.. include:: .. raw:: html .. role:: highlight Useful Resources ================ Here is a page dedicated to useful resources around the interwebs. Enjoy! .. note:: The links with an asterisk (:highlight:`*`) are resources that are especially pertinent or helpful. We highly suggest you check out these links. General Resources ----------------- `FTC Discord `_:highlight:`*` --- The **unofficial** FTC\ |reg| Discord server is a discussion-based community server. It is the most active FTC community, which means it generally has the most up-to-date information, and is the easiest way to get quick answers to questions. It also has a channel with direct access to vendors. .. attention:: The FTC Discord's primary demographic is FTC age participants, which strongly affects the average quality of its discourse, which is often off-topic and occasionally problematic. We recommend mostly sticking to the help channels. `FTC Docs `_:highlight:`*` --- Official *FIRST*\ |reg| FTC documentation, including programming resources, team management resources and more. `FTC Q&A `_:highlight:`*` --- The FTC game Q&A, where clarifying questions about game rules from teams are asked and answered. `Game and Season Materials `_:highlight:`*` --- Where to find the information for the current season, including the Game Manuals. `FTC Blog `_ --- The official FTC blog; important updates are typically posted here. `FTC Tutorials `_ --- (Unofficial) FTC Tutorials, covering the robot, competitions, and team management. `FIRST Resource Library `_ --- The *FIRST* resource library (filtered for FTC resources). These includes robot/field inspection checklists, robot building and programming resources, team management resources, the FTC mentor manual, and more. `Engineering Portfolio Library `_ --- A library of past award-winning Engineering Portfolios. Created by Polar from FTC 23396 and managed by the community. `REV Robotics FTC Documentation `_ --- Covers REV's hardware and software. The control system documentation includes an introductory FTC programming tutorial. `Spectrum's Recommended Reading `_ --- A list of resources collated by FRC\ |reg| 3847, Spectrum. While these resources are aimed at FRC, many are directly relevant to FTC. Team Management --------------- `Running a FIRST Team `_:highlight:`*` --- A guide by Karthik Kanagasbathy, former lead mentor (and current advisor) of Hall of Fame team FRC 1114, Simbotics, on running a *FIRST* team. While some details are FRC specific (namely the 6 week timeline), much of it is applicable to running a FTC team. `Team Management Resources `_ --- *FIRST* FTC team management resources, covering budget, engineering notebook, etc. Strategy -------- `Effective FIRST Strategies `_:highlight:`*` --- A championship conference presentation from Karthik Kanagasabapathy, former lead mentor (and current advisor) of Hall of Fame team FRC 1114, Simbotics, on effective design and competition strategies. See also the `slideshow itself `_. .. _useful-resources-cad: CAD --- `Autodesk Education Account `_ --- Autodesk's education account sign up. An education account gives access to both Fusion 360 and Inventor. `Creo Education License `_ --- Creo's education license application form. `Onshape Education Account `_ --- Onshape's education account creation page. `SolidWorks Sponsorship `_ --- A link to the application form for free Solidworks licenses for robotics teams. Part Libraries ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ `10650 Hazmat Robotics Public CAD Library `_ --- A multi-vendor part library that works across CAD software due to its use of STEP files. `2901 Purple Gears Onshape Parts Library `_ --- A multi-vendor parts library specifically for Onshape. `REV Robotics Official CAD Library `_ --- REV's official CAD library for its FTC parts. `ServoCity Official CAD Library `_ --- ServoCity's entire STEP file catalog. This includes Actobotics parts. Generators ^^^^^^^^^^ `Belt Generator `_ --- A belt generator with 5 different belt types. This allows you to create belts with teeth for cad, and to calculate required tensioning for more complex belt runs. Made by Jeremiah from FTC 10641. `HTD Pulley Generator `_ --- A HTD3 and HTD5 pulley generator, with many options. This allows you to make custom pulleys which you can 3D print. Made by Henopied from FTC 18255. `GT2 3mm Pulley Generator `_ --- A GT2 3mm pitch pulley generator with many options. This allows you to make custom pulleys which you can 3D print. Rendering ^^^^^^^^^ `Blender4FTC `_ --- A Blender addon and material library designed to make CAD rendering simple and easy, while being fully customizable for advanced users. `FTC Rendering in Fusion 360 `_ --- A guide to rendering FTC robots in Fusion 360, assuming little experience in Fusion 360. Mechanical Design and Build --------------------------- `Mechatronics `_:highlight:`*` --- A document about technologies, principles, design, and analysis of complex electro-mechanical systems. It covers topics including fasteners, manufacturing processes, fabrication paradigms, power transmission, mechanisms, design principles, and more. `8644 Brainstormers Tips and Tricks `_ --- A playlist of videos comparing different implementations of various mechanisms, gears and chain, and various other FTC robot-related topics. `9794 Wizards.exe `_ --- A channel containing many useful FTC videos, especially for rookies. `COREFTC `_ --- A complete guide for FDM 3D printing within the scope of FTC, providing answers to a lot of the basic questions asked about 3D printing concerning topics such as: bed adhesion, tolerances, designing for 3D printing, tuning, and hardware choices. `Designing Competitive FTC Robots (paid) `_ --- This book describes the overall approach to designing a robot including strategy, brainstorming, and prototyping. `Fastener Guide `_ --- A guide explaining the different types of fasteners and where they are useful. It also includes printouts with drawings of various to scale fasteners to help identify them. `FIRST Robot Building Resources `_ --- A collection of official *FIRST* design and build resources, including TETRIX/REV build guides. `goBILDA with TETRIX `_ --- Documentation covering how to use goBILDA together with TETRIX. `NASA RAP Design Guide `_ --- A guide for competitive robotics covering topics such as manufacturing, design styles, power transmission, mechanism design, and more. `The Unofficial FRC Mechanism Encyclopedia `_ --- A page containing video examples of a bunch of FRC and FTC mechanisms categorized by type. Power Transmission ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ `SDP-SI Timing Belt and Pulley Handbook `_:highlight:`*` --- A detailed handbook about belts and pulleys. Some of the things mentioned also apply to chain. `SDP-SI Timing Belt Drive Design Guide `_:highlight:`*` --- A one-page guide to designing belt and pulley drive systems. `Gears Educational Systems Guide to Chain Drive Systems `_ --- A guide to roller chain, featuring some useful equations. `Gear Efficiency Comparisons `_ --- A comparison between different types of gears (spur, bevel, worm, etc). `How Gears Work `_ --- An interactive visual guide to how gears work. `KHK Introduction to Gears `_ --- A handbook covering fundamentals about the mechanicis of gears. Calculators ^^^^^^^^^^^ `ILITE Drivetrain Simulator (v2020) `_ --- A drivetrain calculator that puts an emphasis on time to target. Input a target motor, number of motors, gearing, and a wide range of elements about the drive train and electrical system. The output shows estimated peak speed, estimated sprint time, minimum system voltage, and maximum voltage while the drive train is at full speed. `JuliaDesignCalc `_ --- A spreadsheet design calculator. However, it does not include FTC motor data, so you will need to add that manually using the data from the :ref:`motor-data` section. `Pulley Center-to-Center Calculator `_ --- A fully featured belt pulley center-to-center distance calculator. `ReCalc `_ --- A collaboration focused mechanical design calculator, currently in alpha, which provides sharable links. `Thad's EveryCalc `_ --- A mechanical design calculator which covers a wide variety of mechanisms, while also providing some utilities like belt sizing, a trajectory calculator, and more. Programming ----------- `Learn Java for FTC `_:highlight:`*` --- An introduction to FTC programming, assuming no preexisting Java knowledge. `FTC Robot Controller Repository `_:highlight:`*` --- The home of the FTC SDK. Also check out the associated `wiki `_ and `JavaDocs `_. `REV's Introduction to Programming `_:highlight:`*` --- REV's introductory programming documentation, covering both Blocks and Java programming. Linked here is also the rest of REV's documentation for the control system. `Controls Engineering in the FIRST Robotics Competition `_ --- A book that introduces students to the broader field of control theory. `CTRL ALT FTC `_ --- A guide to control theory created by FTC #19376 Thermal Equilibrium. `FIRST Programming Resources `_ --- A collection of official *FIRST* programming resources, including introductions to each programming tool. `FRC 4613 Software Workshops `_ --- FRC 4613's workshops that are used to teach their new programmers Java and FTC programming. It goes from the very basics of data up to more complex concepts such as Polymorphism and Functional Interfaces. `Intro to Control Theory `_ --- A series of blog posts about control theory. Libraries ^^^^^^^^^ `Easy Open CV `_ --- A straightforward way to use openCV on an FTC robot. With this library, you can go from a stock SDK to running a sample openCV OpMode, with either an internal or external camera, in just a few minutes! `FTC Dashboard `_ --- FTC Dashboard is a websocket-based React dashboard designed for FTC. It is very useful for debugging, including features such as displaying and graphing telemetry live as well as tuning configuration variables in real-time while opmodes are running. `FTCLib `_ --- A fairly comprehensive FTC library, notably providing a command-based programming paradigm and vision pipelines. `Road Runner `_ --- Road Runner is a motion planning library. Designed primarily for autonomous robotic movement, it allows for complex path following and generation while maintaining control of velocity and acceleration. This enables bots to have more accurate and advanced path following capabilities. Also see `Learn Road Runner `_, a guide to setting up Road Runner. Electronics ----------- `Robot Wiring Guide `_:highlight:`*` --- *FIRST* guide to wiring FTC robots, including ESD mitigation options. `An Analysis of ESD Mitigation for the FIRST Tech Challenge `_ --- An analysis of different methods to mitigate electrostatic discharge (ESD) issues, which can cause robots to disconnect. The paper has great recommendations on what to do to help mitigate these issues in its conclusion. Team/Event Results ------------------ `FTC Events `_ --- Official *FIRST* team and event result database for FTC. `FTC Scout `_ --- A community FTC Events frontend with more features and a more slick UI. `The Orange Alliance `_ --- A community-run team and event result database, primarily useful for its more comprehensive results before Ultimate Goal (2020-2021).