Community Resources
Mechanical
Mechanical design and fabrication resources from across FRC: prototyping, fasteners, gearboxes, drivetrains, and machining practice.
Engineering Design Process and Strategies
Section titled “Engineering Design Process and Strategies”- Using the Engineering Design Process for Design of a Competitive Robot by John V Neun
- Effective FIRST Strategies by Karthik (Video: 2012, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025)
- 2056 Keys to Success 2019 - Video 2020
- Theory 6 - FRC#1241 - Robot Playbook - 2017 - 2019
- FRC#125: Building to Your Capabilities
- FRC#1986 Key Questions for Kickoff
- FIRST Guided Experience Trainings
- Free official self-paced modules on CAD and 3D printing, fabrication tools and safety, and rapid prototyping.
Robot Tech Documents
Section titled “Robot Tech Documents”-
FRC#254 Technical Binders
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Behind the Bumpers and Pit Stops - FIRST Updates Now
- Current season index of robot walkthrough interviews, plus the shorter single mechanism Pit Stop clips.
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REV ION FRC Starter Bot Build Guide
- Step by step illustrated assembly for a full robot with an EasySwerve drivetrain, intake, conveyor, and launcher.
-
971’s Robot Overviews
General Mechanical Design
Section titled “General Mechanical Design”- Spectrum Design Concepts Presentation
- FRC#3255 Mechanical Guide
- Searchable open source reference on the fundamentals teams actually get wrong - hole sizing, bolt, nut, washer, spacer and rivet selection, hex standards, and choosing between tubing, sheet, and channel stock.
- YETI Robotics FRC#3506 Design Process Wiki
- Elevator design guide, intakes and linkages, shooter designs, and power transmission basics, plus a candid post-mortem on a robot that underperformed.
- Team 610 Design Tutorials
- How to Build Your Everything Really Really Fast
- Process that allows for rapid construction of machines.
- Learn how to design those finger joints used in many laser-cut and routed parts.
- Let’s do Robot Math - Mike Schreiber
- “Covers some physics and equations that are used in JVNs calculator and some commonly used design concepts/principles related to motors, drivetrains, and arms.”
- FRC#1678: Mechanical Design Workshop
- FRC#1678 - Designing the “1678” Way -2020
- FRC#971:Spartan Series/ Mechanical Design for Controllability - Travis Schuh
- COTS Resources to Improve Competition Performance - RSN Spring Conferences 2020
- FRC#846 How to counterbalance an arm video
- Team 358 Mechanical Resources
- A variety of FRC mechanical resources and information.
Prototyping
Section titled “Prototyping”- Behind the Lines: Effective Prototyping - Presentation Slides
- Spectrum Protopipe
- How We Prototype - FRC#6032 Pirate Robotics
- Prototyping methodology plus testing motors without code using PWM generators and servo testers, so mechanical can spin prototypes on day one.
- AndyMark Ri3D Teams
- The sponsored Robot in 3 Days teams with Onshape CAD, Chief Delphi build threads, videos, and exact part lists all in one place - the fastest published prototyping data every kickoff.
- HYPEblocks FRC#5254
- FRC#1241 - 2016 Prototypes Release and CAD
- FRC#1678: Machining and Prototyping Workshop
- FRC#971: How to use high-speed video camera in robotics
- FRC#2363 Pneumatics Test Panel
Motors & Gearboxes
Section titled “Motors & Gearboxes”- WCP FRC Build System Docs
- Gearboxes, X/X2/XS swerve, belts, chain and gears, hardware, and shop equipment, including the ratio tables and free speed charts teams pull numbers from while designing.
- REV ION Build System Docs
- MAXSpline, MAX Pattern, MAXTube, MAXPlanetary, and MAXSwerve documented at the system level rather than product by product.
- Thrifty Bot Docs
- Mechanical, electrical, and software documentation with CAD packages for Thrifty Swerve, Thrifty Elevator, gearboxes, and shafts.
- REV Brushless Motor Comparison
- NEO Vortex, NEO V1.1, Kraken X60, and Falcon 500 V2 tested on the same dynamometer, so the curves are directly comparable.
- CTRE Dynamometer Testing
- Motors and Transmissions with Ken Stafford RSN Spring Conferences Presented by WPI
- Understanding Gearbox Design
Drive Trains
Section titled “Drive Trains”- Behind the Lines: Drive Trains
- 1114 Simbotics Drivetrain Design
- FRC#2363 TripleHelix Builds a Drive Train Videos
- 2451: How to assemble a Chain in Tube Drive
Manipulators
Section titled “Manipulators”Bumpers
Section titled “Bumpers”- FRC Robot Bumpers Guide
- FRC#2363 TripleHelix Builds Bumpers Videos
- Illini Robotics Alumni Association Bumper Tutorial
Sheet Metal Design
Section titled “Sheet Metal Design”- How FRC#148 does their sheet metal production video
- Fabworks Sheet Metal Design Guide
- Bend radius, bend allowance, K-factor, relief, and the mistakes teams make most often when outsourcing bent parts.
- Sheet Metal Design Guide
- Rainbow Aviation: Bending Sheet Metal Video Part 1 - Part 2
- Aircraft Metal Structural Repair
Calculators
Section titled “Calculators”- ReCa.lc
- A newer mechanism calculator with shareable links, a popular alternative to the JVN calculator.
- Spectrum Robot Design Sheet
- Useful design sheet for quick robot calculations and documentation for FRC robots
- Video Tutorial by Nick Aarestad
- ILITE Drivetrain Simulator by Jesse Knight
- Video Tutorial
- JVN Design Calculator
- This is one of the most useful items for mechanical design in FRC. You can easily see how changing a sprocket or switching a motor will change your mechanism.
- AMB Design Spreadsheet (pneumatics, Chain, mechanisms)
- FRC Mechanical Design Calculator (By Dillon Carey and Aren Hill)
Round Belting / Polycord
Section titled “Round Belting / Polycord”Advanced
Section titled “Advanced”- 18 Lessons in Prototyping Video Series by Dan Gelbart
- “Dan Gelbart made a fortune in R&D for his company Creo. His prototyping was done at home, in his basement, using tools on par with what many of us have access to at our local hackerspaces and universities.”
- FUNdaMENTALS of Design - Alexander Slocum
- Lectures, Notes and Materials from an MIT Professor (FRC Mentor). Fantastic resource for mechanical engineering knowledge. MIT took the original page down, so this is the Internet Archive copy - all thirteen chapter PDFs still download.
- Fundamental Principles of Mechanical Design by K. Craig
- Presentation on mechanical design principles many of which apply to FRC Robots.
- Mechanical Principles of Wheelchair Design
- Similar to the above but the examples are specific to wheelchair design,which can translate easily to FRC robots.
- Combat Robot Tutorial (Mechanical and Construction Tips)
- Ignore the parts specifically about combat robots (Weight classes and weapons). The materials section alone is worth the read.
- It is free online, but you can also buy it on Amazon: https://amzn.to/32SH2A6
- Stanford CS235 - Applied Robot Design