Page 287 - Making things move_ DIY mechanisms for inventors, hobbyists, and artists

264 Making Things Move

FIGURE 9-3 Importing a CAD model into Alibre Design

CAUTION Just because you can create a virtual assembly, doesn't mean
you can create an actual assembly. As a frustrated intern at Make magazine
put it (http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/01/interns_corner_makey_
robots_sonar.html), “I'm trying to get the Arduino into the robot body.
Suddenly I learn a profound lesson regarding computer-aided design. In real
life, circuit boards cannot morph through walls into their desired resting
place. In the computer, it happens all the time. With a simple motion of the
mouse, the Arduino circuit board has glided into place, right through the
aluminum robot body ... but in real life, it won't fit. There is no possible
angle or tilt that will get the Arduino into the robot. Out come the vise-grips
and hacksaw. I saw, bend, and twist off the offending aluminum tabs. This is
reality-aided design.” 1