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Comments
Almost all of my actively used documents are over 100 MB or near 100 MB.
This simple shape prototyping document is 226MB:
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/9df6938c2abc4747bad7c658/w/4c47145062b9455ba48a7af1/e/f9a2df5ffa5a4a57bc908783
This simple enclosure is 70MB:
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/ab4d1e79694e491f9f64bf10/w/a367daa6fa1d40ea82d43be6/e/28c82e76cc4a46bb8c81a572
I had to share all of my documents to public to have a little room in the private space.
My storage info says "0 of 5 Active private documents, 7 MB Private storage, 900 MB Total storage" but i don't have any private documents.
EDIT: That 7 MB was in the Trash folder.
Am i doing something wrong?
I don't understand how the limit is going to be 100 MB for 10 documents. I can accidentally create a document larger than 100 MB by messing around with simple designs for a few hours.
- Mikko
You are doing everything correct. By making the documents public, you have given yourself more space for private work.
Since you are not using version control, I suggest you manually copy the workspaces in some of your older private documents and delete the originals. For example; your Simple Enclosure that is 70MB will reduce to about 2 MB when you make a copy. Onshape allows you to restore to any point in the documents history, which is a great feature, but due to its nature requires storage space. In a copied workspace, you preserve the features of the model, but purge the restore points. Your Formula Wheel will shrink from 226MB to 9MB. (NOTE: There is a delay in the size calculations when you make a copy. I suggest making a copy then waiting 5 minutes to see its new size)
With the strategy of making some documents public, and creating copies of workspaces to reduce document sizes, you may be able to continue working in within the limits of the Free Plan.
I hope this helps. You have very nice designs.
Darren
I just did this, but didn't realize the 'trash' also counts towards your total. After making my copies and deleting the originals, I was actually over the 100mb limit. I had to empty my 'trash' in order to see the savings. Thanks for the tip though...I didn't know about making copies to reduce file size.
It would be nice to have a "Clear History" feature for your document version control.
This could be situation for example if you ask for an offer from company who uses Onshape: Free user creates document and shares with shop to have an offer, then shop makes changes and maybe recreates the whole design to suit their production (this is one of great benefits Onshape provides).
I think you got the point.
@darren_henry What do yo think of this situation?
I understand your scenario as the following: you create a private Document, and share it with others. Then your peers, maybe a manufacturing shop, do significant amount of work in your Document and their changes take you past the 100MB limit without you revisiting the Document.
The answer here is simple. You should use Onshape Professional, at least for the duration of the project. You are using all the capabilities that make Onshape a better choice than traditional CAD. You can collaborate freely with anyone you choose, use version control without worrying about data storage limits, and control access. You will never mess around with sending copies of files, or worry about compatibility. You get commenting, notifications, and can easily restore if you don't like your colleague's changes. You can check progress on you phone or tablet, and lets face it everyone will be happy not to deal with system crashes. Time is valuable.
Remember you can pay month-to-month with Onshape Professional. In the FAQs we discuss what happens to your data if you downgrade during periods when you are not actively designing in Onshape.
Darren
@darren_henry Okay, I will then
ps. For these cases, it would be nice if document owner could have 'remove me from share' too. Otherwise shop needs to make a copy for their archive and it would be without versions and history.
I could see other use for transferring ownership too; if you are selling designs, I think buyer should be the owner after deal is made.
I would also like to see individuals (free plan) taking a shot to create say a kitchen cabinetry and then move the ownership for me (pro) and keep themselves in share and I would then finish the design with standard parts and nice renderings and stuff that takes it way over 100mb.
Let's assume I'm an individual, who learned Onshape in school, building a house and Onshape has become the cad of the universe. House project takes about a year to finish.
I will create some basic sketch of house and send it to 'house factory' - they need pro plan for handling this type of requests and they are using Ons for modeling too.
Then I share house plans for construction workers, electrician, plumber, ventilation guy, gardener and they all add their plans and offer into my document. They need to have pro plan of course.
Then I share plans with interior, cabinetry, kitchen, bathroom, balcony, etc. designer - they all need pro plan.
So for my one project, a dozen of companies justifies their Onshape pro plan and pay happily ever after - you still think I own you $1200 for the year?
I like your future scenario. Let me add to it. Everyone is using Onshape, and given our speed of evolution, I am sure the capabilities are on par if not greater than all other traditional CAD. You are getting a bargain at $1200/year. Just think, you do not have to create one copy to share with all those people. You do not ever worry about file compatibility. You never get bounced emails stating you have exceeded file limits. Everyone is commenting and collaborating on the correct data. Now, you are at the house, and something does not look right. No need to argue, just pull out your phone and show the contractor the design. Problem solved.
You look out your window and you remember. You remember the time before Onshape. A time of blue screen crashes, and once a year updates with little useful capabilities. The old CAD only ran well on your computer in the office or and on that heavy laptop you used to carry around, but that's it. How many days were wasted installing service packs? How many times did you crash and lose hours of work. You smile. You made the right decision. $3.28/day is worth it!
Darren
Because of the complexity of the design it is very easy to exceed the 100mb limit. They are mostly retired and on fixed income so $1200 a year is out of the question.
What do you tell these people. Sorry we do not have a paid plan that you can afford so you can use our great software to design your engines.
Ariel, WA
Hi David. If each of your members own a document and share with the others, you can literally share your private storage across the group. If this is not an acceptable solution, I still maintain that the $1200 per year is a fair price for doing heavy CADDing.
Now if OnShape could see there way to offer a plan for say $25 to $30 per month that would be a different story all together.
Ariel, WA
Ariel, WA
There is no way I could design such a project in OnShape I would hit the 100mb limit in no time. What you don't see are all of the jigs and fixtures I had to design and build to machine the parts. Some day I need to get all of them together and take a photo of them.
Next up are Z drives for model tug boats that again would burn up 100mb is no time at all.
Ariel, WA
Indaer -- Aircraft Lifecycle Solutions
I'm not sure that a group such as you describe can look to outsiders to make all their problems go away. This applies particularly to such problems as "inability to get along" ...
Unless you develop a serious interest in Onshape's problems with a "middle tier", it might be a bit unrealistic to expect a reciprocal interest in the detailed problems you describe above.
Just one of those Onshape problems, it seems to me, is probably a show-stopper on its own: how to devise a pricing tier (or other rescue remedy) to meet the diverse needs of hobbyists in such a way it would not also be perfectly viable for many businesses - including toolmakers, small engineering shops, and jobbing/contract operations generally - who do not require simultaneous access to a large amount of private data.
Such businesses are also much less likely than major players to be put off by questions of long term custody and access to IP, because their input to a given project or product is short and finite.
Those small businesses are currently paying a lot more for the likes of Solidworks than they would for an Onshape Pro subscription. Onshape which will suit their needs much better in every respect, so it seems to me they're a shoo-in as paying clients at the full rate.
It would, however, become an instant no-brainer for them to opt instead for the middle tier which you advocate, slashing Onshape's revenue to a third or a quarter, for one of the most promising market segments
This seems to me particularly problematic for cash flow in the crucial early phase after launch, when Onshape does not yet have the chops, or the perceived solidity, for the big boys.
If Onshape cannot generate that cashflow, it will cease to be available to anyone. Are the needs of the niche players you advocate for, comparable in priority to that "greater good"?
Ariel, WA
I see your point and will drop my bid for a middle tier plan. If I have a small project that may fit within the constraints of the free plan I may try and use OnShape to design it.
Ariel, WA
Thoughtful consideration of an opposing point of view happens so rarely on the internet that I think it reflects great credit on your open-mindedness.
I do have a great fondness for the groups you describe: if I hadn't spent my boyhood devouring "Model Engineer" I would not have taken the path I did. My keen interest in models was short-lived, but I developed a passion for machine tools which never left me. And (as a result) I am currently associated, as a go-to guy, with several retired folk who've taken up model engineering late in life.
I really do hope that some of the movers and shakers in that community find a way to participate in the Onshape ecosystem, and if we (meaning you and I and other interested parties) can see a way to meet their problems without undermining or unduly complicating the Onshape business model, I'm sure we would find a receptive ear.
I have bound volume reprints 1 to 8 of Model engineer. I go back and look through them from time to time.
Dave
Ariel, WA
Obviously I'm not a business person, so I could be completely wrong in a number of my assumptions above (such as, one million users is probably a little optimistic). I do however, hope the business people in charge of guiding the company succeed, because I think we as CAD users all benefit from the competition that now exists between the new and old companies. In the meantime, I will be continuing to use the free subscription to keep my CAD mind from being locked into a single ecosystem and becoming stagnant.
Thank you, OnShape for at least maintaining some form of free tier (even though in this day and age anything that measures storage in MB seems a little hokey) and I wish nothing but success to you all.