After doing some research I recently discovered that AutoDesk offers their Fusion 360 CAD program for free to hobbyists. So I have decided to switch to Fusion 360 from SolidWorks in the hopes that in doing so other people can more easily recreate, modify, or otherwise explore 3D models that get made in The Workshop. If you are interested in downloading and getting started follow this guide:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/fusion-360/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-activate-start-up-or-educational-licensing-for-Fusion-360.html

With this in mind I have remade the candy sorting machine in Fusion 360 and will continue on from this point using it. Here are some screen shots of the project as it stands today. 

This second picture shows the individual components as separate colors which is interesting to look at.

Outside of the redesign I have written code that reads in color from Adafruit’s color sensor (https://www.adafruit.com/product/1334) and then turns a neopixel rgb led strip (https://www.adafruit.com/product/2832) that color. The next step in the build will be to test the mechanics of the design and once they get verified I will add the final details into the models and publish them. Stay tuned!