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Improvements to Onshape - March 13, 2026
mlaflecheCAD
Member, Onshape Employees, Developers Posts: 199 
Has it been another 3 weeks? This update brings a focused set of refinements across CAD, Model-Based Definition, Render Studio and Mobile, delivering greater precision, clarity, and creative control across Onshape workflows. Let's jump right in.
CAD
URDF EXPORT
Onshape exports natively to the Unified Robot Description Format (URDF), the standard file format for describing robot models in simulation environments such as ROS, NVIDIA Isaac Sim, and more. This eliminates the need for external conversion tools and streamlines robotics design workflows end to end.
EDIT CURVE – CONTROL POINT IMPROVEMENTS
Edit Curve ships with improved control point behavior, delivering smoother and more predictable curve manipulation. Achieving the exact desired shape takes fewer adjustments and less time.
CONNECTION ANALYSIS – G3 SUPPORT
Connection analysis evaluates G3 (curvature rate of change) continuity, giving surfacing designers the ability to verify the smoothest possible transitions between surfaces. This is a critical capability for Class-A and aesthetic surfacing work.
MBD – MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM CYLINDER DISTANCE
MBD dimensions support minimum and maximum cylinder distance annotations, enabling more complete and precise communication of cylindrical feature requirements directly within the 3D model.
MBD – FILLET DIMENSION
A new Fillet dimension tool in MBD automatically associates the fillet default tolerance schema, ensuring the correct tolerance value is applied every time on both native and imported parts.
IMPROVED ROW HIGHLIGHT FOR TABLE ROWS IN ONSHAPE TABLES
Table row highlighting in Onshape tables delivers sharper visual clarity. Active rows stand out more clearly across BOMs, configurations, and custom tables, reducing errors and speeding up review.
IN-CONTEXT WITHOUT INSERTION
Parts created in-context within a Part Studio no longer require immediate insertion into the originating assembly.
MATE CONNECTOR AS REFERENCE COORDINATE SYSTEM FOR MEASUREMENT
The measure tool accepts a Mate Connector as a reference coordinate system, returning dimensions relative to both the position and orientation of the selected Mate Connector rather than the default coordinate system. A new quick list view for measurement selections also makes it faster to review and remove any selected references.
USE PEN INPUT AS MOUSE
Onshape treats stylus and pen input devices as full mouse equivalents. Users on pen-enabled tablets and touchscreen devices get a more natural and fluid design experience without any loss of precision.
SIMULATION
SOLVER PERFORMANCE
A new update to the Onshape Simulation solver for Professional and Enterprise users delivers noticeable speed improvements in Modal Analysis and Linear Static Inertial Relief.
RENDER STUDIO
RENDER STUDIO PROJECTOR AUTO-FIT
The Render Studio projector gains an auto-fit option, automatically adjusting the projection to best match scene geometry. Scene setup moves faster, and projected textures and patterns align correctly without manual fine-tuning.
RENDER STUDIO ADVANCED – ENVIRONMENT LIGHTING
Render Studio Advanced introduces expanded controls for environment lighting, opening more creative options for scene composition. Fine-tune environment maps, manage multiple light sources, and produce more realistic and polished product visualizations.
CAM STUDIO
POST-PROCESSORS
Machine support has been added for the following:Post support for Mach 3
MOBILE
SKETCH CHAMFER
Sketch Chamfer arrives in the Onshape mobile app for iOS and Android. Add chamfers to sketch profiles directly from a mobile device.
SECTION VIEW PRESERVED FOR IN-CONTEXT EDITS
Inside of an assembly on iOS, you can create a Part studio and preserve the Section view if it is active when creating the context state, enabling for better visualization of your assembly's current position when designing parts in-context.
LEARNING CENTER
MODEL-BASED DEFINITION (MBD)
The Learning Center now offers the Model-Based Definition (MBD) course, where you learn how to work with the Inspection table and build out your MBD data directly in Onshape.
Please take a moment to try out these new features 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. Mobile app interface updates occur via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and happen in the days following the update.
Comments
I’d like to think my posts and messages about working on an “edit curve plus” helped inspire the new curve edit modes. I’m very excited to see them in the first party tool.
Simon Gatrall | Product Development, Engineering, Design, Onshape | Ex- IDEO, PCH, Unagi, Carbon | LinkedIn
Nice touch to the edit curve feature, looking forward to practicing with that later.
G3 checking must mean more G3 surface, fillet, and face blend settings are on there way!
The measure option at first glance appears to solve a long standing request of mine. Normal to measurement of planar surface to point/edge not inline with WCS
In-context upgrade also looks great.
Solid update!⭐️
I'm excited to back-port the manipulator enhancements to my surface editing functions since many things make more sense in UVN context than in XYZ.
I'm curious if the URDF exports have an API endpoint associated with them. I've been working on a GLTF viewer app that I never intended to get mate behavior ported to but seeing the capability demonstrated here I kinda want to see it integrated into a future version of the app.
Derek Van Allen | Engineering Consultant | MeddlerI like the attention to even the small improvements, as those little attention to detail are just annoyance removal.
Table row highlighting, MBD dimensions support minimum and maximum cylinder distance,
Big plus for the Create in Context and not have to put back into an assembly to update the in context reference.
Thanks for the MBD learning module.
Happy to see the MBD course in the Learning Center. I'm looking forward to adding that shingle to my collection.
Solid update. I'm particularly excited about Mate Connector as Reference Coordinate System for Measurement. This just makes everyday life in Onshape easier.
Great :)
For those interested in MBD and how FeatureScript can create tolerant dimensions, I had previously created this simple slot feature:
> Demonstration Custom Slot feature <
Note that I just updated it to demonstrate maximum dimension between cylinders (i.e. the extents of the slot) which we released today. Check it out ^^^^ if you like.
Great to see a URDF exporter natively built in. Will there be and documentation about this?
I'd love to see Mujoco support added too.
You made dark mode work on my Chromebook! My eyes thank you!
This is some good stuff! Love the emphasis and touch ups and optimisation over forcing new features. Looking at you Microvellum
Use
/assemblies/d/{did}/{wv}/{wvid}/e/{eid}/translationswith a request body something like this depending on where you want to save to, etc:
{"couldBeAssembly":true,
"formatName": "URDF",
"urdfMeshFormat": "GLTF",
"storeInDocument":true
}
Like the mate connector reference in measure