3-D CAD software helps VEXplorer users develop powerful machines

SolidWorks 3-D CAD software is now included in the new VEXplorer Robotics Design System.

Budding inventors and interscholastic competitors are using SolidWorks® 3-D CAD software to get the most from their remote control robot kits. The software is now included in new VEXplorer Robotics Design System, the remote-control robot kit from model icon Revell. Inventors use SolidWorks software to plot their use of gnarly wheels, arms, claws and spycams that will carry out their bidding.

The VEXplorer is sold directly to consumers through online and traditional retailers. It comes with the SolidWorks Student Design Kit, which provides numerous design, rendering and animation options, including the ability to download add-on parts from the Internet using the same tools as engineering professionals.

Revell’s VEXplorer is an extension of the popular Innovation First VEX system already used in junior high, high school and college robotics classes and endorsed by The Robotics Academy at Carnegie Mellon, and other organizations. The VEX Robotics Design System Starter Kit, which also includes SolidWorks software, is the robotics system of choice for competitors in the FIRST Tech Challenge, a mid-level robotics competition for high-school students.

With more than 300 parts, the VEXplorer can be built in a myriad of configurations. “With so many options, you definitely want to design it before you build it,” says Kenneth Stafford, director of the Robotics Resource Center at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. “SolidWorks helps our students create, visualize, change and refine the plan before they assemble their robots, ensuring the design comes together as intended. SolidWorks also connects them to SolidWorks Corporation’s 3-D ContentCentral® parts service, where they can download official VEXplorer parts and millions of others.”

“Selecting SolidWorks as a partner was easy,” says Mike Brezette, Revell marketing vice president. “We recognize the company’s ability to create CAD products that give users the freedom to focus on design, not software. This is exactly what novice inventors and robotics fanatics alike want to spend their time on.”

“Since the VEXplorer parts are the same in every kit, how you put them together makes a big difference in your robot’s performance,” says Marie Planchard, SolidWorks Corporation’s director of worldwide education markets. “In planning the design with SolidWorks software, many VEXplorer customers are beginning their engineering careers and, whether they know it or not, getting a head start with the tools they’ll use the rest of their lives.”