Best Of

Hi everyone,

I’ve been using Onshape on and off for a while now, and its parametric design capabilities—especially the seamless integration of Features, Variables, and real-time collaboration are some of its really nice features. That said, I often wonder how much better this process could become with AI assistance. For instance, when iterating on complex assemblies or debugging feature tree errors, I catch myself thinking: Could an AI co-pilot help me navigate these challenges faster?

While AI tools are making waves in rendering and simulation, their potential in parametric CAD workflows feels underexplored. Onshape’s cloud-native architecture and version-controlled design history seem like the perfect foundation for AI integration. Imagine an AI agent that could:

• Automate tedious tasks: Clean up redundant features in a bloated Part Studio or optimize variable relationships for performance.
• Troubleshoot errors: Diagnose failed constraints or dangling references in assemblies and suggest fixes (e.g., “Sketch2 is under-constrained—apply symmetry to these lines”).
• Interpret intent: Convert text prompts like “Create a vent pattern that reduces weight by 20%” into parametric feature trees or configure Design Tables dynamically.

Questions for the Community:

1. Are there existing AI tools or experiments that enhance parametric modeling in Onshape? For example, plugins that auto-generate features or optimize design tables?
2. How could AI reshape your workflow? Would it help newcomers grasp parametric logic, or empower experts to tackle more ambitious projects?
3. What should Onshape prioritize in AI development? A few ideas:
   • AI-assisted sketch constraint resolution.
   • Generative design tools that output editable feature trees.
   • Natural language-to-parametric-modeling (e.g., “Add fillets to all edges >5mm”).

I’d love to hear your thoughts on where AI could make the biggest impact!

@MichaelPascoe The coffee bag looks so good!
So you modelled the face of flat to place the decal. Then you deformed it with sculpt face and the decal moved with it! Is that correct? Didn't know that 😃

Yes, I think I learned that trick from either @S1mon or @bryan_lagrange

You can set any part property with this feature:

Set Property
https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/24731/set-property-new-custom-feature…

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Yeah I'm interested in learning more about the details of #1 and #6.

My tricks were pretty simple, but tedious to figure out. Especially trying to edit and pick textures. These aren't that uncommon of textures so I'm not sure why it was so difficult to figure out. I think having the ability to easily create a new texture and pick what you want it to do, would make this entire process 50% less tedious.

Entry #4

https://cad.onshape.com/documents/0fac03550e86f9ade78b2f25/w/069f4080decdbd864e955ebb/e/3fa947c9348bf06fc148…

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Mug:

• Used the Transform tool to scale the z direction of the mug down a bit to fit in the coffee maker.
• Placed the decal using the Decal feature. It carries over to render studio nicely.

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Steam:

• Ensure the model is a completely filled solid with no sharp edges.
• I used a combination of Freeform spline, Loft, and Fillet.
• Set the texture to this:
  

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Liquid:

• Used Sebastian's edge surface tension trick for the edges.
• Used a combination of freeform spline and loft to create the streams.
• Revolved a sketch of the ripples.
  
• Set the main liquid body to this in order to get the rest of the ripples:
  

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Coffee Beans:

• Modeled a single bean using Loft, Extrude, and Mirror.
• Placed the bean into a sub assembly for a small pile, then that pile into a larger assembly for a larger pile. Placing them was a pain.
• Had to use a leather texture to make it look right:
  

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Environment:

• The environment sucks… I tried to get a simple restaurant or coffee shop hdri but no go. Even when I got one I couldn't scale and orient the background easily so it was impossible to get it to line up realistically. Ended up just using one of the studio environments.

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Coffee Bag:

• Used the following features to make the bag:
  

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