New in Onshape App Store - March 9TH, 2016

joe_dunne

If you missed the news, Onshape is now your complete engineering solution. With the recent addition of the Onshape App Store, the first “try and buy” app store for the CAD world, you can quickly access simulation, CAM, rendering tools and more with the same ease as using Google Play or iTunes.

We started with 27 app developer partners back in January and we’ll be continuously adding more to give you the best choices available.

Here are the three latest Integrated Cloud Applications available in the Onshape App Store, which you can access with just one click from any Onshape Document (on the + menu):

1. Swift Calcs for engineering calculations
2. Kiri:Moto for 2.5 Axis CAM and more
3. WebGL Exporter for making Onshape models available in standalone HTML code

Let’s take a deeper look at each new app.

SWIFT CALCS

Swift Calcs is an intuitive and collaborative computational notebook. Its powerful math engine combines MathCAD-like computational capabilities with ‘Google Docs’-style usability and versatility. With Swift Calcs, you enter math equations as they appear on paper, get immediate answers, and share your work instantly with colleagues and clients from any device, anywhere. No special syntax, no software, no headaches, no kidding.

Example: Let's take a look at calculating the size of a plastic snap fit. What is the proper thickness for a given plastic snap fit?

Well, if you have Swift Calcs, you can do some very cool stuff.

First, state the problem clearly with graphics, diagrams and sliders in Swift Calcs:

Notice that sliders and graphics make the explanation of this workbook much easier to understand.

Next, calculate the forces using human-readable equations:

Then using Newton-Raphson solver (of course), plot and get the answer:

Yes, we all knew the answer was t=3.41mm….

This is a great app because it allows you to make your equations very clear and understandable, while doing some very sophisticated calculations.

Swift Calcs is available now for free for a limited time in the Onshape App Store.

KIRI:MOTO

Kiri:Moto is a Swiss army knife of capabilities with integrated CAM, laser cutting and 3D Printing modes.

The Integrated Cloud App provides 2.5-axis tool path generation for facing, roughing, profiling and finishing (waterline, linear-x and linear-y).

Did I say “free 2.5 axis CAM inside Onshape?” Why, yes I did.

Fine-grained controls give you the ability to optimize your tool use and tool paths. A preview capability lets you check tool paths with the ability to step through individual z levels. The application also provides a customizable tool library and customizable Gcode post processors.

It generates Gcode for your CNC directly from within Onshape. Anybody can do it.. Simply tell Kiri:Moto what size tools you will use, and verify correct speeds and feeds.

Kiri:Moto will automatically generate toolpaths to cut your part. You supply the CNC machine, Kiri:CAM supplies the Gcode.

See Kiri:Moto cutting this part

And best of all, Kiri:Moto is free. All current capabilities will remain free. Check it out and start cutting some parts!

WEBGL EXPORTER

Have you ever wanted to publish an Onshape model into a standalone offline viewable format? Well, this is the app for you. Just about every browser supports WebGL these days. Exporting your Onshape models to this format offers some interesting capabilities.

WebGL Exporter will create an HTML file. This gives you everything you need to view on most platforms, by simply clicking on the file.

WebGL Exporter is free for the first 10 downloads. Further downloads available via in-app purchase.

You can see a live preview of what WebGL Exporter can do here.

Stay tuned to this blog to keep up to date about future additions to the Onshape App Store.

LinkedIn Twitter

About the Author

JOE DUNNE

Joe holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California. He has worked as director of product strategy, director of field marketing, manager of North American application engineers, and an application engineer at SolidWorks, and as an application engineer at ComputerVision. He enjoys mountain biking, surfing, computational photography, and making anything out of concrete.

View more posts by Joe Dunne.

peter_hall

@joe_dunne Looks like you need a degree in mech eng for the Swift Calcs App 

joe_dunne

It can't be harder than creating Welding Robots

Maybe we made it look too complicated. We were trying to show all the stuff it can do.  If we went the opposite direction, I think we would have gotten the comments like  "it looks like a toy". 

This is a great product if you use math in your designs. 

Also think about accessing existing worksheets. Unlike a spreadsheet. You can easily share worksheets in a clear, understandable way.

What kind of worksheets would you want to be able to use? Examples could be Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers. All of this content could be available as worksheets that you just use. So that would make this pretty simple.

What other sources would you want to see in a worksheet?

michael3424

ASME Boiler code?  I had to design a small tank to code years ago and it would have been great to have the calcs and assumptions in a document that was tied to the design assembly.

cadmando

Swift Calcs, is very similar to Mathcad, all the same type of functions, input and layout but Swift Calc can be attached/linked to your Onshape design, Mathcad had a similar thing as Joe suggested (Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers) but with Roarks Calculations for Stress and Strain, I still have this on 3 x 3.25 discs and still use it in Mathcad, so looking forward to seeing Marks Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers in Swift Calcs.

The only thing with Swift Calcs at the moment  is I am still looking for a good Tutorial to learn all the ins and outs. Joe, how did you produce the Calc Sheet above, looks very impressive and easy to use with the variable sliders.

Graham

cadmando

I have found the Slider Variable, it Lives in: Toolbox - Variables - Input Slider, still on the learning curve with this one but I think it will be a very useful App, I will keep you informed on my progress.

brentan_alexander013

Feel free to shoot questions/comment my way as well.  Im on the Swift Calcs team and am happy to help.  Tutorials/help files/intro videos are currently in development and we hope to have a lot of this content ready and online in the next 6-8 weeks.  In the meantime, we are happy to help with questions you may have about how to find certain features or functions.

matthew_menard

Thanks a lot for the information about Swift Calcs.  I'm going to show it to my coworkers in the engineering department.  The integration of notes into Onshape seems like it would be amazing.