Start Here

🧭 Which guide should I open first?

Answer two questions and we'll point you to the right starting place.

Step 1 — What is your role?

Every student has a permanent role on Spartan Design. Which is yours?

🧪 Start Here: Beginner Training Path

Zero robotics experience? Follow these five steps in order. Each one points to an existing guide — open it, do the small action, move on. Don't try to do all five in one day.

0 / 5 steps complete

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1 · Build the Robot

Start with the Hero Bot / Clawbot — a proven training platform you can assemble in one afternoon. Learn VEX parts, tools, motors, wiring, and structure by building it, not by reading about it.

Parts Tools Wiring

Clawbot Training Platform →

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2 · Drive and Test

Pair up. Drive laps, practice precise stops, try simple challenges. Before you touch any code, learn how the robot actually behaves — stopping distance, turn radius, how it reacts to the joystick.

Feel Stops Turns

Driver Role Page →

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3 · Intro to Programming

Open an EZ Template project. Upload it to the brain. Change one number — motor speed, drive curve, a button mapping — and upload again. That's your first line of real competition code.

EZ Template Upload Edit

EZ Template Setup →

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4 · Intro to Design

Open the Spartan drivetrain CAD in Onshape. Rotate the model. Identify one part. If you feel comfortable, change one dimension and see what happens. No commitment — just see how CAD works.

Onshape Drivetrain Rotate

Drivetrain CAD Tutorial →

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5 · Notebook Contribution

Write your first notebook entry. Record what you built or tried. Note one problem you hit. Suggest one improvement. Three sentences is enough — start the habit early.

Build log Problem Idea

Notebook Start →

🔍 Three Ways to Find Any Guide

👤

Your Role Page

The fastest path. Your role page is a curated list of every guide relevant to you, in the order you should read them. Start here if you're new to a section.

🏎 Driver 🧰 Engineer 📊 Strategist

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Library Filters

All 130 guides in one place. Filter by category (Programming, CAD, Competition…), role, or skill level. Use "Before Competition" to see only tournament-prep guides.

Open Library →

⌨️

Instant Search

The fastest way to find anything specific. Works from every page on the site.

Press / anywhere to open search. Type any keyword — guide name, topic, or skill.

tap 🔍

On mobile, tap the Search tab in the bottom bar.

📖 How Guides Work

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Difficulty Levels

Every guide is tagged beginner, intermediate, or advanced. If a guide feels too hard, check for a beginner version first — it usually links to the advanced one at the bottom.

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Progress Saves

When you open a guide, it's marked as visited in your browser. The library shows which guides you've read. Your progress saves to your device automatically — no login needed.

⚡

Tournament Mode

Bigger text, higher contrast, fewer distractions. Tap ☰ Menu → Tournament Mode on any page. Designed for reading at events when you're far from the screen.

Tap ☰ → ⚡ Tournament Mode

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Next Guide Arrow

Every guide has a "Next Guide" suggestion at the bottom based on your role and the current topic. Follow the arrows to build skills in sequence rather than jumping randomly.

📅 What to Read — By Season Phase

The right guide at the wrong time doesn't help. Here's what to open in each phase.

🚀

Kickoff Week — Game Reveal

Game Manual first — know the rules before any discussion. Then Game Analysis to calculate scoring priorities. Engineers: open Notebook Pathway and start Day 1 before touching any metal.

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Design Phase — Weeks 3–7

Onshape Setup → Drivetrain CAD → Mechanism Sprint. Strategists: Auton Strategy to plan autonomous before build locks in. Drivers: Driver Practice setup even before the robot is done.

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Build Phase — Weeks 8–14

Wiring Guide, EZ Template Setup, PID Tuning. Drivers: start structured practice sessions as soon as drive base moves. Log everything — notebook entries during build, not after.

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Pre-Competition — Weeks 15–20

Pre-Competition Audit — 24-point check. Auton Strategy lock. Drivers: Offensive Driving, Endgame Execution, Match Reading.

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Competition Season

Day of event: Match Day Guide, Robot Pre-Check. Between events: Scouting Sheet, Testing & Iteration. Eliminations: High-Stakes Driving, Alliance Coordination.

🎓 For Coaches

⭐ Directing Students to Specific Guides

Share a filtered library view — send students to /library?f=competition to show only competition guides, or /library?role=driver for driver-only guides.

Every guide has a direct URL — just share /ez-pid-tuning or /game-analysis directly. No login or account needed to access any guide.

The Spartan Hub is the daily team dashboard — competition countdown, weekly tasks, role cards, and match debrief tool. Bookmark it as the team's homepage.

Use Pre-Competition Audit as a team checklist before leaving for every event. It covers robot, software, notebook, and driver preparation in one page.

The Site Overview lists all 130 guides with filters — useful for planning which guides to assign by phase.