structures.
(WIP) Fasteners: A guide on fasteners and fastener standards common in FRC.
(WIP) Sheet Metal: A guide on designing for sheet metal.
(WIP) 3D Printing: A guide on designing for 3D printing.
(WIP) Tolerances: A guide on tolerances to account for when manufacturing real parts.
(WIP) Weight Savings: A guide on designing your parts to be lighter with and without pocketing.
Power Transmission
These pages discuss the transmission of power to enable robot functionality.
(WIP) Motion Components: A guide on bearings, bushings, axles, and the best use cases for them, including the mechanics behind transmission of torque through axles.
(WIP) Transfer of Rotational Motion: A guide on rotational power transmission components. Includes gears, belts, and chain.
(WIP) Linear Extension: A guide on linear extension systems such as worm gears and rack and pinion.
(WIP) Motors: A guide on motors. Discusses motor selection and motor calculations.
(WIP) Wheels and Rollers: A extensive guide on wheels found in FRC. Discusses their mechanical properties and use cases.
(WIP) Pneumatics: A guide on how and when to use pneumatics.
(WIP) Electronics and Sensors: A guide on how to design for electronics and incorporate sensors to improve the controllability.
Mechanisms
(WIP) Drivetrains: A guide on drivetrains.
(WIP) Elevators: A guide on elevators, including different types of rigging, COTS parts, gearboxes, and use cases.
(WIP) Arms: A guide on arms.
(WIP) Linkages: A guide on linkages.
(WIP) Intakes: A guide on intakes.
(WIP) Shooters: A guide on shooters.
(WIP) Turrets: A guide on turrets.
(WIP) Bumpers: A guide on bumper materials, construction, and mounting solutions, with several references.
Design Write-ups
Write-ups on important topics to take your designs a step further.
(WIP) Designing for Controllability: Designing mechanisms and power transmissions for controllability.
(WIP) Chain Tensioning Solutions: Tensioning chain drive mechanisms.
(WIP) Bumper Mounting Solutions: Different solutions for bumper mounting.
(WIP) Springs and Shocks: Different forms of tension that can be used to lessen the load on structure or motors and how to use them.