Onshape reviews

Agrxis Review on Onshape

Opmerkingen: For my design and modeling needs, adopting Onshape has, in my opinion, been a game-changer. Incomparable simplicity and flexibility are provided by the cloud-based platform, which enables me to access my projects from any location and work seamlessly with team members. My productivity and efficiency when generating 3D drawings have substantially increased because to the user-friendly interface and comprehensive range of tools. The real-time collaboration features of Onshape have completely changed the way I collaborate with others, allowing for seamless communication and coordinated edits. Additionally, the Onshape team's ongoing upgrades and enhancements show their dedication to delivering a superior user experience. Onshape has, all things considered, surpassed my expectations and evolved into a crucial part of my creative workflow.

Pluspunten:

I adore Onshape so much! My approach to 3D design and modeling has changed as a result. I can access my projects from any location thanks to the cloud-based platform, which also makes sharing and collaborating simple. I'm able to easily construct complex designs because to Onshape's outstanding array of tools and functionality. The ability to collaborate in real-time with team members, which eliminates version control problems, is a game-changer. It's really easy to be able to work across many platforms and devices because it allows me the freedom to design on the gadget of my choice. Even for someone like myself who is just getting started with 3D design, Onshape's user-friendly interface and simple navigation make it a pleasure to use.

Minpunten:

Even though I adore using Onshape, there is one thing that I find a little difficult. For beginners or those switching from other design applications, some of the more complex capabilities can have a high learning curve. To completely understand the nuances of the more advanced tools and functionalities, it requires some time and effort.

Great Software for 3D Parametric CAD and Easily Accessible

Opmerkingen: Overall, using OnShape has been a walk in the park. The user experience of it was fluid, even on a 6 year old Macbook Pro on base specs, not something I could say about Solidworks or AutoCAD. It is fully featured and not having to worry about files, using the built-in cloud integration is great. I would not hesitate to recommend OnShape to anyone interested in picking up CAD or even small CAD shops.

Pluspunten:

Coming into the 3D printing world as a student hobbyist, OnShape was a wonderful introduction to 3D CAD and modeling concepts. It was easy and intuitive to pick up (without an engineering degree), and their instructions videos detailed all the primary features you will need. I am by no means a CAD or engineering professional, so I speak to this software from purely a hobbyist and 3D printing nerd standpoint. It was easy for me to pick up and learn, and the fact that the software operated on a browser (I use Safari) was amazing. The cloud integration was solid and robust, albeit only allowing public models and documents on free accounts. I was able to log into any workstation near me and be able to pull up a model and work on it. The decoupling of compute and processing power from the base hardware was also refreshing when it came to unknown pieces of hardware. In my makerspace, I primarily operated on not-so-amazing machines compared to my home workstation, so the ability to be portable and rely on cloud processing was nice. There wasn't really anything I wanted to do from a basic parametric 3D CAD software that I couldn't do on OnShape. From the few years, I've been using it, they are also constantly improving the features available and also refining the user interface. Admittedly, the versioning system which comprised of different branches was a little unexpected in ​CAD software​ but is very paralleled to code-versioning software like Git.

Minpunten:

The hardest part about the software was being able to find other people who used it to teach you about it. Being rather new to the CAD scene, OnShape does have as widespread ​adoption as SolidWorks or AutoCAD, so being able to find others who used it was challenging. Ultimately though, with the decent amount of support documentation detailing the features and some very helpful forum posts, the lack of user experiences could be overlooked. The interface and usage is also quite different from the traditional CAD's was also a bit of a challenge, if you eventually find yourself migrating or using one from time to time. The lack of private projects with free accounts is also a bummer, but not a major issue by any means.

Very positive, I really like it. One of my favourite packages I have used.

Pluspunten:

How quick a thought or idea can become a model. The look of the modeling space is brilliant. How intuitive the program is, a lot of steps are removed because I feel the program is working me. It understands what I am trying to do. The customer support and community is also a big bonus. The webinars are great as well as the help functions. The functionality within the part studio, assembly and drawings is just brilliant.

Minpunten:

The functionality of the tabs within a document. I find it frustrating to use at times, specially it is hard to put my finger on it but it is the one time I grit my teeth. When I have lost my place in tabs/ can't read the full tab/ delete a part and I jump into or out of a folder. I personally just don't like it. How bad the resolution is on the drawings when you are working on them. When they a exported to a PDF they look brilliant but in while working on them it is not great. I understand this could be a cloud issue. Also to that point the lag inside an assembly again I understand this is a cloud issue. The thumbnail constantly changing on the document page. I would like to be able to set the image is I wish because like the tab it is easy to lose place of where you were working.

Great customer support

Opmerkingen: Onshape is really nice for working on a project with other people because of the realtime edits you can do. It is kind of like a google doc where everyone can be there working and changing things. It has worked really well in our little startup group.

Pluspunten:

There are three things that I have really enjoyed with Onshape. I love that it is cloud based. No more having to save, or worry about losing anything. I also love using is the versions tree. This helps a lot in design to be able to make different versions and compare them easily and quickly. Lastly, their customer service has been spot on. Their team checks in on us regularly to make sure we are doing okay and I have been able to easily schedule a time with someone to help me build a part that I am struggling to build. They are very patient and willing to help in any way.

Minpunten:

The surfacing still has a ways to go, but has been improving over the last year, so I expect it to provide most any feature needed. The only other complaint is the multiple selection feature. Instead of using shift or control to select multiple items, it is set so you can just click anything and it adds it to the selection group(without pressing any other button). While this might sound nice, it gets really annoying and you end up selecting multiple features/parts/items without wanting to.

Instant CAD functionality presented in a brand new way!

Opmerkingen: OnShape has helped me to do designs of my ideas right where I am, no matter if the computer has CAD installed or not. It has enabled me to keep all my CAD files in one place and always accessible. I have been able to present designs to clients and keep them posted of progress in much easier ways that traditional CAD allows. I would highly recommend OnShape to anyone who is looking for a fresh idea in their CAD sphere.

Pluspunten:

What I like the most about OnShape is that it is based in the cloud. It is so convenient that I don't have to install an application on my computer to use it, but rather, it just works. OnShape has taken the idea of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and given an entirely new spin to it, introducing unique ways of performing mates (which I love), as well as integral versioning of parts. The mobile app is also amazing and makes life so much easier!

Minpunten:

As with any cloud platform, if your bandwidth is not great, you're going to have a bad time. The platform tends to lag at high internet usage times in my area, but not too much to complain about. I also found it difficult to use the platform the first few times due to the lack of built in tutorials.

Onshape v Solidworks

Opmerkingen: Abysmal quality of training meant that the software was unusable

Pluspunten:

Shareability. The idea that customers could directly interact was a great sales point

Minpunten:

Failure to provide credible training. Software is not bought for the technical advances or features. These are almost certainly offered in whole or in part by the competition. It is training and support that differentiates competitors. Onshape training is totally inadequate in my experience.

Versatile and unencumbered

Opmerkingen: Fantastic versatility. I never wait more than an hour when I post a question to the forum. Other users are so eager to help.

Pluspunten:

I can run this on a $249 Chromebook, and do. It displays equally well on phones and tablets. I also very much like the fact there is no installation and the software is always up to date (because there is not software). When I need to share CAD data with customers, not it's no worry now as I share a link and they instantly have whatever information I wish to share, right in their browser. How many times does a design take a big turn, or the operator breaks some thing severely? I adore the fact I can go back in time to my very first sketch either backing up to a known good design or branching off with an alt. design.

Minpunten:

Missing CAM which is slowly becoming standard in 3D CAD systems.

Unparalleled next-gen CAD

Opmerkingen: Overall, Onshape has been awesome for my business. The customer support is nearly instant and absolutely top-notch. I love all of the forward-thinking, bleeding-edge features that Onshape is continually bringing to the table.

Pluspunten:

True cloud-CAD, unlike some fakers (*cough* Fusion360). It's amazing to never have to save or send files. No downloads, no installation, nothing. Just hope on your browser and start modeling. Onshape is extremely forward thinking and always releasing updates and improvements. Live sharing with clients offers us a huge advantage over our competitors

Minpunten:

Some of the available apps are left wanting. It would be nice if rendering and other important features like kinematics, etc. were integrated into Onshape instead of requiring outside apps.

Accessible and efficient software for Architectural design. Great Cloud service

Opmerkingen: We had a good experience in the little time we used it, but as it was taking us more than usual to learn, and we needed to finish our projects faster, we decided to migrate to another software.

Pluspunten:

The best part is their customer support. They can help you almost immediately if you ever have a problem. The cloud data they offer is really helpful to develop projects in teams and constantly upload new data to it. The changes are saved to the version history which is really helpful to review past versions if needed.

Minpunten:

The only thing that I find as a con, is the learning curve. You might need to have a person that already uses this software to teach your team in order to learn correctly. It's not the hardest but as it is not the most known or used, you might find it hard.

Cloud based CAD for everyone.

Pluspunten:

Because Onshape is cloud based, users are saved the stress of installing software which can be a very stressful experience with some software.Everyone in my organizations technical department have access to the most current version of every file , saving us the confusion of having to always confirm the version of every file we need to use.Editing ,collaboration , file recovery ,access,and files storage is simplified ; all of these thanks to Onshape for being cloud based.

Minpunten:

No complaint whatsoever from my experience with Onshape. I only wish I was aware of this program 3-4 year ago.

Onshape Review

Pluspunten:

It really helps with the making of products in the workplace because once you see the product on screen, you can tell if you want to make the product or not

Minpunten:

There is nothing to say about Onshape, this is a great tool to use in the work environment and in the classroom

Onshape is a good fit for me and my startup. It was not a good fit when I tried at a larger company.

Opmerkingen: I think I laid out most of the benefits previously. It's an excellent CAD tool that fits the needs of my startup. In the future, I'm excited to see how the product adapts to a changing market. Are drawings going to continue to be the golden standard of conveying information? If so, I would hope that you continue to develop drawings, as they are less robust than other drawing solutions on the market (SW, AC). If we start to see a larger trend towards model based definition, will that work essentially the same as view only sharing? Machine shops will have a better answer than I do.
One thing I really miss from SW was that my sheet metal vendor had an automatic quoting add-on. I just pushed a few buttons, selected materials and I could shoot a purchase order request out in minutes. I'm curious to see how that kind of automation works its way into the product. As I've stated, I'm pretty happy with Onshape so far. Even though I have a couple small gripes, the benefit of knowing that I'm working with tools that I expect to endure better than 'traditional' CAD tools offers me enough peace of mind that we're willing to put up with a decent amount of frustration along they way if it comes.

Pluspunten:

I really love how fast I can put my assemblies together with fasten mates. I really love not having to fix broken relations, or deal with other horrible manifestations of Dassault Enterprise PDM. Having a git-like structure has a learning curve, but it much easier to manage. In Onshape, things generally behave the way I expect them to. This may seem a little straightforward, but it's amazing how frequently this isn't the case, even with historied, expensive, enterprise software. I love how often I get to see a preview of my document as a model and not just a file name. I love the idea (I don't get a lot of opportunity to use this feature, yet) of being able to share a model in view only mode to anyone. I use the android app on my Pixel XL, and it runs really amazingly well, which is super convenient for those days in the shop I want to check a measurement, but don't want to print and bring drawings (mostly days I waterjet parts and need to do a small amount of post processing).

Minpunten:

Needing to have internet access when I use it! Sometimes I just have a few minutes between here and there, or want to be able to work from a cafe. With software, I can just commit as I go and push when it's convenient. I understand why Onshape needs constant internet access to function, but it's occasionally a pain. Performance has occasionally been an issue. I'm mostly using two different beefy workstation desktops (one linux, one windows, both chrome), and I have high expectations from my time working in Solidworks. Sometimes it just takes longer than I feel like it should to rotate a model or move something that has freedom within an assembly. Very small movements can be a little finicky. Same goes for selection through transparency. The other thing I like least is the pricing model. When I was at a larger startup, we had floating licences of SW that worked really well for us. I tried to work on transitioning the team to Onshape, with one of the promises being that we would be able to save some money along the way. In the end, it would have been significantly more expensive than the floating licence system we were using, which ended up being a surprise. Sure, people can jump on and off month by month, but it's much more of a day to day, and even hour to hour thing with when people need to hop on CAD. I don't know what a better system than you have would be, to be honest, I just know it was a pain point when a larger company I was at looked into transitioning.

Very happy with this modern cloud based solution with 5 stars customer support!

Opmerkingen: Cost effective modern cloud based solution that is efficient, powerful and secure.

Pluspunten:

OnShape is a simple-to-use yet powerful parametric modern cloud based software that allows me to collaborate easily with my team. Forget about heavy and expensive CAD work station. I've been most of all my mechanical design on a MacBook Air in Safari. As a frequent traveler, I can access and work on my model on any computer as long as there's reasonable internet connection and google chrome. The data system is so powerful that I've never experienced a single error message caused by data corruption. This was a serious problem I had with Solidworks in the past. Since it's a cloud based system, my data is securely backed up with full traceability down to every single change I made to the model. Whenever I have questions or see a bug in the system, I can easily report it to OnShape's technical using the feedback system. Bugs are usually fixed within days after it's reported. Forget about upgrading or installing new patches, it's always the latest version as soon as you login. Thanks to it's cloud based technology! OnShape is frequently updated so that patches and new features can be incorporated in no time!

Minpunten:

The only issue I have is offline access to the models I have OnShape. OnShape does provide the option of exporting models into numerous formats so that you could open them with conventional non-cloud based software. However, I still have trouble opening them with common software like eDrawings. Ultimate, I would prefer to have an OnShape software on my computer that could sync the data I would like to view whenever I go offline. This is important, as I don't always have an internet connection when I need to present my models to my client when traveling overseas. So it'd be great if OnShape could look at better view-only offline support. Where I can view a read-only model and jot down comments. When I'm back online, I can edit it on my browser.

Onshape is my 5th and final 3D CAD package - I have arrived!

Opmerkingen: I spend much less time achieving much more, more reliably than before I found Onshape!

Pluspunten:

The (deceptively) simple, very powerful user interface Amazing, multi-part part studios The reliabity of the software and the way it "just works" Being better suited to woodworking than anything else I am aware of Being able to pick up on a design at home after work without having done ANYTHING Quality, speed and pleasantness of support! The problem being keeping up with releases rather than waiting 18 months to find that X wasn't included after all! Being able to add in your own features using FeatureScript! The amazing new 3D curves and surface generating features allowing me to accomplish things I hadn't succeeded in doing with other CAD software! The app store for all the addons that are not core-CAD Feeling "listened to" when making suggestions or struggling with something! The effort the team put into "joined up thinking", getting things "right" and the many decisions they have got right already

Minpunten:

No internet = no CAD (but not actually been a problem yet!) The lack of configurations (as yet) The lack of any visual representation of materials in the workspace beyond colour and transparancy (wood, metal, glass, plastic re: SW or inventor) The way variables (parameters) are managed (looking forward to what is coming but this one has felt like a long wait)

Onshape is awesome

Pluspunten:

I love the combination of direct editing with parametric modeling. The options opened up with direct editing is simply amazing. I often work in my job with models that came for outside of my organization, leaving me without the full feature history to work with, so direct editing is a game changer. The cloud based access is also incredibly helpful. I’m no longer tied to a particular device to access my models. Working in the office, at home or on road, it doesn’t matter. I wondered at first if working in a browser would be tough given that cad programs are so computationally heavy, but I have never had an issue.

Minpunten:

The only time I’ve wished I had a feature not available was when I needed a font that wasn’t available.

I have done a lot with the OnShape tool, more than I was able to with ProE Creo.

Opmerkingen: I had the opportunity to investigate some complex design issues, and try out some solutions, though I have not finished yet. I had tried this in ProE, but I found it too hard to use, and the software update issues were beyond painful...

Pluspunten:

Ease of use, and the interaction with the developers. The training webinars, and interest in helping the users. The ability to make user features is really interesting, and I have used is some. I am still learning...but it has been very positive experience so far. The integrated versioning tools are also quite helpful, and well thought out. I was using the tool almost daily, but lately, conflicting work has taken me away...have to get back.

Minpunten:

My machines use chains, and the tools inability to deal with those, especially in an assembly, is problematic. Parts that move in 3-space when the chains move, is key also. I tweaked a pulley example, that works partially in a part window, but then disappears in the assembly. Sprockets and chain details - I have not incorporated...but those still do not move the sprockets. Also, part of the machines are cables. here I mean force transmitting cable, not electrical ones. Lining up sheaves, and visualizing the cable paths would also be a great addition. I am hoping these get supported eventually. The last thing I will mention is no external interface. I am developing the control software for the machines, but i cannot pass the kinematic and dynamic data in and how to have the software run the machine, so I am forced to investigate video game software engines to do that...That has useful results, but makes for a more complex integration and evaluation effort. I feel like I am unloading here, but the ideas might be food for thought.

Very good software for mechanical design and design sharing/team design projects

Opmerkingen: Design agility and speed are the largest benefits I see. We are a smaller company and work with a larger number of outside vendors for manufacturing and engineering work. This has by far made that process much easier and eliminated the wasted time and money associated with giving an outside firm access to our vault for file transfer. It is very nice to be able to collaborate in real time with the outside world, both on the design and manufacturing side, by simply sharing a file with a person, company or team (internal of external).

Pluspunten:

I like the features and ease of reusing existing geometry. It easily allows for multi-body part modeling and enables the parts to be treated as individual parts with their own properties etc. The architecture of program makes it one of the fastest I have ever used for conceptual design and then easily transitions the designs into production.

Minpunten:

The learning curve switching from solidworks/pro-E was a little steeper than I anticipated but, once we made the switch, the benefits really started to payoff. Although it can import and edit 2D dwg type files, it is not a good solution or does not have the ability to create 2D as easily as an autocad program when creating schematics or the like (the drawing package for documenting Onshape files is very functional).

I do not loose information, it is grate. And no more crash, so I work very happy.

Opmerkingen: It is a profesional CAD that can run in any computer. The cost is accesible.
And I think that have a new workflow or work method that have advantage and save time.

Pluspunten:

The information that I create is safe. I do not need a big computer, so the big files can work fine. It not have crashes, so I do not lose time by that. The idea of work with multiple solids in a same "fiel" have a lot of advantage, and the assembly mate is faster.

Minpunten:

I need to test the new surface tools, It was limited, but I see the tutorial and think that this new tools was strong. I need to put my own profiles (or customise profiles) in weldment or structural tools. The draft angle analysis is important. The idea to use partners or apps, it grate, but It is expensive or maybe I need to understand how to use to pay only the time that I need. I do not have a risk to have a monthly charge in my credit card if I forget uncheck something. Sometimes is important project a sketch or curve one surface.

30 year mechanical and hydraulik CAD user

Pluspunten:

I don't need expensive cad hardware and the program is available at any place with internet connection. Onshape can import other cad file format so it is possible for me to cooperate with companies using other Cad programs. Onshape give me as a design consultan possibility to cooperate with other designers I don't have to invest in expensive cad programs. It is easy to present and discuss design development in project groups. The pricing is fair set.

Minpunten:

Missing some funktionalities i.e. In my project with rock drill rigs I need to position boom and feed (7 degrees of freedom) to different positions. I hope a nice feature to handle the movement will come. A great benefit for onshape is the ability to transfer files but the recipian must have a license and they are reluctant to invest in a license . A possibility to temporarily give rights on the fly to load files with a free license can be a solution

We've been a user since the days of beta, allows us to work no matter where we're at

Opmerkingen: It allows us to more rapidly develop our integrated robotic workers than competing systems. The ability to have the customers log directly into the model from anywhere and do a quick design review and make changes on the fly while tracking them is a huge benefit especially since our customers are located across the country.

Pluspunten:

Cloud based CAD that can be ran on a multitude of platforms from PC/Mac to mobile. Ability to collaborate with our team and customer in real time with multiple individuals working simultaneously in the application. Rapid development of the platform with new releases on a regular and rapid basis

Minpunten:

Lack of offline caching causes Models to need to be reloaded when experiencing poor network coverage such as riding down the interstate while working on a customer design

Redefining CAD User Experiance

Opmerkingen: Ability to work on my project from any web browser. Using the product is very intuitive. While Onshape runs in a web browser, it feels faster than the competition installed on my computer.

Pluspunten:

The user interface of Onshape is a game changer. The sheet metal tool is one of the easiest available. User input is greatly valued and well heard. The webinars and tech tips are extremely helpful. Onshape is always being updated with new tools and features. Customers are not inconvenienced by updates, you are always using the newest version. Easy cross-compatibility with other cad packages. Featurescript gives lots of flexibility and options.

Minpunten:

CAM functionality very lacking. The lack of 3d sculpting tools can sometimes be a challenge. The Webinars, while extremely helpful can feel unfocused and a bit unorganized.

This software has been very intuitive to use and is the most fully featured giving the best value.

Opmerkingen: It has allowed me to work as an independent consulting engineer/designer to create accurate models for my client in a timely manner.

Pluspunten:

- The best feature is this software is cloud based. It does not require a high-end desktop to run and is OS agnostic. - The 3D modelling and 2D drawing feature sets are very extensive with additional features added very regularly. The user experience is always improving and the developers are very responsive to the user base keeping them informed of coming features and dedicated to addressing issues. - The performance is excellent (no lag). Also, the business model of paying for private documents (at a reasonable cost) while also providing a user full access to all the features for free made the decision to purchase the training and software an easy decision. - Live webcast training was excellent.

Minpunten:

Many modelling and drawing features are basic and require improvement to allow for customization - i.e. Hole feature, assigning materials, 2D drawings. These are limiting factors for being able to use in a professional environment.

Onshape is a superior 3D CAD system for design teams

Opmerkingen: Overall it's a great tool that makes collaborating on a design model simple and efficient.

Pluspunten:

The biggest appeal to Onshape is that it can be utilized on various platforms from Mac/PC to mobile devices. Their platform allows multiple people to access the application at one time so design projects can be accomplished more quickly.

Minpunten:

The Onshape product does have a handful of commands which are hard to find even when you search using keywords. Also the downside to it being a cloud CAD product is the lack of offline caching which means models need to constantly be reloaded when experiencing poor connectivity issues.

Hands down, Onshape is my favorite software I've ever used.

Opmerkingen: It's extremely fast. I never lose my work because it's all saved online. I can use a crummy computer and still work fast. I can collaborate with my coworkers seamlessly.

Pluspunten:

I love, love, love the collaboration. I can share files with customers and they will always see the latest version. My boss can work on the assembly while I work on the parts. I can move a tapped hole, and each part updates accordingly. I love that it's 100% online. I hate downloading in general, so any time I can avoid it I do. The fact that there are significant updates (that I don't have to download or buy a new licence for) every 3 weeks is just icing on the cake. I love that my work gets saved automatically. The fact that customer service is so responsive and receptive to suggestions is absolutely amazing.

Minpunten:

It crashes pretty often. Nothing is lost, it's just kind of annoying. A lot of features will fail if you don't select the right face, but the warning messages don't say that. They just say "failed to generate"

Don't sweat the hardware

Opmerkingen: Onshape was easy to start-up and allowed me to create manufacturing drawings in short order. The limiting factor was my lack of 3D modelling experience. The customer support team is responsive, supportive and generally understanding.

Pluspunten:

Are you shopping for computers based on the specs required for your software? Stop it. You don't install Onshape as it is a web based application. Log-in and go! The processing of your work is managed over several (many) severs so there is no crashing and your work is constantly autosaved with minimal to no loss of data. Onshape has monthly releases of new features and upgrades.

Minpunten:

Printing is a bit of a pain; gotta export / download file and then print.