Built by a robotics team, for robotics teams
Tools we built
because we
needed them.
Every tool here started as a problem we hit in our own build, with no straight answer online. So we work it out, show where every number came from, and put the result here. Everything runs in your browser, and there's nothing to install or sign up for.
- Tools
- 84
- Subjects
- 7
Pick up where you left off
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Browse by subject
seven subjects.
One robot.
Each tool does one thing. Nothing here asks you to sign up, nothing sits behind a paywall, and no page tracks you between visits.See everything
- 23 toolsDrivetrainGearing, speed, traction and turning, from a first gear ratio through to a tuned autonomous.
- 9 toolsLifts & ArmsTorque, geometry and packaging for the mechanism that gets game objects off the floor.
- 8 toolsIntakes & ShootersGrabbing, holding and launching game objects, and measuring how often it actually works.
- 6 toolsPneumaticsAir budget across a match, and how reliably a cylinder does its job.
- 16 toolsAutonomousPlanning routes, converting field coordinates, and proving a program fits the time available.
- 17 toolsWhole RobotTools that look across every subsystem at once: legality, structure, diagnostics and documentation.
- 5 toolsStrategyWhat the robot is worth in a match, and which decisions during one are worth making.
Diagnose
What is going wrong?
Say it the way you would say it at a meeting. You don't need to know which part of the robot is at fault. That's what these are for.
Open the mapThe robot tips over when we turn
We keep losing pushing matches
Pushing Force & Traction Limit · Drivetrain Speed Calculator · Torque & Stall Check
The motors get hot or cut out
Motor Power Budget Checker · Motor Current & Battery Budget · Motor Diagnostics Dashboard
The robot stutters or resets when everything moves at once
Voltage Drop & Power Spikes · Motor Current & Battery Budget
The robot is too slow
Drivetrain Speed Calculator · Gear Ratio Calculator · Acceleration & Time-to-Speed
Gears grind, click or skip
Gear Spacing Calculator · Shaft Deflection · Bearing Load & Support Placement
A wheel or shaft wobbles
Bearing Load & Support Placement · Shaft Deflection · Shaft & Structure Load Check
A shaft bent or snapped
It will not fit in the sizing box
The lift is too slow
Lift Speed & Gear Ratio · Required Lift Torque · Gear Ratio Calculator
The arm wobbles even when the motors are holding it
Gear Train Calculator · Shaft Deflection · Bearing Load & Support Placement
The lift will not hold its height
Rubber Band Assist Calculator · Gravity Feedforward · Required Lift Torque
The lift will not reach far enough
The intake keeps jamming
Shots land in different places every time
Shooter Accuracy & Consistency · Flywheel RPM Drop & Recovery · Flywheel Design Studio
The pneumatics are weak or run out of air
Cylinder Force Calculator · Match Air Budget Calculator · Pneumatic Mechanism Reliability
Autonomous runs out of time
Autonomous ends up in the wrong place
Odometry Calibration Calculator · IMU Drift · Coordinate Waypoint Planner
Autonomous works sometimes and not others
Autonomous Consistency · Odometry Error Simulator · IMU Drift
The battery runs out partway through the day
Our tracking wheels say we are somewhere we are not
Tracking Wheel Setup · Two & Three-Wheel Odometry · Odometry Calibration Calculator
The arm or lift is too weak to lift the load
The robot wobbles or overshoots under PID
PID Error Analyzer · PID Comparison · Feedforward Characterization
A sensor reads differently on every field
Line Tracker Threshold · Sensor Fusion Calculator · IMU Drift
We cannot tell if a change actually helped
Compare Test Versions · PID Comparison · Sample-Size Planner
We changed two things at once and cannot tell which one helped
One run was way off and we do not know whether to ignore it
We do not know who to pick at alliance selection
Our motor seems slower or weaker than it should be
Your Motor, Measured · Motor Diagnostics Dashboard · Torque & Stall Check
The robot is getting heavier than we planned
Nothing matches that. Browse everything by subject instead.
Before anybody cuts metal
Deciding
what to build.
Nothing has gone wrong yet. These are the questions worth settling before anybody cuts metal. Open one to see the tools that answer it.
Which lift should we build?
Which drivetrain should we build?
Drivetrain Type Comparator · X-Drive Speed & Strafe · Track Width & Turning Geometry
What gear ratio do we want?
Gear Ratio Solver · Gear Ratio Calculator · Drivetrain Speed Calculator
Is one big reduction better than three small ones?
Gear Train Calculator · Gear Ratio Calculator · Gear Spacing Calculator
Chain or gears?
Chain & Sprocket Ratio Calculator · Chain Length Calculator · Gear Spacing Calculator
Pneumatics or a motor?
Pneumatic or Motor? · Cylinder Force Calculator · Cylinder Mount Finder
Where should the cylinder push?
Which shooter should we build?
Shooter Type Comparator · Flywheel Design Studio · Catapult & Puncher Energy
How far will it actually throw?
Is our autonomous worth the effort?
When should we go for the endgame?
How many wheel turns is that?
How much force will this mechanism actually give?
Where should our tracking wheels go?
What spacers do we need on this shaft?
Where is the robot losing the most?
In what order should we run our tests?
How many test runs do we need?
How do we time practice runs?
What do our test results actually say?
Can we stop retyping the same numbers?
What is this in other units?
Can two motors do two jobs?
How did every team do at the event?
Where is our robot’s weight going?
Can we try PID gains before tuning on the robot?
Which odometry error is worth fixing first?
How many batteries do we need at a competition?
How consistent is our autonomous, really?
Start here
four tools worth
the first hour.
- Whole RobotLiveRobot ProfileDescribe your robot once and every tool that needs these numbers starts from them. Saved in this browser only, never uploaded.
- DrivetrainLiveDrivetrain Speed CalculatorCartridge, gearing and wheel size in, top speed in ft/s out. The most asked question in VEX, with an honest note on what it leaves out.
- DrivetrainLiveMotor Power Budget CheckerV5RC caps motor power in watts, not motor count. Check your drive against the 55W subsystem cap and your robot against the 88W total.
- AutonomousLiveAutonomous Time EstimatorWhether a route fits the 15 second autonomous period, and which step is eating the time.
How this works
A number you can't check is a number you shouldn't trust.
Each tool does one thing. Nothing here asks you to sign up, nothing sits behind a paywall, and no page tracks you between visits.
Where a tool leans on a published figure or a judgment call, it says so on the page and links to the source. A number you can't check is a number you shouldn't trust, and that includes ours.
If a tool gives you a wrong answer, we want to know. About has the details.