Tools
The tools you will reach for over and over during build season: the calculations behind the big mechanical decisions — what gears and belts to order, and whether the robot can cross the field before the other alliance does — and a wiring bench that checks your electronics before an inspector does. No spreadsheet required.
Gear ratio calculator
Chain any number of gear stages and get the total ratio, output RPM, and torque multiplier — and watch the train turn, drawn to scale.
Open calculatorA 312 RPM motor through a 2-stage reduction
| Stage 1 | 20T → 60T | 3.00:1 |
| Stage 2 | 16T → 32T | 2.00:1 |
| Total | — | 6.00:1 |
| Output | — | 52 RPM |
Belt drive
Pick timing pulleys and a shaft spacing to get the ratio, the exact belt to buy, and a warning before it skips teeth — with the drive animated to scale.
Open calculatorGT2 3 mm, 20T → 40T, 120 mm apart
| Ratio | 20T → 40T | 2.00:1 |
| Belt needed | 120 mm | 110.25T |
| Teeth engaged | small pulley | 9.5 |
| Buy | 110T belt | 119.62 mm |
Drivetrain speed
Pick a motor and wheel size and see how fast your robot actually moves — in ft/s, and in seconds to cross the field.
Open calculatorUsed in
435 RPM motors on 96 mm mecanum wheels
| Wheel travel | 96 mm ⌀ | 301 mm/rev |
| Free speed | 435 RPM | 6.9 ft/s |
| Loaded (~80%) | — | 5.5 ft/s |
| Field crossing | 12 ft | 2.2 s |
Wiring simulator
Lay out your robot's electronics on a live canvas — battery, switch, hubs, motors, encoders, servos and sensors — and see every wire. An inspection report flags what would fail on the field as you connect things.
Open simulatorA drive motor with its encoder one port off
| Battery → switch | XT30 | OK |
| Switch → hub | XT30 | OK |
| Front-left motor | Motor 0 | OK |
| Its encoder | Encoder 1 | Error |
“Front-left drive is on motor port 0 but encoder port 1.” The motor would read another motor’s encoder — the classic cause of an autonomous that drives the wrong distance.