CLASP Studio
A digital twin of the CLASP climbing robot, built from the team's own Onshape assembly.
Where the robot comes from
The robot was exported from Onshape twice, once as built and once with every joint moved. The two
exports tessellate identically, so each part's motion between them is a rigid transform, and that
transform gives each joint's axis exactly. Nothing about the mechanism is guessed. Every one of the
872,568 CAD triangles is drawn, with the CAD feature edges, and part colours come from Onshape's own
shaded views of the assembly.
How it moves
Two modules clamp the member. A C-link joins them through two hinges 189.3 mm apart. To pass a
crossing member, one module opens its clamp, the linkage swings it clear, the other module drives
the robot past the junction, and the free module swings back and clamps. The same happens for the
second module. One module is attached at every instant, and any command that would break that is
refused. Collisions are tested against every CAD triangle, so nothing passes through anything.
Building a frame
In the Build workspace the robot works from the posts. Each member stays rigidly in its claw from the
hoist to its final place, and it climbs and crosses joints with the same commands as the demos. The CAD
arm is one hinge, so the slew and wrist that let it lay a member in place are CONCEPT, as the submission's
multi-axis arm. The hoist, moves between posts by hand and the crane for out-of-reach members are CONCEPT
too, and every hand placement says why the robot could not do it.
Drive
The Drive workspace is a practice course for the operator. W and S drive, Shift creeps, A and D move the arm,
Q and E detach or attach each module, R sends both_attach and Space is the estop. The coach reads the
robot's state and the crossing plan and tells you the next move.
The structure analysis
Build solves the frame by the direct stiffness method, checks every member for crushing, Euler
buckling and joint pull-out, and runs a progressive collapse. A frame that is a mechanism falls under
its own weight, driven by position-based dynamics rather than an animation.
What it does not know
Frame joints are frictionless pins, and material values are literature estimates for model-scale stock.
The robot is kinematic, so there is no wheel slip and no dynamics.
Help, then Run the self-test, checks the whole simulator. It is also CLASP_TEST() in the console.