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5. Vex Snap-In License Plate Holder

Function This license plate holder was created to allow you to quickly remove and replace VEX license plates, while also providing a slim and spatially conservative holder. By providing small ridges in the sides of the holder, it allows you to snap the license plate into place much more quickly than screwing or rubber banding it onto the robot, and hold it so it will not fall out like it would if you had hung the plate over a piece of metal. On the Robot This part is used in a VEX robot to hold license plates in a convenient location where there is little space available. The holder can, for example, be bolted onto the edge of a robot’s base. The holder 0.5 inches thick, which is the same as VEX C-channel, so it takes up very little space on the edge of the robot. Design Process This part was created using Autodesk Inventor Professional 2017 64-Bit Edition, Build: 142. First, the base was sketched, then extruded to the proper thickness. Next, the base had its recessed portion cut out and the side supports were extruded. The part then had its holes cut out and another sketch was created to add the triangular extrusions that snap into the notches on the sides of the place and allow it to snap into place. The part was finished with a series of chamfers that were used to remove the sharp edges and make the part more user-friendly and visually appealing. After the modeling process was done, a prototype version of the part was 3D printed to ensure the part worked as intended. After a small fitting issue was found, the part was altered to fix the problem. Conclusion Creating this part taught me about the practical uses of CAD modeling and 3D printing, and how to use the design process to create a functioning, useful part. Due to my interest in engineering, I am likely to use 3D design software in the future for similar projects such as this license plate holder: engineering a part to solve a problem and improve efficiency. Knowing how to use a CAD software can help me in my career path because it provides me with skills and experience that other people may not have, therefore making me a better candidate for a job. Using a CAD software can help you if you are on a robotics team because you can use it to design 3D printed parts, such as mine, or create an assembly of various mechanisms to ensure they fit with the rest of your robot before spending the valuable time to build the mechanism. My part allows me to spend less time between matches at a competition switching plates, which means I can spend time on Robot Skills, troubleshooting, and scouting.