WCP CADathon 2024:

November 22nd Update:

We are thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s WCP CADathon! Each team demonstrated outstanding creativity, engineering, and strategy in their designs for the WCP DunkTank 2024 game.

3rd Place: FRC 9032 - OrcaOverload - Representing the RoboWhales | CAD | Docs

 

Team 9032’s robot is simple, well-packaged, and focused on being an effective scorer. Their design foresight led them to narrow their drive base to accommodate an electrolyte intake, which enhances their flexibility on the field. This ground intake gives them the ability to adapt in critical moments, making them a reliable and clutch performer when it matters most.

2nd Place: FRC 840 (LeBot) - Aragon Robotics | CAD | Docs

 

Team 840’s robot, LeBot, features a unique CAD design with a side-mounted elevator and an arm integrated into the elevator carriage, offering innovative solutions for basketball scoring. Their in-depth strategy for each match phase was exceptional, combining a strong scoring approach with prescient predictions of opponent defensive patterns. Additionally, the team planned a robust defense strategy to keep contributing to matches even if their scoring mechanisms experienced failure, showcasing adaptability and foresight.

1st Place: FRC 8033 - Highlander Robotics | CAD | Docs

 

Team 8033’s robot, Whirlpool, blew away all our judges and stands out as one of the best designs in any CADathon so far. It’s a perfect blend of function and “fridge,” making it a clear MVP contender in competition. The attention to detail in their mechanisms was impressive, with innovative solutions like their hopper flap, which extends using torsion springs and retracts with cables. Their documentation also shines, offering thorough breakdowns and clear explanations of their decision-making process for each mechanism.

Finalists

The following teams made it to the final round, with submissions that were equally impressive and showcased exceptional detail and dedication:

• Team 7475 (WIRED) | CAD | Docs
• Team 1902 (Exploding Bacon) | CAD | Docs 
• Team 254 (Team Cheesy) | CAD  | Docs 
• Team 5987 (Galaxi) | CAD | Docs 
• Team 604 (Quixilver) | CAD | Docs 
• Team 1305 (Ice3) | CAD | Docs 
• Team 4739 (Normanhurst Nitro) | CAD | Docs 
• Team 3512 (BRAWNDO) | CAD | Docs

Thank you to everyone who participated; your submissions blew us away with both their quantity and exceptional quality! This would not have been possible without the effort and dedication of our participants.

A huge thanks to our amazing judges:

• Andrew Torrance
• Tim Miedzinski
• Nick Dal Porto
• Nick Coussens
• Daniel Murvar
• Andrew Lawrence

And a special shoutout to Andrew Lawrence for coming up with such a fantastic game for this CADathon.

September 30th Update:

We are excited to present our first CADathon! Our goal is to use this as an opportunity to connect with the community in a fun and exciting way! 

Signup Link: Team Registration Form

Game Manual Link: DunkTank Manual

Submission Link: DunkTank CAD Submission

The CADathon will begin on 10/04/2024 with the game manual reveal for WCP DunkTank at 12:00pm PST. Teams will have about one week to design a robot for the game, as well as create documentation describing their strategies and robot functions. Submissions will be due on 10/13/2024 at 11:59pm PST. Our judges will evaluate the submissions and the results will be announced on November 1st at a time TBD.  

Announcement: 9/30/24

Start Date(Game Reveal): 10/04/24 - 12:00pm PST

Due Date: 10/13/24 - 11:59pm PST

Results Date: 11/01/24 - Time TBD 

WCP Prizes:

• 1st place: An invitation to join #teamwcp as a sponsored team for the 2025 FRC season
• 2nd place: $250 WCP Gift Card
• 3rd place: $150 WCP Gift Card
• People’s Choice: Swag Bundle

Partnered Prizes:

• Best Onshape Submission: Guaranteed PTC Grant for 2025 season + Onshape swag pack

• 1st place: $100 Fabworks Gift Card
• 2nd place: $50 Fabworks Gift Card
• 3rd place: $25 Fabworks Gift Card

Judging:

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

• Strategic analysis
• Robot design feasibility (is this something that makes sense to build)
• Robot design practicality (is this something that would believably work)
• Effectiveness of documentation at explaining engineering choices
• Creative use of WCP components (bonus, not required) 

Our goal will be to provide some level of engineering feedback to each submission, with the hope that all participants will take away something positive to learn from the experience. Submissions will be judged by a team consisting of:

• RC Chahal (1323)
• Andrew Torrance (254)
• Tim Miedzinski (836)
• Nick Dal Porto (971)
• Andrew Lawrence 

Submission:

Teams will submit the following by the listed due date and time:

• A robot CAD file, either as an onshape link or a STEP file uploaded to a shared Google Drive link
• Written documentation describing their robot’s function, their strategic analysis, and any other information about your team or submission that you want to share with the judges 

Teams will make their submissions on a Google Form that we will release closer to the due date.  

Rules:

• No more than 2 CADathon teams per unique FRC team
• No more than 1 mentor for every 2 high school students on a CADathon team
• It is expected that the students do at least half of the work (honor system) 

FAQ:

• Q: Do we need to use WCP components? Will we be judged negatively for using other supplier components?
• A: Not at all! While we do add a small amount of creativity points for the creative use of WCP components specifically, feel free to use whatever parts your team is most familiar with and comfortable using. We will not have a preference for teams who just use WCP components.
   
• Q: What happens if a team that usually gets a WCP sponsorship wins 1st place?
• A: If a previous member of #TeamWCP wins 1st place, the sponsorship prize will be given to the next highest ranked team who is not a previous #TeamWCP team, and the 1st place team will get a separate prize. Our goal with this prize is to bring a new team into #TeamWCP, not just award the same teams we always do.
  
  
• Q: Can my submission be private?
• A: No, all submissions will need to be publicly posted with CAD models and documentation in this Chief Delphi thread.
  
  
• Q: Where will I be able to ask questions about the rules?
• A: Official questions about the game and the CADathon will be answered in this Chief Delphi thread. 

• Q: When is the latest I can register a team?
• A: Teams will be accepted up until 11:58pm on 10/13/24.
  
  
• Q: Is there a preferred submission file format?
• A: We ask that all documentation be submitted as PDFs, and all CAD models be submitted as either Onshape links or STEP files.  

• Q: Is it better to design the most complex robot we can, even if our team could not make the robot in real life?
• A: We want this to be a useful learning experience for teams, so we recommend that teams design a robot that works within their own resource capacity. Your team’s resources and capabilities should be discussed in your documentation and taken into account in your strategic analysis, and your robot and strategy judging will take your resources into account. Teams will be better off in the CADathon designing a robot that is realistic for them than they would be if they designed a robot out of their reach.