When it came out in 1995, Solidworks was a gamble. It was the first serious CAD program to run only on Windows, an operating system considered by other CAD vendors back then as a mysterious thing.
Windows was unsuitable for CAD. It made CAD slow, it forced a complete rewrite of the user interface, and it operated with very few of the peripherals CAD users required at the time, such as digitizing tablets, pen plotters, and proprietary graphics boards. In any case, users were satisfied with their finely-tuned CAD systems running on the non-graphical and much faster DOS and Unix operating systems.
Microsoft staked its future on a multi-tasking graphical operating system, because Apple had one. Apple targeted the education market, and Microsoft pushed to make games work well on Windows. Gaming pushed the limits of what computers and operating systems could do, nicely meeting the high demands of CAD.
CAD on Windows became a sure thing by the time Microsoft released Windows 98 -- and so did Solidworks. So sure that Autodesk mimicked Solidworks with Inventor for Windows, while PTC and UGS ported their Unix-based MCAD systems to Windows. Solidworks today is such a success that it earns more in revenues than an entire mid-size CAD firm like Bentley Systems and has 3.5 million users (including educational seats).
And so when it came time to write an MCAD system for the newest operating system -- the cloud -- a person might want to employ the some of the same people who catapulted Solidworks to success. The cloud is, after all, unsuitable for CAD, and users are satisfied with their highly-optimized systems running on Windows.
Counting on a repeat, investors plowed millions into Onshape, Onshape promoted its We-Are-Solidworks-2.0 mythos, but past performance was no guarantee of future returns.
Four years after Solidworks launched with $1 million in self-funding, it was acquired by Dassault Systemes for $320 million. Four years after Onshape software launched with $168 million funding, it was acquired by PTC for $470 million net (with the debt repaid). Onshape needed a suitor, as it had accumulated just five thousand paying customers and needed to pay back the loan from investors.
Companies are acquired either for their technology (Onshape's primary value), for their customer base (of which Onshape has little), or to be shut down (to reduce competition).
Onshape at 100
Onshape celebrated its 100th release during the summer of 2019, touting its high-speed update schedule that averages 14 a year. The company says that the fast paced schedule makes Onshape a "living, breathing, and always-evolving product development platform." The company needs a fast development cycle to catch up with its desk bound competitors with their 20- to 30-year head start.
Cloud CAD. To run a Web-based CAD program, you enter its URL in your Web browser, https://cad.onshape.com for Onshape. (See figure 1.)
Figure 1. Onshape running a Web browser
Onshape starts at $1,500/year, with free versions for those in education and for hobbyists. For educators and students, the benefit is that no software needs to be installed or maintained, and they have access to a learning center at learn.onshape.com. For the hobbyists, the catch is that no drawings are private, and so there is no protection for intellectual property.
One benefit/drawback to cloud-based CAD is that updates are automatic -- whether you want them or not. Once the code is updated on the server, the software running in the browser accesses the new code, and so users always run the latest version.
On the benefit side, automatic updates means that document sharing and technical support are not hindered, because all users run the same version.
On the negative side, changes to CAD programs mid-project are undesirable for corporate users. Some CAD vendors, such as Siemens with NX, allow corporations to pause automatic updates. Onshape does not implement update pausing; it goes so far as to call the practice "madness."
The company told me that running Onshape in offline mode or on private cloud is not something it provides, nor is it looking at doing so in the intermediate feature. If version locking is important to you, don't use Onshape -- this is their advice. I wonder if Onshape will re-address the issue under the new ownership of corporate-oriented PTC.
Third-party Programming. One way to make a CAD program attractive is to attract outside developers to write add-on software that adds functions missing from the core program. Onshape offers about 50 add-ons through its app store at appstore.onshape.com in these categories:
- Integrated Cloud Apps run on Onshape's servers and so appear inside Onshape;
- Connected Cloud Apps run on non-Onshape servers and exchange data with Onshape
- Connected Desktop Apps run on your desktop computer and exchange data with Onshape
Most of the apps are connectors (to desktop software) or else CAM and FEA programs.
For programming, Onshape supports SSO, REST API, and FeatureScript:
- SSO (single sign-on) means that logging into Onshape logs you into all of the third-party add-ons.
- REST (representational state transfer) application programming interface lets you write software to connect with Onshape.
- FeatureScript is Onshape’s own programming language, with which it itself is written.
Mobile CAD. The company continues to develop separate mobile versions that run on Android and iOS devices. (See figure 2.) The mobile versions are more akin to the source Web version than any other CAD app, because both run the same FeatureScript code from Onshape servers. In some cases, FeatureScript has been modified for mobile devices, such as bringing up a soft keyboard for entering data.
Figure 2. Onshape running on an Android tablet
There are further differences between the Web and mobile versions due to innate capabilities. For example, mobile devices are better at sharing and notifications. But the small screen size of mobile devices means that, for instance, sheet metal's split view (one that shows both the flat and 3D versions at the same time) hasn't been implemented yet.
On the other hand, some new features are implemented as quickly as possible for mobile, like release management, because they make a lot of sense there.
Google reports that the Android Onshape app has been downloaded more than 100 thousand times.
User Groups. Onshape recently floated the idea of setting up local user groups. In addition to the assistance users give each other remotely through forums, Onshape is working on establishing a chain of Onshape User Groups where people help each other face to face.
The local chapters are supported by Onshape, but are completely run by members. Groups have been formed in several cities in California, with expansion planned for elsewhere in North America. Contact [email protected] for more info.
What's New in Onshape
When we look at the many updates since the start of last year, there is only one big one. Assembly configurations expands on part configurations introduced last year. Configurations allow you to establish a single model and then generate certain variations from it, such as a network router with 4, 6, 8, or 12-ports. To set up this assembly as a configuration, you define all the ways the assembly could be produced, and then specify parts to be included, excluded, or adjusted through sets of user-friendly lists, check boxes, and/or variables (see figure 3):
Figure 3. Onshape handling assembly-level configurations
- Lists -- show the options from which to choose
- Check boxes -- turn specific parts on and off
- Variables -- specify values in predefined ranges
You combine these, such as on a router with eight ports, with ports stacked on one another or positioned side-by-side.
All the other new features of last year are tweaks that improve existing functions here and there, such as these items:
Onshape now wraps sketches or surfaces around cylinders. (See figure 4.) Highlighting of boundary edges can be toggled on and off. Pasting data into configuration tables adds needed rows automatically. Sub-assembly error reporting is improved. When deleting a tab that affects the data in other tabs, you are now warned. (Onshape uses browser-like tabs to segregate elements of models, such as the assembly, each part, sheet metal, and drawings.)
Figure 4. Text being wrapped around a cylinder
Other new functions are ones that have been already present in traditional CAD for years or decades, such as attaching GD&T to hole callouts, emailing links to drawings, moving the boundaries of surfaces, and automatically updating drawings when associated assemblies are changed.
What Ralph Grabowski Thinks
Onshape provides a unique niche in the MCAD world by running a full mechanical design package inside a Web browser. Unlike "Web" offerings from MCAD competitors, none of the code runs on the desktop.
The idea behind running software in Web browsers is to make it "universal" -- run anywhere, anytime, by anyone -- it turns out that Web-based CAD targets a limited market. Customers attracted to it are ones who don't mind the slower response time (due to latency), who don't need the IP [intellectual property] protection of running the software in-house, who prefer frequent updates, work together on designs, and who want to pay subscription fees. Corporate customers only like the final two items on the list.
Under PTC, Onshape will become more flexible in how it treats corporate customers.
www.onshape.com
[This article first appeared in Design Engineering magazine and is reproduced with permission. Some content has been updated.] |
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Re: ITC vs Gstarsoft, Round 2
How could we know about any of this INTRIGUE, unless you tell us?
- Chris Cadman
I read your article today. Balanced piece. As to Gstar’s statement in your article, here is some clarification:
1. Gstar did not quit, rather the ITC terminated its membership for violating the membership agreement;
2. Gstar claiming the 2015 judgment had no facts or legal basis calls into question their credibility. They had multiple opportunities to make those arguments back then and chose not to.
3. The ITC has provided factually correct statements to media and Gstar resellers about the 2015 dispute and judgment (nearly identical to your recitation of the 2015 facts in your article) For Gstar to prevail on their threatened claims, they would need to prove that the ITC intentionally made false statements and that Gstar suffered damages as a result of those false statements. Of course, the ITC only provided factual and truthful statements and, consequently, any attempts to bring such claims against the ITC will be vigorously defended.
4. Evidence of Gstar solicitating ITC members to leave will be in the form of witness statements.
- Shawn M. Lindsay
Harris Berne Christensen LLP
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"Floodwater in your living room is the ultimate burn-through. The reality signal is so strong the facts overpower the Narrative."
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https://pjmedia.com/richardfernandez/2017/08/30/what-harvey-said/ |
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