2021-2022 Mechanical Training
1.0 - Introduction
Welcome to the UW Robotics Mechanical Team! This training is designed to teach you the skills required to take on tasks within the team. It will teach you about SolidWorks design, GrabCAD, part fabrication/manufacturing techniques and more. The training is designed to challenge your skills and encourage self teaching. However, if you are having trouble with any parts of the training please feel free to contact anyone on the mechanical team! We are more than happy to help you work through it .
2.0 - The University Rover Challenge
Currently, our team designs Mars Rover Robots to compete in the annual University Challenge in Utah. In this competition, we have to design a rover capable of completing four missions - Science, Autonomy, Equipment Servicing and Extreme Retrieval and Delivery. Please read the rules for URC 2022. The rules change slightly every year, but generally remain very similar. To compete in URC, our team needs to submit a System Acceptance Review (SAR) package. Part of this submission involves creating a 5min video to showcase our rover.
Extra Information on URC
If you'd like to learn more about the URC competition, please check out their website. If you have time, this video also does a great job to showcase what the competition is all about!
3.0 - Machine Shop Training
If you plan to work on the rover on campus, mechanical members are required to complete their Machine Shop Training. Completion of this training will give you access to the Engineering machine shops on campus and will be essential for the fabrication of most mechanical projects. The training will also teach you about machining! The training is available in the ‘Self Registration’ section of LEARN.
After enrolling, the course should appear on your homepage. Completing the online course will grant you a Machine Shop access. Additional training for more advanced machining techniques are available from the Engineering Student Machine Shop staff. It is highly recommended to complete your lathe and mill training as soon as possible, although the completion of additional training is not required for joining the mechanical sub-team.
You also need to complete the WHIMIS2017 training as a prerequisite of the machine shop training. If you are part of MME, this is the same training course you need to complete for any lab.
4.0 - Installing SolidWorks
SolidWorks is the CAD software used by the team for mechanical design. Our team currently uses SolidWorks 2020-2021, so please update your software if you are running an older version. If you are part of the MME department, feel free to use the student licenses provided by the University of Waterloo. However, if you do not have access to an educational license through our school please see the steps below:
To get access to SolidWorks, follow the steps at: Downloading SOLIDWORKS.
5.0 - Setting Up GrabCAD
UW Robotics uses GrabCAD workbench to store and share our CAD files. It's like GitHub for CAD - all files are stored on an online cloud and you push your changes to update the cloud and pull from the cloud to update your local files. To get started with GrabCAD, first you need to create an account on their website. https://grabcad.com/
5.1 - Installing the GrabCAD Workbench App
GrabCAD consists of two components - a web page, and desktop app. The webpage tracks all project changes, file revisions and new users.
The desktop app, called "GrabCAD Workbench" is used to sync your local CAD files to the project cloud. To Install GrabCAD Workbench,
Download and install the desktop application: https://workbench.grabcad.com/workbench/download
Send your email address to the current mechanical team leads (Winter 2023: Thomas Valer & Josh Harper) on discord and ask to be added to the GrabCAD.
Once you have been added to our GrabCAD, log into your GrabCAD account in Workbench, access settings and click "Manually Connect Project"
Navigate to the projects for UWRT, and click "Link to Folder"
Create a GrabCAD folder somewhere in your computer's Documents folder. This will help prevent file errors with your uploads.
Sync your folder to download the current files from the cloud. I'd recommended you sync two separate folders for our 2020 and 2022 rover build.
5.2 - GrabCAD Usage Instructions
GrabCAD Workflow Overview
Before you start adding files to the GrabCAD, make sure you are saving things in the correct spot. Please read File Structure and File Naming to understand how we organize our files.
Whenever you begin designing, start by checking GrabCAD for updates to the cloud and download them. If someone has made changes to your file without asking, do not download those files; contact Max Apitz-Grossman on discord to get it fixed.
If you are working on a task/project with multiple active collaborators, ping other collaborators working on your project on discord to notify your teammates that you will be making changes to the CAD. This will help prevent conflicts in the long run.
Once you are done making your design changes, make sure that you haven't accidentally broken any higher level assemblies. For example, say you are working on a linkage for the gripper assembly. After you are finished working on the linkage, open up the gripper assembly to ensure none of the mates have broken.
After double checking any higher level assemblies you are involved with, upload your changes to the cloud. Only upload files that are in your project (the ones that you should be designing).
If you are working on a task/project with multiple active collaborators, please push your CAD immediately once you are done working with it. The longer you hold onto GrabCAD changes, the higher the chance for file conflicts.
Undoing Changes in GrabCAD
If you've accidentally made a change to a part that you didn't intend, you will an upload prompt in GrabCAD. You can easily undo the change if you need to!
Click the upload window and select the files you would like to revert.
Click the dropdown arrow next to "upload" and you will see a button that says "Undo My Changes..."
Accept the deletion prompt
6.0 - Getting Started with SolidWorks
As mentioned in Section 5.0 of this training, our team uses SolidWorks to define create models of parts used in our rover. CAD is a critical part of our workflow, as it lets us visualize parts that we want to create, virtually assess form, fit and functions of designs, assists with creating manufacturing documentation and much more. This section of the training will get you up to speed with using the software.
6.1 - Tutorials for Beginners
If you have never used a 3D CAD software, getting started with SolidWorks may seem a bit intimidating. Don't worry though, there are lots of online resources that can teach you how to use SolidWorks!
LinkedinLearning: University of Waterloo students have access to LinkedinLearning for free. Gabriel Corbett has an excellent series on how to learn SolidWorks, so if you are complete beginner I highly suggest you watch his series.
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/learning-solidworks/design-your-world-with-solidworks?u=55034593SolidWorks Tutorials: SolidWorks also hosts some great tutorials right inside of the software. To access these tutorials, click on the search bar and select "Tutorials"
Complete all of the tutorials in the "Getting Started" tab (although feel free to skip the AutoCAD and SOLIDWORKS tutorial as the team does not use AutoCAD on a regular basis).
I would also suggest you watch the "Pattern Features, Revolves and Sweeps and Assembly Mates" tutorials in the "Basic Techniques" tab.
6.2 - Team Templates
Our team uses various for parts and drawings. You should use these templates as applicable when you are designing something for the team. Below are the instructions for setting up and using the templates.
Click the ‘System Options’ menu from the menu bar. (the gear)
Select ‘File Locations’ from the left side menu.
Select ‘Document Templates’ from the drop down menu.
Click the ‘Add’ Button.
Navigate to the templates folder in the GrabCad folder. (\GrabCAD\Mars Rover 2022 Mechanical\Documentation\Templates)
Click ‘Select Folder’. Windows might ask for admin access to the folder. Allow access.
The templates folder is now linked and will be available when making a part.