The Curve Pattern tool headlines Onshape's yearend release.

Over the last year, Onshape’s development team has been hard at work pushing out 16 separate updates over the 12-month span. To close out the year, Onshape has pushed one final release, and with it comes a number of patterning, versioning, export and drawing improvements.

The first addition to Onshape is the “Curve Pattern” tool. As the name indicates, the Curve Pattern tool gives users the opportunity to pattern objects along a curve by selecting an object, defining a path via a curve and then determining the number of instances that the pattern tool should create. This tool should dramatically reduce design times for drafters and engineers who are developing robotic or vehicle tracks, assembly lines, electrical assemblies and a number of other design tasks.

The second patterning tool to be added to Onshape’s year-end release is the “Centered Pattern” option within the Linear and Circular pattern tools. With the new Centered Pattern option, drafters will be able to define the central axis about which a pattern is to be built. This tool can be very useful if you’re building a pattern around a known central axis.

Moving beyond modeling, the latest edition of Onshape has given users the option to insert versions of a part or subassembly into a higher level assembly regardless of whether those components are contained in the same document. In the previous version of Onshape, the only way to accomplish this task was to create separate documents for each versioned part. Not only could this lead to confusion, but it wasn’t the most effective way to manage files. Now, file management and assembly work are tight and streamlined.

Exporting in Onshape has also been updated to include the ability to change an exported file’s name by choosing the “Download and store file in a new tab” option in the Export dialogue box. Additionally, Onshape’s export tool can be set to remember your previous export settings, making it quick and easy to export a load of files without having to pick through options for each file.

Finally, drawings have been improved in a number of ways. First, Dangling Dimensions are easier to replace thanks to a graphical feature that illustrates where a dimension was once anchored. With this beacon, drafters can quickly reattach dimensions that have become disconnected from a drawing.

Sheet sizes now have their very own field, making it possible to change the real estate available for a drawing dynamically. With this new field, drawings can be expanded or contracted to better meet the needs of both drafter and machinists.

To tie up this release, radial dimension has also been improved by placing the text for a radial dimension inline with the dimension when the dimension text falls inside the radius. While placing dimensions inside the geometry of a component is frowned upon in general, if it has to be done, this solution makes reading the dimension a bit easier.

For more information about Onshape’s year-end release, visit its website