Plate Workflow
At this point you should be an expert at making tubing frames of various shapes and sizes. These frames will not stay together without something to attach to. That’s where plates come in. This section will be primarily focused around how to model plates for various purposes.
Where We Are
That wraps up box tubes — you've built straight, box, and triangle frames entirely with Tubify. This exercise begins a new part type: plates. You'll learn the team's plate workflow on a single plate in isolation before putting it to work on real structure.
WHAT PLATES DO
Plates connect structure and mount components.
- Join tubes where they meet at odd angles.
- Mount motors, bearings, and gearboxes.
- They're custom CNC-cut, so holes can go anywhere
- In FRC, plates are made out many different materials (Aluminum, Lexand, etc.)
- An arc around each outer hole.
- Straight lines connecting the arcs.
- Tangent constraints so the edges flow smoothly.
The video below also shows off the tangent constraint! This is one of the most frequently used constraints when designing plates since each mounting hole will have an arc around it to form the perimeter of the plate. The tangent constraint allows us to create a tangent line for an arc or circle. This is important to “smooth” out our plate. We don’t want sharp edges!
Exercise: Two-Bearing Plate
Build a simple plate with two bearing holes.
- Place the two bearing holes.
- Draw an arc 0.25 in around each hole; make the arcs Equal radius.
- Connect them with lines and add Tangent constraints.
Complete?
Plates are a workflow you memorize by repetition — build a few more until it's automatic.
- Rebuild the two-bearing plate two or three times.
- Then try one with a third hole (1.125" bearing).
PLATE WORKFLOW
- Arc each hole (0.25 in), Equal radius
- Connect with lines, add Tangent
- Repeat until it's muscle memory
Your Task
- Model what this lesson covers in Fusion 360.
- Use the AltSkripts tools where they apply.
- Save it with a clear name.
- In Fusion: Share → Public Link → Copy.
- Paste the link below.
- A coach reviews it in AltHub.