CAD & DesignModule 6 of 8

Common Mistakes & Troubleshooting

The pitfalls that quietly wreck FRC CAD models and the concrete fixes for each. Covers mate-connector and assembly failures, in-context and derived-reference breakage, sluggish regeneration in big drivebase assemblies, manufacturability mistakes that turn into scrap at the machine, and version/branching disasters in team-shared documents. Each lesson is a debugging workflow: how to recognize the symptom, find root cause, and apply a durable fix.

Common Mistakes & Troubleshooting is module 6 of 8 in the CAD & Design guide. It picks up where Worked Examples & Mini-Projects left off and hands over to Advanced Techniques & Case Studies. Its 5 lessons are about 165 minutes of the guide's ~18 hours.

5 lessons~165 min31 lessons in this guide

Start with lesson 1 All of CAD & Design

In this module

5 lessons

01Mate & Assembly Failures: Why Parts Float, Spin, or Won't MoveDiagnose over-constrained assemblies, orphaned mates, and center-mate-connector traps, and rebuild assemblies on explicit, named mate connectors.35 min read

02Broken In-Context & Derived ReferencesUnderstand why in-context edits and derived parts go stale, and adopt the version-locked derive workflow that keeps a multi-Part-Studio robot coherent.35 min read

03Slow Regeneration in Big Drivebase AssembliesProfile and fix the patterns, oversized sketches, and bloated documents that make a full-robot Onshape model crawl.30 min read

04Manufacturability Mistakes That Become ScrapCatch the design errors that pass review but fail at the machine: impossible internal radii, missing tolerances, hole/shaft fit mismatches, and tube patterns that don't line up.35 min read

05Version Control & Team Collaboration DisastersAvoid the chaos of many students editing one live document by using branches, versions, releases, and clear ownership in Onshape.30 min read

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