SOLIDWORKS Sponsorship for FIRST Robotics Teams

Last week, FIRST Robotics Supplier Summit dinner was held in the airplane hangar of Dean Kamen’s house. SOLIDWORKS was recognized for being a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Crown Sponsor. I was humbled to receive a plaque from Kate Pilotte, FRC Kit of Parts Manager, that reflects all the mentors, students, and the 870+ FIRST teams that applied for SOLIDWORKS sponsorship last season.

Dean had inspirational words to all sponsors and joked about us not receiving a free lunch but rather a free dinner. Since I not only received a free dinner but also a plaque, SOLIDWORKS must assist more in the FIRST mission, “To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders.” No other organization has contributed more to Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) education and inspiration.

SOLIDWORKS customers are engineers, designers and manufacturers. As FIRST grows, SOLIDWORKS must be there to support students, mentors, and our customers. Starting now, FIRST Robotics teams can apply for SOLIDWORKS Sponsorship at https://www.solidworks.com/FIRST for the upcoming season. We need to fulfill team’s request faster and provide tools to help teams learn to design better robots earlier.

SOLIDWORKS was a 2014 FIRST Crown supplier for virtual kit of parts. We are a 2015 FIRST Crown supplier. With SOLIDWORKS sponsorship, teams will receive:

Software

SolidWorks 3D CAD Software for mechanical, part, assembly, drawings and

Sheet metal and Weldments
Photorealistic Rendering
Animation
Toolbox – fastener library of components
eDrawings for sharing
SolidWorks Costing

SolidWorks Electrical Software for electro-mechanical, control system design

SolidWorks Electrical 2D Schematic for single line and multiline schematics
SolidWorks Electrical 3D for incorporating into you 3D CAD model, Bill of Material, and cable/wire harness

SolidWorks Simulation for engineering analysis and simulation – to test your design in a real-world environment

SolidWorks Simulation Premium for stress, thermal, fatigue, structural design optimization
SolidWorks Flow Simulation for flow analysis
SolidWorks Motion for kinematic analysis
SolidWorks Sustainability for environmental factor simulation
SolidWorks Plastics for manufacturing simulation of injection modeled parts

Displacement Distribution — Displacement on I-beam and support beams, when a uniform load is applied on the I-beam

Workgroup PDM to keep track of design revisions

SolidWorks Composer for technical documentation and animations used to document manufacturing instructions and assembly procedures, for use by marketing, graphic artists and engineers.

Tutorials

Through our www.solidworks.com/FIRST web page, teams can access SOLDIWORKS Tutorials for Getting Started and our SOLDIWORKS FRC video tutorial series. There are 100’s of tutorials inside the software applications.

After acceptance of the SOLIDWORKS FIRST Robotics application, teams will be emailed serial numbers and a link to SOLIDWORKS robot tutorials created with the help of our customer, Seabotix Inc. the world leader mini ROV manufacturer.

Now is the time to install SOLIDWORKS software and review basic SOLIDWOKS tutorials – before the build season.

Teams have access to My SolidWorks, a place to connect, share and discover everything SOLIDWORKS. Here FIRST teams can link to our parts catalog, 3DContentCentral, SOLIDWORKS forums, and tips about using SOLIDWORKS. Just create a “Guest” Login account to access My SolidWorks..

Teams can share their models on our SolidWorks Education Facebook page.

What comes next?

2014 Kit of Parts (KOP) Revision 2 and the SolidWorks Electrical KOP.. For Fall 2014, SOLIDWORKS is working on an updated 2014 KOP from last year. With the help of FRC 1086, Blue Cheese and our SOLIDWORKS customers, Andy Mark, VEX Robotics, and Ruland Manufacturing, we are reviewing how to simplify the model in the KOP and develop a SOLIDWORKS Electrical KOP. Simplified models make creating robot assemblies easier. We want teams to practice early. All KOP models can be inserted into SOLIDWORKS from the Design Library by linking to your folder with Add File Location command.

There will be more benefits to FIRST teams coming in September with the help of last year’s champions, Team 469 Las Guerrillas, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, FRC 254 Cheesy Poofs,San Francisco, CA, and FRC 2848 Jesuit All Sparks, Dallas, TX. The All Sparks created a series of great SolidWorks and Design tutorials.

Later in the year, you will see more FRC Game Simulation from WPI Robotics, home of FRC Team 190.

This year, SOLIDWORKS tutorials have been created by many teams including FRC 610 Crescent Coyotes, Toronto, Ontario and FRC 973 Greybots Ramp, Atascadero CA.

How does my team apply?

Apply for SolidWorks sponsorship and get ready for a great 2015 season.

For 11 years we have been supporting FIRST team and mentors . We just made the process easier as a FIRST CROWN supplier.

SOLIDWORKS software is based on SOLIDWORKS Premium 2014. Model files will be watermarked, “for educational use only.” SOLIDWORKS supports international FRC teams. Software fulfillment is subject to US export compliance.

FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, designs accessible, innovative programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills. Thank you FIRST for giving us so many things to cheer about. Marie

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Marie Planchard

Senior Director, Early Engagement, 3DEXPERIENCE Works at Dassault Systemes

Marie Planchard is an education and engineering advocate. As Senior Director of Education & Early Engagement, SOLIDWORKS, she is responsible for global development of content and social outreach for the 3DEXPERIENCE Works products across all levels of learning including educational institutions, Fab Labs, and entrepreneurship.