CAD Software (SolidWorks / Onshape / Fusion 360)

Software for drawing 3D models of mechanical parts and assemblies, the starting point for designing a robot’s structure.

CAD (computer-aided design) software is used to draw 3D models of parts and assemblies. Three tools are common in robotics: Dassault Systèmes’ SolidWorks (desktop software, the most widely used in industry), PTC’s Onshape (browser-based, cloud-hosted CAD, convenient for collaboration), and Autodesk’s Fusion 360. Models are usually exchanged between different programs using the STEP format, a general-purpose, vendor-neutral 3D file format. For embodied AI, a CAD model is where simulation starts: a plugin exports the assembly into URDF or MJCF (robot model files describing links, joints, and mass), which, paired with mesh files, can be loaded straight into MuJoCo or Isaac Sim.

Exampleonshape-to-robot exports an open-source arm assembly drawn in Onshape directly into a URDF, which is then loaded into a simulator.

Also called

Computer-Aided Design, SolidWorks, Onshape, Fusion 360, STEP File

Related

Unified Robot Description Format · SolidWorks to URDF Exporter · onshape-to-robot · Mesh File (STL / OBJ / DAE / glTF) · MJCF (MuJoCo XML Format) · 3D Printing (FDM / Resin SLA)

Sources

Onshape 官网 (Chinese)
SolidWorks 官网 (Chinese)