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Best Of
Re: #TraditionalCADsucks
Knowledge of other cad options and being adaptable should be their most important topic. . .
How to model in a parametric system should be generalized since each company not only changes what cad system they are on, but also how they use the system.
When I started where I work, I only knew autoCAD 2D, They were using mechanical desktop which just added a few UCS commands and 'create part' commands to what I basically understood as a bunch of lines and arcs.
When we switched to Solidworks a few years later; the changeover literally was a crash course for 4 hours on a saturday, after which we only used MD to open old drawings and step them out.
Going from 2D cad to SolidWorks seems like a huge leap, I work with someone who said it was a struggle for him. But I never considered 3D to be anything more than 2D sketches that are thicker. Knowing the most basic principals can help someone transition from cad to cad. I love that about Onshape since they only have 1 extrude command, 1 loft command, etc. They basically got you thinking of the core function, rather than: first having to decide whether or not i am adding or removing material, along what path? before deciding to switch to a 'features' / 'surfacing' /or 'sheetmetal' tab and selecting one of the many extrude options in each.
How to model in a parametric system should be generalized since each company not only changes what cad system they are on, but also how they use the system.
When I started where I work, I only knew autoCAD 2D, They were using mechanical desktop which just added a few UCS commands and 'create part' commands to what I basically understood as a bunch of lines and arcs.
When we switched to Solidworks a few years later; the changeover literally was a crash course for 4 hours on a saturday, after which we only used MD to open old drawings and step them out.
Going from 2D cad to SolidWorks seems like a huge leap, I work with someone who said it was a struggle for him. But I never considered 3D to be anything more than 2D sketches that are thicker. Knowing the most basic principals can help someone transition from cad to cad. I love that about Onshape since they only have 1 extrude command, 1 loft command, etc. They basically got you thinking of the core function, rather than: first having to decide whether or not i am adding or removing material, along what path? before deciding to switch to a 'features' / 'surfacing' /or 'sheetmetal' tab and selecting one of the many extrude options in each.
Re: Pipe feature
@coleman
It's a lot easier to make little tools like this that work in specific cases than to make general tools that are mostly bug-proof and useful in the general case.
A lot of the FeatureScript custom features that we post on the forum are quick tools that enable a specific person or group of people to get a job done, but may have obvious bugs, limited functionality, or no great place to fit into our standard feature set.
You can imagine that a tool like this would be much more useful if you could select an arbitrary sketch profile from either inside this part studio, or another part studio. It would also be much more useful with branching, and miters between branched pipes. Decisions about this and other added functionality go through multiple iterations of design and user testing before a new feature is ready to be released into our standard feature set.
Just because we don't have a general, robust solution yet, doesn't mean we shouldn't enable some people's workflows by releasing small specific tools over different channels. If every custom feature we wrote was added to the standard library, it would be a big polluted mess!
It's a lot easier to make little tools like this that work in specific cases than to make general tools that are mostly bug-proof and useful in the general case.
A lot of the FeatureScript custom features that we post on the forum are quick tools that enable a specific person or group of people to get a job done, but may have obvious bugs, limited functionality, or no great place to fit into our standard feature set.
You can imagine that a tool like this would be much more useful if you could select an arbitrary sketch profile from either inside this part studio, or another part studio. It would also be much more useful with branching, and miters between branched pipes. Decisions about this and other added functionality go through multiple iterations of design and user testing before a new feature is ready to be released into our standard feature set.
Just because we don't have a general, robust solution yet, doesn't mean we shouldn't enable some people's workflows by releasing small specific tools over different channels. If every custom feature we wrote was added to the standard library, it would be a big polluted mess!
Modular Cabinet Model & List of Helpful Custom Features
Modular Cabinet
This project is still in progress, it is complete enough to introduce to those who may want it.
Summary
The modular cabinet has been configured to be many different types of cabinets. As you import the cabinet into your document, you choose the attributes that you want your cabinet to have. This document has been created to cut down on modeling time for standard cabinetry. Please note there are many bugs in the current version of the Modular Cabinet.
Highlights
- Direct Import - Model can be directly derived into other documents without having to copy the document to make changes, configurations can be selected on the spot when you are deriving the cabinet.
- Flatten Parts for Machining - If selected, cabinet will flatten, organize, and name all of its parts for machining. If the document you import to is configured correctly, the room of cabinets will automatically organize themselves for you.
- Project Variables - Document wide variables allows you to save your standard dimensions in one place and use them in different studios across the document.
Alternate Versions
Originally we created a standard set of cabinet studios based on 2D sketches. Using this method, the sketches could be exported as dxf files and directly imported into our CAM software for programming. This method was great for exporting, but limited to changes and had almost no configurations.
Attempt 2, we created a standard set of cabinet studios based on 3D models. This method allowed us to change the model and add too it, but was not as good for exporting.
Attempt 3 involved a single model with one large configuration table. This method could do most of the things the current method can do. Due to the poor configuration, the studio became too cumbersome and would take too long for derivations.
Attempt 4 used assemblies and sub assemblies. This would be the most efficient way to do this, however there were issues with automatically updating assemblies and configured assemblies inside of drawings.
Attempt 5 is the current attempt and it is mostly functional.
Ways it could be better:
- Instead of many of configured features, use variables and logic variables to control a few number of sketches. This should increase the calculation efficiency.
- Use logic variables to suppress features. Currently, it is not possible to suppress features by variables. The Modular Cabinet has many features that are used by multiple configurations which means one configured suppression will not work. If the suppression could be controlled by variables, 1's & 0's, one suppression could be controlled by many different configurations.
We would like the next version to incorporate the instantiator by @Ilya_Baran. The cabinet would most likely be split into quadrants. Each compartment would be controlled by the instantiator.
Special Thanks To
We Invite You to Onshape Live '22
Last March, we held our first-ever Onshape user conference virtually. We successfully brought the Onshape community together to meet and learn from each other. We shared stories, learned from product development experts, heard from business leaders and educators, and even held a friendly design competition that produced outstanding models.
Of course, we wanted to do it again!
This year, our second annual user conference, Onshape Live ’22, will be held during two special viewing times to give attendees from around the world a chance to experience it live. Join us for:
The Americas Event: Wednesday, March 2, beginning at 12 p.m. EST
The European Event: Thursday, March 3, beginning at 10 a.m. GMT
We’re reaching further into the Onshape community by also providing closed caption translations in German, French and Italian for every session during the European Event.
Each year brings new challenges – and new solutions. Every time I meet with a customer, I learn something from them about how to best put Onshape to work. It motivates me to find more ways to make Onshape even better.
After all, Onshape’s mission is to improve product development by fully realizing the potential of cloud, web and mobile technologies. Onshape Live ’22 will help both you and us achieve this mission as we all continue to grow.
Onshape Live ’22 is a free six-hour virtual conference highlighting industry success stories, best practices for product developers, tips and tricks for modeling, drawings, data management, insights on engineering education, and professional networking opportunities.
In addition, you’ll have a chance to interact directly with Onshape’s R&D team and participate in perhaps the coolest part of the whole event: See demos of some exciting new Onshape features coming in the future!
Consider it a celebration of our Onshape community and what we’ve already accomplished and what’s yet-to-be achieved by helping transform your product development process through a cloud-native platform.
To reserve your free spot at Onshape Live ’22, please register here: https://www.onshape.com/en/onshape-live/
See you there!
See you there!
Re: Improvements to Onshape - January 12th, 2022
Holy smokes what an update! I'm not even sure which part I'm most excited about, but the variable context transparency and history search are certainly up there. Thanks so much to the whole team!
Improvements to Onshape - January 12th, 2022
On behalf of everyone at PTC, I'd like to wish our users everywhere a Happy and Prosperous New Year! Do you think we had time to rest over the holiday period? Not at all. We're keeping the ball rolling with this latest update...
Please take a moment to try out these new features and improvements and leave your comments below. For a detailed list of all the changes in this update, please see the changelog.
GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS
SEARCH/FILTER/NAVIGATE DOCUMENT HISTORY
Documents with a long history of edits can be difficult to navigate and find the exact moment in time when a certain edit took place. The Versions and history panel now includes a search tool to help you quickly find a history entry based on element tab, object type, user or date.COMPUTED MASS
The mass of a Part is now automatically calculated based on the assigned material. The Mass Part property can then be used in Drawing notes, title blocks, callouts and BOM tables and will update automatically when the Part geometry or material is changed.MATERIAL CONTEXT MENU
If a material has already been assigned to a Part, the context menu now changes from Assign material to Edit material to make it easier to determine whether a material has been assigned or not.QUICK SELECTION
The Create selection tool is now integrated into the context menu. Hover over geometry and right-click to see the selection options available.MISSING REFERENCES IN FOLDERS
A new Folder icon lets you know when one or more features inside it have missing references.ADD TEAM CREATOR TO TEAM
When a new Team is created, the default behaviour is now to automatically add the creator to that team.FEATURE IMPROVEMENTS
ADDITIONAL CONTROL FOR VARIABLE RADIUS FILLETS
Inflection points for variable radius fillets can now be added along an edge to precisely position each radius value.SPLIT PART CHOOSE SIDE TO KEEP
The Split part feature now lets you choose whether you want to keep the geometry on one or both sides of the split.VISUALIZATION IMPROVEMENTS
SCALE/FLIP ZEBRA STRIPES
The zebra stripes created by the Curvature visualization tool can now be fine tuned to help you inspect the quality of your surfaces.HIGH QUALITY TESSELLATION FOR SURFACE ANALYSIS
Whenever you need a better graphics representation, especially during surface analysis, you can now temporarily switch your view to high quality.IMPROVED CURVE TESSELLATION
Curves are now automatically rendered to a finer tolerance to make their curvature easier to visualize.FACE CURVATURE COMBS
The Show curvature command can now display curvature combs on faces to help you check surface quality and curvature continuity.IN-CONTEXT TRANSPARENCY CONTROL
Viewing, selecting and hiding in-context assembly geometry is now easy with the new “Context transparency” slider.HIDE PARTS IN ISOLATE
The Isolate and Make transparent commands now include a new option to hide transparent parts completely.HIGHLIGHT FEATURES FROM PARTS LIST
In addition to the filter at the top of the Feature list, you can now select a Part, Surface or Curve from the Parts list and the features used to construct them are highlighted in the Feature list.DRAWING IMPROVEMENTS
TRUE RADIUS DIMENSIONS
The Radial dimension tool is now able to measure and display the correct size of a fillet or other circular edge that is not in the plane of the Drawing view and therefore not a true arc.TABLE CELL PADDING
A new Drawing property for tables enables you to control padding around text in a cell. This is a global property for all tables and all cells in a Drawing to specify the minimum horizontal and vertical spacing around text in a cell to maintain legibility or to increase the density of information displayed.PROFESSIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
CUSTOM COMPUTED PART PROPERTIES
In addition to computed mass, Onshape Professional and Onshape Enterprise customers can now define the value of a Part custom property using FeatureScript. The result of the custom part property feature can be overridden by the user (with permissions) and can be displayed in BOM tables and Drawing notes. Documentation for this feature can be found here.TRANSFER OWNERSHIP
The Transfer ownership dialog now lists Onshape Enterprise and Onshape Professional companies separately. This makes it easier for users who are members of multiple companies to ensure that the right documents are transferred to the right company.Please take a moment to try out these new features and improvements and leave your comments below. For a detailed list of all the changes in this update, please see the changelog.
Remember: The updates listed here are now live for all users when creating new Documents. Over the next few days, these features will also be available in Documents created before this update.
