Welcome to the Onshape forum! Ask questions and join in the discussions about everything Onshape.
First time visiting? Here are some places to start:- Looking for a certain topic? Check out the categories filter or use Search (upper right).
- Need support? Ask a question to our Community Support category.
- Please submit support tickets for bugs but you can request improvements in the Product Feedback category.
- Be respectful, on topic and if you see a problem, Flag it.
If you would like to contact our Community Manager personally, feel free to send a private message or an email.
Improvements to Onshape - August 28, 2026
CAD Improvements
Sheet Metal Jog
The new Sheet Metal Jog feature makes it easy to create precise offset bends with extensive control over bend alignment, angle, direction, and offset. Right-click to set this setting as a default for all future interactions. This feature assists users when creating new sketches or modifying existing ones by providing a better orientation to the sketch plane
Orient normal to sketch
Onshape introduces a new setting in the Camera and Render options that automatically orients the view normal to the sketch plane. It will remain enabled as the default once selected. This feature is designed to assist users when creating new sketches or modifying existing ones by providing better orientation to the sketched plane.Routing Curve Length Table
Part Studios now feature a dedicated Routing Curve Table providing real-time coordinate and bend radius data for routing curves. Users can switch between coordinate/bend-radius data and length, rotation, and angle tables required for CNC pipe bending equipment, then copy the table data directly for downstream manufacturing applications.
Resize Planes to Bounding Box of Visible Geometry
Planes in Part Studios can now be resized to fit the bounding box of visible geometry using a right-click context menu option, keeping reference geometry clean and proportional in complex models.Mate Connector Cross-Highlighting
Improved visual feedback in Part Studios when hovering over mate connectors.Feature Studio Improvements
Enhanced Find and Replace with Rename
Support for Variable Studio Parameters in FeatureScript
Custom features developed in FeatureScript can now reference Variable Studios directly. By replacing manual user inputs with Variable Studio reference parameters, feature authors can enforce standardized size or configuration choices (e.g., Small, Medium, Large) while maintaining parametric flexibility across teams.
Drawing & MBD Improvements
Automatic Drawing View Creation from MBD Data
Onshape automates the creation of 2D drawings by leveraging Model-Based Definition (MBD) data. Onshape automatically detects MBD annotations within a model to suggest and create the necessary drawing views. You can add additional annotations later, and Onshape will place them in the correct view if possible. If new annotations cannot find an appropriate view, they are flagged in the new MBD Status pane. This new automation delivers intelligence and value to your existing MBD workflows.
Unified Geometric Tolerance (GTOL) Dialog
To better unify the experience across MBD and Drawings, the Geometric tolerance dialog box has been updated to better match the existing MBD Geometric tolerance dialog box. This slightly moves the add row button inline with the leader button. Additionally, the symbol drop-down has been replaced with a show/hide symbols button where the material conditions, free state, tangent plane, and projected tolerance zone modifiers have been consolidated.
Symbol Unit Conversion Across Drawing Units
When changing drawing units, Onshape now automatically updates associated symbols, including GTOL, weld, and surface finish symbols. This also ensures that any related inspection data is accurately reflected, maintaining consistent manufacturing information across different unit settings.
Additional Lower-Right Rows for Surface Finish Symbols
The surface finish symbol tool in Drawings now supports adding up to 4 custom rows in the lower-right region. This enables designers to specify detailed manufacturing parameters, such as surface waviness characteristics or machining allowances.
MBD Inspection Table Isolate State Control
A prominent Isolate button in the MBD Inspection table allows users to quickly isolate and inspect candidate parts during Model-Based Definition workflows in a Multi-part Part Studio.
Data Management Improvements
On-Demand Folder Creation in Move and Copy Dialogs
A new New Folder button inside the Move or Copy dialog allows users to create and instantly navigate into new folders on the fly. This capability is also available when copying workspaces within a document, streamlining file organization.
Release Candidate Naming Conventions
Release candidate workflows now enforce standardized naming conventions, reducing release errors and improving audit traceability.
PCB Studio Improvements
Rigid-Flex PCB Support with Bends
Onshape can create printed circuit board layouts from scratch, including flex and rigid information, and pass them to ECAD systems that support IDX 4.0. See Rigid-flex PCB for more information.
IDX 4.0 support
Onshape can import and export flex board information from IDX 4.0 files (including Cadence Allegro), maintain component placements across flattened and bent states in assemblies, and export modified models back to ECAD.
View Cube in PCB Studio
The PCB Studio 3D viewport now features an updated View Cube that provides full UI/UX parity with standard Onshape Part Studios and Assemblies.
CAM Studio Improvements
Machine Retract Post-Processing for Heidenhain Controllers
Enhanced post-processor support for generic Heidenhain and TNC640 controllers provides improved machine retract routines during multi-axis milling operations.
Improved Cut Direction Handling for Closed Loops
CAM toolpath algorithms feature refined handling for loop cut directions, ensuring optimal toolpath orientation and surface finish on complex pocket boundaries.
Camera-Oriented Normal Arrows
Directional arrows in CAM Studio have been upgraded to automatically rotate so that their normal always points towards the camera. This solves previous visibility issues where arrow tips were difficult to see from certain angles. This auto-rotating behavior applies to all arrow types, ensuring their directions are always legible.
Render Studio Improvements
Multi-Entity Tessellation via Context Menu
Select multiple scene entities at once and modify their tessellation quality directly via the right-click context menu.
Linking Scene Appearances to Library Appearances
Render Studio offers to automatically link scene appearances to unmodified library appearances, simplifying material management and asset updates across rendering scenes.
Mobile Improvements
AR View for iOS Measure improvements
The Augmented Reality (AR) viewing mode on iOS includes options for measuring the environment alongside your 3D model.LEARNING CENTER IMPROVEMENTS
INTRODUCTION TO CONFIGURATIONS
Our new course, Introduction to Configurations, covers the fundamentals of Onshape configurations, including part and assembly configuration basics, to help you efficiently create and manage multiple design variations within a single model.
INTRODUCTION TO MODEL-BASED DEFINITION (MBD)
Learn more about our new MBD Drawing capabilities with the new video added to our Introduction to Model-Based Definition (MBD) course.
LEARNING CENTER UPDATES
Following our Self-Guided Onshape Bootcamp (English) update, we have updated our Self-Guided Onshape Bootcamp (Traditional Chinese), now designed to mirror the experience of our instructor-led Bootcamps. This comprehensive crash course helps you quickly learn Onshape’s powerful tools, unique benefits, and core workflows at your own pace.
We've refreshed several Learning Center articles with updated content, new feature coverage, and improved guidance to help you get even more out of Onshape. They are available in French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, making it easier for users around the world to learn in their preferred language.
- All the Way to Use Mate Connectors
- Advanced Mating Techniques
- Managing Users, Teams, and Content
- Using Onshape as a Read-Only User
- How to Use Where Used
- Security and IT Checklist
- Tips for High Quality Surfaces
As part of these updates, several courses now feature revised videos with current examples, streamlined instruction, and the latest Onshape features.
- Assembly mirror - Advanced Onshape Assemblies
- Rib feature - Advanced Part Design
- Revolve - Introduction to Part Studios
- Measure and Display mass and section properties - Navigating a Document
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.
Comments
-
Flex PCB and Sheet Metal Jog are gonna be fun to play around with. The variable studio input is also gonna open a bunch of new doors for featurescript that I'll need to wrap my head around. Combining that with the recent map variable update should lead to some really powerful workflows.
0 -
A real banger this round! Bravo team! The flex PCB stuff is timely, Jog looks well considered, MBD to drawings is a boon for MBD and drawings. I've been making my own bend tables like the Routing Curve table already, so that's cool to see. Lots of little quality-of-life things too like the UI unifications with PCB Studio, auto-sizing planes, auto-normal in sketches, replace FS functions more easily. Variable Studios in FS is really interesting too. I love the attention FeatureScript is getting now that MCP has made it so much more accessible.
5 -
Sheetmetal jog looks very nice! I love how many options you have given.
Hurray! MBD in drawings!
Love all the quality of life improvements as well.
1 -
We didn't forget @john_mcclary
https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/comment/127235/#Comment_127235
2 -
My guy!
0 -
Sheet metal Jog, I've been waiting for this a long time. Automatic drawing view creation from MBD makes a lot of sense. Thank you.
2 -
Aw, sheet metal jog only supports planar faces. Time to deploy some MCP and patch that up real quick.
2 -
I did not expect this to be the first inspiration for custom jog. It makes sense, though. What about bend for cylinder and extruded face?
0 -
Amazing release…once again. So many new things to play with. It will take some time to digest all of this.
It doesn't look like it currently, but it would be *really* nice if Release Candidate Naming Conventions could pull from the same number series as parts. In our business we use the exact same number series for parts, drawing, assemblies, documents, and change notices (and other things as well) just to keep everything simple. Any chance this option could come in a future release?
0 -
Yeah those two would be useful as well. Way back in Solidworks days we used to draw the little zig-zags by hand and do that kind of detail via extrude method because Solidworks also doesn't like applying bends to cylinder geometry. We've leaned away from doing these bends for a few reasons but there are times it's still relevant for a clean panel match. I could see someone needing jogs on cones but I would not want to be the fabricator that needs to produce those parts lol.
0 -
Been away from Onshape today, but there are an amazing set of things here big and small. Official support for flex PCBs is one of those things that would have made a bunch of projects in my past easier. Looking forward to using it in the future. Resizing planes is one of those ones that has taken perhaps too long, but very thankful it’s finally here. Can’t wait to dig into all the improvements.
Simon Gatrall | Product Development, Engineering, Design, Onshape | Ex- IDEO, PCH, Unagi, Carbon | LinkedIn
1 -
I can't remember if a yearly SolidWorks release ever made me that exited as this Onshape update in my SWX-reseller years.
MBD ⇒ 2d drawings, was a customer request and I though this will be a tough one as the modules are so separeted developemt - and now this solution is again so clean and elegant!
thx a lot, awesome work Onshape dev team - cheers from Sweden,
Martin3 -
Nice, always like additional Sheet Metal features.
1 -
Great update. Automatic drawing view creation with MBD, normal to sketch view orientation, and sheetmetal jog. Winner Winner Steak Dinner!
2 -
wow! it took a long time to review all the changes.
2 -
Resize Planes to Bounding Box of Visible Geometry
Very happy to see this!
1 -
Funny, I used ProE/Creo for 20 years before switching to OS, and I never liked that it would start the sketch with the view normal. Before then I used SDRC Ideas for a couple years, and it didn't force the view normal.
When I started using OS, I thought it was much better that the view didn't change when entering a sketch. It makes it easier to understand where you are this way. Faces are sometimes easier to pick when things are not normal.
ProE also had a bunch of picks in the early days to orient what was up in the sketch, before it let you inside the sketch. I remember picking wrong sometimes, and my sketch would be upside down. I thought it was so refreshing with OS that you'd just pick a face and immediately start sketching with nothing moving on you.
I'm glad for the choice, and letting us use it either way:)
2 -
Totally agree with you, but there were too many people requesting it… 😁
Senior Director, Technical Services, EMEA2 -
MBD updates are excellent! I particularly like:
-the new MBD status pane
-the way that you can tell if a dimension has been added manually to a drawing or is being pulled through from the part studio MBD (double click the dimension and MBD dimensions have edit functionality greyed out)
-the way that if you delete MBD dimensions from a drawing view, you can bring them back by toggling ‘Show annotations from model’ off and on again within the View properties.2 -
@Colin_Phimister I came looking for the tip about showing MBD data on a drawing that was created before this update - and your tip
- View properties > Show annotations from model
works!
Onshape AI advisor didn't know that (it talked about drawing properties and APIs and stuff)!
1 -
@romeograham some more information here.. . We default the Show annotations from model flag to on for ALL new views inserted for release 220 and onward. For all views placed prior to release 220 on drawings, the flag on the view properties is off. The rationale here is that we did not want to start automatically adding MBD on views with drawing updates for older views, since many would likely have detailed them already with drawing only tools. Of course you can turn them on and off yourselves as needed.
1 -
really cool that we can measure in AR now! this will be extremely useful.
MCB to drawings looks well implemented and like a ton of dev work. nicely done team!
RENDERCAD
rendercad.ai - Photorealistic product rendering.
▚▞▚▞▚▞▚▞▚
________________________________________________________________________1 -
With the Plane/Size to Part Studio command, be aware that it is not like the Autosize option you may be familiar with from that other traditional CAD tool.
This one modifies the plane(s) to the current cached size of the part studio. In other words if you roll back to just after the default planes, and use the command, it may or may not reflect any changes that have been made to the rolled back features. The most predictable thing seems to be to have everything rolled forward, and use "Size to Part Studio".
It doesn't automatically update when you make changes to the size of the part studio. This is perhaps a feature, or perhaps an opportunity for improvement.
You can filter the features by "plane" and more easily select all the planes from a long tree and then "Size to Part Studio" for all of them in one command.
Derived planes are doing really bizarre things with sizing. I've reported this to support.
Simon Gatrall | Product Development, Engineering, Design, Onshape | Ex- IDEO, PCH, Unagi, Carbon | LinkedIn
1 -
Just a 🤓 Thank you for the learning center updates and improvements. Although MBD to 2D Drawing improvements are the winners for me with this release, I often give feedback at the end of tutorials and wonder if anybody even read those. I also use AI advisor often enough that updated documentation matters!
Keeping up with the Onshape releases is an en devour on its own😅
0
