OnShape: Serious CAD, No Installation

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Learn with your AI

Pick a depth. Each prompt opens in your AI pre-loaded with the lesson. Click a row to preview the prompt.

Or teach me the whole lesson:

Why this matters

OnShape runs entirely in your browser. No installation. Free for public-document hobbyists (your designs are public). Used by professional teams for collaboration. For learning CAD, it's an excellent middle-ground — more powerful than Tinkercad, lighter setup than Fusion.

Demo

OnShape essentials.

Try it yourself

Create a free OnShape account (public docs).
Complete OnShape's 30-minute interactive tutorial.
Design the same 20×20×5mm part you made in Fusion. Note the workflow differences.

References

WHAT ONSHAPE IS: Cloud-only, browser-based CAD by PTC (formerly Onshape Inc). Parametric B-rep. Free for public documents (hobbyists, students, classrooms). Paid for private documents (companies, NDA work). PUBLIC DOCUMENT TIER: Your designs are publicly visible. Anyone can copy your design. 100 documents per account; unlimited size. Full feature access (no degraded version). Use cases: hobby projects, classroom learning, open-source designs. PRIVATE DOCUMENT TIER: ~$1500/year per user. Designs are private. Used by professional teams. CORE WORKFLOW (similar to Fusion): 1. Sketch on a plane 2. Add geometry (rectangle, circle, etc.) with dimensions 3. Exit sketch 4. Apply feature (extrude, revolve, etc.) 5. Repeat ONSHAPE-SPECIFIC FEATURES: - Branching and merging (like git for CAD) - Real-time collaboration (multiple users editing simultaneously) - Variable studio (parameters with type checking) - Composite parts (single feature representing multiple parts) - FeatureScript (custom feature definition language) COMPARED TO FUSION: PRO: - Browser; no installation - Real-time collaboration (Fusion has this but limited) - Better version control (branching) - Simpler licensing CON: - Public-document hobbyist tier means design ownership questions - Cloud-only (offline access limited) - Performance can be slower in browser WHEN TO USE ONSHAPE: - Learning CAD from scratch - Open-source designs (license is fine) - Teams collaborating in real-time - When you want browser + powerful CAD WHEN TO USE FUSION: - Want desktop app - CAM (manufacturing) needed - Local files preferred (offline editing) - More YouTube tutorial content WHEN TO USE NEITHER (use FreeCAD): - Don't want to rely on a cloud service - Open-source values - Long-term project that must survive vendor changes EXPORT: Same as Fusion: STL, STEP, 3MF, IGES, etc. Export quality is excellent. LEARNING CURVE: Similar to Fusion 360. Browser-based = no install pain; jump right in. Lots of YouTube tutorials specifically for OnShape.