This will be in two topics, the design side and the process side

I assume you have relative flexibility on the team, and it’s targeted towards “mid” tier teams trying to become good, but TBH as long as you have the motivation this should be useful regardless. The design side should be useful for anyone, though.

This is different from the design guide I wrote, as instead of the actual process of improving, this is just raw information of all the stuff I know. Mostly written so I can keep writing without working on college apps, lol.

If you don’t know something, look it up or check my videos, but I’m just basically explaining everything in a way where you in theory won't have information gaps or die to information war.

Design

Most people know me for design, so I’ll discuss this first. My current workflow utilizes the MKCAD app, Julia's featurescripts, and onshape.

MKCAD app for importing COTS, Julias feature scripts to save time mostly. My favorites are extrude individual, belt, chain, spacer, and shaft.

Raw CAD

I use a multi-doc workflow, something like this:

Main Assembly

Master Sketch/Drive Sub assembly 1 Sub Assembly 2 Sub Assembly 3

Trash folder for testing docs when i duplicate

I utilize a top-down design style (which is what you should be using anyway), starting with a master sketch/drive.

• The master sketch should be centered with origin with the wheels on the floor, with game piece path, rollers, frame perimeter, extension limits, game elements, bumpers, drive, etc modeled
• You don’t need to figure out exact belt cc’s, as you can figure it out in your subassembly docs when you modify, but it should be close, at least.
• I usually spend around 30 mins to 2 hours on this stage, it's the most annoying stage, but if you do it correctly, it makes everything else go by faster.

I then derive the sketch + tubes into each of the subassembly part studios, using those as reference geometry. I also make those parts closed composite, so I don’t import them into the assembly.