In a short bullet.

Please give me a brief description of

3D Max and Inventor Proffesional.

Thinking of HS kids, is this something that could be learned, and used to design a robot within two to three weeks.

BTW, None of the Adults know how to use it either...so we would all be learning together...

Rich

I use Inventor series 10 everyday for work. Great program! If your learning from scratch, (no CAD experience 2D or 3D at all) I don't think you can in just 3 weeks. I have been using CAD for 5 years now, I was on AutoCAD 2006 when I started using Inventor 3D. I've been on it since the end of August and I'm about 40% - 50% efficient. Hope that helps you.

Its possible, not probable. I learned Inventor very basically in 3 days, but I know I couldn't design a robot with it. I've been using solidworks for 6mos or so and I am very good at that now, but as said above I'm still learning and probably have over 50% left to go.

Just out of curiousity, are these FIRST robots?

Yup, its FIRST.

I may go for the Inv Pro 10, it seems pretty good.

I can at least teach a few of the kids how to use it.

Rich

If there into drawing in general, they'll love it. do you have a instructor teaching you?

No Instructor...Im one of the mentors...the teacher is the physics teacher...with no CAD experience...

So, I will give it a whirl...we did nothing with it last year...I think its worth trying and showing the kids anyways...

Rich

QUOTE (r_towle @ Jan 9 2006, 03:41 PM)

Yup, its FIRST. I may go for the Inv Pro 10, it seems pretty good. I can at least teach a few of the kids how to use it. Rich

I'm jealous. I always wanted to do FIRST. In middle school I programed for FIRST lego league, but our school is too small for a real FIRST team. Now we only build really accurate catapults and stuff

Do try and use the CAD though, I love drawing with it, and it makes it much easier for less visually inclined people to understand how pieces go together if you draw them and then assemble them in CAD.

it's a good program. you can learn the basics in less than a week. actually, it's probably better that the kids have no experience in 2D CAD. it's easier to draw in 3D cause you think in 3D. good luck! let us know how it's going.

Inventor is a great program at ver 10 now been using it since ver 5. But a word of caution, the program is very hardware intesnive. Make sure your memory and graphics card is up to it or else it's a nightmare.

QUOTE (jd74914 @ Jan 9 2006, 04:21 PM)

QUOTE (r_towle @ Jan 9 2006, 03:41 PM) Yup, its FIRST. I may go for the Inv Pro 10, it seems pretty good. I can at least teach a few of the kids how to use it. Rich I'm jealous. I always wanted to do FIRST. In middle school I programed for FIRST lego league, but our school is too small for a real FIRST team. Now we only build really accurate catapults and stuff Do try and use the CAD though, I love drawing with it, and it makes it much easier for less visually inclined people to understand how pieces go together if you draw them and then assemble them in CAD.

Hey,

Check out the new program for next year (It is being piloted this year)

FIRST Vex

Its smaller, cheaper and available at radioshack.

Same age group (HS) but much less money to enter..

Rich

QUOTE (r_towle @ Jan 9 2006, 04:59 PM)

QUOTE (jd74914 @ Jan 9 2006, 04:21 PM) QUOTE (r_towle @ Jan 9 2006, 03:41 PM) Yup, its FIRST. I may go for the Inv Pro 10, it seems pretty good. I can at least teach a few of the kids how to use it. Rich I'm jealous. I always wanted to do FIRST. In middle school I programed for FIRST lego league, but our school is too small for a real FIRST team. Now we only build really accurate catapults and stuff Do try and use the CAD though, I love drawing with it, and it makes it much easier for less visually inclined people to understand how pieces go together if you draw them and then assemble them in CAD. Hey, Check out the new program for next year (It is being piloted this year) FIRST Vex Its smaller, cheaper and available at radioshack. Same age group (HS) but much less money to enter.. Rich

From my meager viewing it looks like a good program, too bad I graduate this year, have no time, and the interest in my school is not very high for engineering kinda things.

Next year I would like to get involved in a Formula SAE program, or something of that nature. I just have to make a choice on schools

Anyways, thanks for the info, and if you have to buy a CAD program I highly recomend SolidWorks, its much more pictorally oriented than the AutoCAD type offerings.