Overall, using OnShape has been a walk in the park. The user experience of it was fluid, even on a 6 year old Macbook Pro on base specs, not something I could say about Solidworks or AutoCAD. It is fully featured and not having to worry about files, using the built-in cloud integration is great. I would not hesitate to recommend OnShape to anyone interested in picking up CAD or even small CAD shops.

Coming into the 3D printing world as a student hobbyist, OnShape was a wonderful introduction to 3D CAD and modeling concepts. It was easy and intuitive to pick up (without an engineering degree), and their instructions videos detailed all the primary features you will need. I am by no means a CAD or engineering professional, so I speak to this software from purely a hobbyist and 3D printing nerd standpoint. It was easy for me to pick up and learn, and the fact that the software operated on a browser (I use Safari) was amazing. The cloud integration was solid and robust, albeit only allowing public models and documents on free accounts. I was able to log into any workstation near me and be able to pull up a model and work on it. The decoupling of compute and processing power from the base hardware was also refreshing when it came to unknown pieces of hardware. In my makerspace, I primarily operated on not-so-amazing machines compared to my home workstation, so the ability to be portable and rely on cloud processing was nice. There wasn't really anything I wanted to do from a basic parametric 3D CAD software that I couldn't do on OnShape. From the few years, I've been using it, they are also constantly improving the features available and also refining the user interface. Admittedly, the versioning system which comprised of different branches was a little unexpected in ​CAD software​ but is very paralleled to code-versioning software like Git.

The hardest part about the software was being able to find other people who used it to teach you about it. Being rather new to the CAD scene, OnShape does have as widespread ​adoption as SolidWorks or AutoCAD, so being able to find others who used it was challenging. Ultimately though, with the decent amount of support documentation detailing the features and some very helpful forum posts, the lack of user experiences could be overlooked. The interface and usage is also quite different from the traditional CAD's was also a bit of a challenge, if you eventually find yourself migrating or using one from time to time. The lack of private projects with free accounts is also a bummer, but not a major issue by any means.

Onshape is really nice for working on a project with other people because of the realtime edits you can do. It is kind of like a google doc where everyone can be there working and changing things. It has worked really well in our little startup group.

There are three things that I have really enjoyed with Onshape. I love that it is cloud based. No more having to save, or worry about losing anything. I also love using is the versions tree. This helps a lot in design to be able to make different versions and compare them easily and quickly. Lastly, their customer service has been spot on. Their team checks in on us regularly to make sure we are doing okay and I have been able to easily schedule a time with someone to help me build a part that I am struggling to build. They are very patient and willing to help in any way.

The surfacing still has a ways to go, but has been improving over the last year, so I expect it to provide most any feature needed. The only other complaint is the multiple selection feature. Instead of using shift or control to select multiple items, it is set so you can just click anything and it adds it to the selection group(without pressing any other button). While this might sound nice, it gets really annoying and you end up selecting multiple features/parts/items without wanting to.

How quick a thought or idea can become a model. The look of the modeling space is brilliant. How intuitive the program is, a lot of steps are removed because I feel the program is working me. It understands what I am trying to do. The customer support and community is also a big bonus. The webinars are great as well as the help functions. The functionality within the part studio, assembly and drawings is just brilliant.

The functionality of the tabs within a document. I find it frustrating to use at times, specially it is hard to put my finger on it but it is the one time I grit my teeth. When I have lost my place in tabs/ can't read the full tab/ delete a part and I jump into or out of a folder. I personally just don't like it. How bad the resolution is on the drawings when you are working on them. When they a exported to a PDF they look brilliant but in while working on them it is not great. I understand this could be a cloud issue. Also to that point the lag inside an assembly again I understand this is a cloud issue. The thumbnail constantly changing on the document page. I would like to be able to set the image is I wish because like the tab it is easy to lose place of where you were working.

OnShape has helped me to do designs of my ideas right where I am, no matter if the computer has CAD installed or not. It has enabled me to keep all my CAD files in one place and always accessible. I have been able to present designs to clients and keep them posted of progress in much easier ways that traditional CAD allows. I would highly recommend OnShape to anyone who is looking for a fresh idea in their CAD sphere.

What I like the most about OnShape is that it is based in the cloud. It is so convenient that I don't have to install an application on my computer to use it, but rather, it just works. OnShape has taken the idea of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and given an entirely new spin to it, introducing unique ways of performing mates (which I love), as well as integral versioning of parts. The mobile app is also amazing and makes life so much easier!

As with any cloud platform, if your bandwidth is not great, you're going to have a bad time. The platform tends to lag at high internet usage times in my area, but not too much to complain about. I also found it difficult to use the platform the first few times due to the lack of built in tutorials.

Fantastic versatility. I never wait more than an hour when I post a question to the forum. Other users are so eager to help.

I can run this on a $249 Chromebook, and do. It displays equally well on phones and tablets. I also very much like the fact there is no installation and the software is always up to date (because there is not software). When I need to share CAD data with customers, not it's no worry now as I share a link and they instantly have whatever information I wish to share, right in their browser. How many times does a design take a big turn, or the operator breaks some thing severely? I adore the fact I can go back in time to my very first sketch either backing up to a known good design or branching off with an alt. design.

Missing CAM which is slowly becoming standard in 3D CAD systems.

Overall, Onshape has been awesome for my business. The customer support is nearly instant and absolutely top-notch. I love all of the forward-thinking, bleeding-edge features that Onshape is continually bringing to the table.

True cloud-CAD, unlike some fakers (*cough* Fusion360). It's amazing to never have to save or send files. No downloads, no installation, nothing. Just hope on your browser and start modeling. Onshape is extremely forward thinking and always releasing updates and improvements. Live sharing with clients offers us a huge advantage over our competitors

Some of the available apps are left wanting. It would be nice if rendering and other important features like kinematics, etc. were integrated into Onshape instead of requiring outside apps.

Because Onshape is cloud based, users are saved the stress of installing software which can be a very stressful experience with some software.Everyone in my organizations technical department have access to the most current version of every file , saving us the confusion of having to always confirm the version of every file we need to use.Editing ,collaboration , file recovery ,access,and files storage is simplified ; all of these thanks to Onshape for being cloud based.

No complaint whatsoever from my experience with Onshape. I only wish I was aware of this program 3-4 year ago.

You can log on from every computer and you can share the files easily! I have the feeling to be more productive with Onshape!

The fact that Onshape is not file based is its main advantage! You can just start designing parts, assemblies and drawings. You don't have to think about file names, you can rename them later. This helps a lot getting things done quickly. After 2 weeks I still get the feeling "Oh I have created a lot of features, I have to save now!" but in Onshape this is not necessary, it saves every step :-) Also you have a complete history of every change, which is really nice! The rendering and simulation software I use, are both already working with Onshape (much better than my previous CAD software)!

Some features are missing at the moment, but they are coming in the future. I wished I had Onshape 5 years ago, would have saved me from a lot of headaches.

I used onshape to design in a competition organized by my department in school. I had a nice experience using this software as it opens me to a new way of parametric designing.

Onshape has a lot of features like the traditional modeling softwares which makes modeling of complex design easy for a web based software. I personally like the way their tutorials are structured for different levels; basic, advance and experts. That way of learning will be more fun since they won't be bombarding you with advance stuffs which can be boring for beginners.

There is no feature for 3D sketching which slows down modeling of complex geometries. It needs internet to work which could be really frustrating in conditions and areas where internet connection is unstable or not available

Overall it's a great tool that makes collaborating on a design model simple and efficient.

The biggest appeal to Onshape is that it can be utilized on various platforms from Mac/PC to mobile devices. Their platform allows multiple people to access the application at one time so design projects can be accomplished more quickly.

The Onshape product does have a handful of commands which are hard to find even when you search using keywords. Also the downside to it being a cloud CAD product is the lack of offline caching which means models need to constantly be reloaded when experiencing poor connectivity issues.

Abysmal quality of training meant that the software was unusable

Shareability. The idea that customers could directly interact was a great sales point

Failure to provide credible training. Software is not bought for the technical advances or features. These are almost certainly offered in whole or in part by the competition. It is training and support that differentiates competitors. Onshape training is totally inadequate in my experience.

Cost effective modern cloud based solution that is efficient, powerful and secure.

OnShape is a simple-to-use yet powerful parametric modern cloud based software that allows me to collaborate easily with my team. Forget about heavy and expensive CAD work station. I've been most of all my mechanical design on a MacBook Air in Safari. As a frequent traveler, I can access and work on my model on any computer as long as there's reasonable internet connection and google chrome. The data system is so powerful that I've never experienced a single error message caused by data corruption. This was a serious problem I had with Solidworks in the past. Since it's a cloud based system, my data is securely backed up with full traceability down to every single change I made to the model. Whenever I have questions or see a bug in the system, I can easily report it to OnShape's technical using the feedback system. Bugs are usually fixed within days after it's reported. Forget about upgrading or installing new patches, it's always the latest version as soon as you login. Thanks to it's cloud based technology! OnShape is frequently updated so that patches and new features can be incorporated in no time!

The only issue I have is offline access to the models I have OnShape. OnShape does provide the option of exporting models into numerous formats so that you could open them with conventional non-cloud based software. However, I still have trouble opening them with common software like eDrawings. Ultimate, I would prefer to have an OnShape software on my computer that could sync the data I would like to view whenever I go offline. This is important, as I don't always have an internet connection when I need to present my models to my client when traveling overseas. So it'd be great if OnShape could look at better view-only offline support. Where I can view a read-only model and jot down comments. When I'm back online, I can edit it on my browser.

I spend much less time achieving much more, more reliably than before I found Onshape!

The (deceptively) simple, very powerful user interface Amazing, multi-part part studios The reliabity of the software and the way it "just works" Being better suited to woodworking than anything else I am aware of Being able to pick up on a design at home after work without having done ANYTHING Quality, speed and pleasantness of support! The problem being keeping up with releases rather than waiting 18 months to find that X wasn't included after all! Being able to add in your own features using FeatureScript! The amazing new 3D curves and surface generating features allowing me to accomplish things I hadn't succeeded in doing with other CAD software! The app store for all the addons that are not core-CAD Feeling "listened to" when making suggestions or struggling with something! The effort the team put into "joined up thinking", getting things "right" and the many decisions they have got right already

No internet = no CAD (but not actually been a problem yet!) The lack of configurations (as yet) The lack of any visual representation of materials in the workspace beyond colour and transparancy (wood, metal, glass, plastic re: SW or inventor) The way variables (parameters) are managed (looking forward to what is coming but this one has felt like a long wait)

Infinite computing, makes it possible to work from anywhere and model quickly, even from my iPad or netbook. The lofting feature blows other CAD systems out of the water. Seriously the loft feature you have now is unbelievably good. The "git" style versioning is genius. I never worry about loosing work, breaking assemblies, etc. The versioning in Onshape is my favorite feature IN ANY SOFTWARE. I wish every piece of software worked this way. The collaboration I do now with clients is ONLY possible in Onshape. I can work thousands of miles away from my client but they still feel in complete control. They can access their assets without even contacting me which is so amazing. The shear peace of mind that all of my CAD assets and references are safely stored on the cloud gives me amazing confidence working on projects for clients.

Adobe Illustrator polylines, DXF and DWG import/ingest needs major improvement. Going from Illustrator to Onshape is kind of a pain in the butt right now. So many designs come from Illustrator or EPS, and being able to digest polylines would be so great. Google font support in the text tool would also be helpful. Only 5 fonts or so are available now which is very limited.

I had the opportunity to investigate some complex design issues, and try out some solutions, though I have not finished yet. I had tried this in ProE, but I found it too hard to use, and the software update issues were beyond painful...

Ease of use, and the interaction with the developers. The training webinars, and interest in helping the users. The ability to make user features is really interesting, and I have used is some. I am still learning...but it has been very positive experience so far. The integrated versioning tools are also quite helpful, and well thought out. I was using the tool almost daily, but lately, conflicting work has taken me away...have to get back.

My machines use chains, and the tools inability to deal with those, especially in an assembly, is problematic. Parts that move in 3-space when the chains move, is key also. I tweaked a pulley example, that works partially in a part window, but then disappears in the assembly. Sprockets and chain details - I have not incorporated...but those still do not move the sprockets. Also, part of the machines are cables. here I mean force transmitting cable, not electrical ones. Lining up sheaves, and visualizing the cable paths would also be a great addition. I am hoping these get supported eventually. The last thing I will mention is no external interface. I am developing the control software for the machines, but i cannot pass the kinematic and dynamic data in and how to have the software run the machine, so I am forced to investigate video game software engines to do that...That has useful results, but makes for a more complex integration and evaluation effort. I feel like I am unloading here, but the ideas might be food for thought.

Being able to allow a new business like mine to afford professional 3D cad software. Ease of use anywhere

I like the customer support and the quick responses. Anticipation of new updates and improvements. Constant improvements. Price is good. Can take it anywhere on almost any device as long as internet connection is decent. Sharing is easy but I think could be better. works on mac! I don't need a fancy workstation.

BOMS!!! absolute worst and very frustrating. I tried both google sheets and OpenBOM and always end up very frustrated and never happy with the finished product. Need exploded views. That exploded view app is garbage Need sheet metal features added faster. Need to be able to add tabs for tab and slot designs. Everything feature that is added to a sheet metal part that will affect laser cutting needs to show up on the flat pattern. I hate and don't understand having the "finish sheet metal" feature. Drawing templates are also frustrating. trying to make a nice company template has been a struggle and I am still not happy with it. Importing to a DWT and modifying in a 2D cad software never reimports properly.

1. I like how this software doesn't tie you down to one machine, so If your primary machine goes down, you don't have to worry whether you can get the work done or not. 2. I like how the software doesn't hold you back based on the spec/type of your computer, plus it is able to perform over multiple platforms and devices, i.e. Mac, Pc, Ipad, Etc. so you can start on a PC for example, then carry on on a PC and visa versa. 3. I like how that you can perform similar/same tasks as Solidworks without the need to spend hours retraining as it is relatively similar. 4. I like how it is reasonably accessible to most people. 5. I like how it can easily integrate with add-ons, i.e. One-render, Keyshot etc. so that you can also render your product, and this can even happen without leaving the Onshape browser!!

By no means am I a CAD pro and I don't use the software on a regular/daily basis, so some of these may be down to my skill and knowledge but; 1. I find the mating functions more difficult to use than other softwares. 1.1. Regarding the mating, other softwares allow you to mate using planes which can make it easier to mate if the centre of the product isn't where the planes meet. 2. I am still getting my head around the version and branch options in the history tree, but I can see how this will/can be beneficial. I think that my negatives can be resolved through watching tutorials, but I guess they are still negatives as they aren't as intuitive/easy to use.

The benefits is that it is not expensive, and the fact that one project with its different parts all combined into one file is something that I really like about the software. That really helps to access drawings much easier for a certain part that you want.

The best thing is that the software is not complicated to learn and with the tutorial vids that are available on the website makes it easier to learn. As well as the supporting team which is always available to respond to the questions is one of the outstanding things someone can get from the service they are paying for.

There are still some features that I feel like the company has to still work on, like having more options if you want to mate parts in an assembly. As well as making it much more easier to automatically change parts that have been created in-context of the parts you are working on. But with time I still believe this can be the best designing software.

Cloud based software brings a whole new dimension to CAD. I am now able to design something on one computer and easily pull it up anywhere else without the need for installing huge software packages. The costumer support is also second to none! I have nothing but good things to say about the team at OnShape.

The cons are few and far between, but if I had to select one it would be the ability to handle large assemblies or feature trees. Huge strides have already been made to make the renderings faster, but it is still an area for improvement.

Easy implementation. Strong support structure. Easy to use and some good features to allow faster modelling. Fantastic training methods.

Great value - low comparative cost for the CAD capability. The lack of necessity for high end workstations also made the decision easy. The sharing, collaboration and control abilities are revolutionary. I have shared certain documents with suppliers to good effect. The data management is also less of a headache. This also saves local storage and backup demand. No more lost files and broken links! The user interface is well laid out and easy to use and learn. I also enjoy the fact that I can log on and work from any work station. The constant development and instant access to the latest additions and "whats new" videos is brilliant. The support teams are really involved and listen to comments.

Depending on your locations internet infrastructure this can be a limiting factor. Here in Cape Town there are times when the connection is interrupted but not so much that it is debilitating. Some minor features are lacking depending on the industry you are in, however I expect they will be added in time as the product develops.

Design iterates quickly, communication is smooth, models and drawings look professional, data can't be lost, access is anywhere, including phones and best of all, using this software makes me lots of money :)

Storage is in the cloud, CAD is browser based, sharing & collaborating is quick and easy, no more cumbersome pdfs, surfacing is improving and history tree/rollback is consistent and "crash" free. Production drawings can be produced to a professional level. I look forward to rendering in Onshape, rather than an app.

Sometimes updates are pushed out and they are not thoroughly tested. Advanced users like me should be paid to test the new functions to a high standard. Cloud security concerns me. I'd like to hear more about how Onshape modernize and protect against cyber threats. Be proactive, not reactive.

Provably we have saved thousands of Euros on software and time. Suppliers and other companies that we interact with are a bit reticent to use this software as a way to communicate designs with us but after they try it for a short time they are very happy with it, that makes it easy for us to work with them. We encounter problems finding people that knows/use Onshape. (sorry this should be on other place but I forgot)

We like most its easy to use. Other things that we like: The capability of the team to work on the same document/container. Versions control. Easy to share. Although we still have not explored much about the apps but looks really promising. Customer support.

Sometimes is VERY slow. We have some big problems when exporting to DWG, and hope that they solve in the future. Sometimes the sketches gives us some headaches.

Cloud, file managment, easy to increase team size, sharing options.

Browser based system, meaning I don't have to sit behind PC to all tasks. Meaning I don't care what computer I have at friends house - I can go be 99% sure I can access my files. Don't have to worrie about where my files are - no sync issues! And Support. Every question and trouble what I had has been answered fastly and 90% with result. Rest of 10% has been sent to development notes and 90% of that has turned into feature/option later on :)

Cloud based system was hard to sell to my boss. With slow internet speed it's amazingly hard to work...but you are only option in market at all what I can use outside of office.

I see more focus on tomorrow's needs rather than simply addressing today's. FeatureScript, In-context modeling enabling top down design which used to be cumbersome in the past, single work space for all my project documents, real-time collaboration and data management are some of the features I find to be greatly beneficial. Not having to worry about installation, updates or patches feels like being able to drive a car around while some one else is periodically and automatically taking care of all its maintenance work and also keep enhancing its performance. Being a designer, I am highly impressed with the intuitive interface and work flow, an aspect I draw inspiration from.

Length of feature list and its organization. Limitations arising from being a history based modeler - it would be preferable; (a) if sketches can be freed from this hierarchy as long as they are not dependent on any feature (b) better access to and management of parent/child relationships. Not too happy about the drawing resolution/interface as my eyes are used to a better one. This could be due to browser's limitations. Shortcut keys are limited, would be better if sequence of keys (mapping) can be used.