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FIELD TEST

nShape isn’t a vector art program,

it’s a CAD program. Its purpose is

to design 3D files for fabrication. That

said, it’s one of the more powerful

solutions for a laser-cutting workflow.

If you’re not familiar with CAD

programs, working in OnShape will require a shift in

thinking from how you would work in a 2D design

program like Illustrator, though it’s one of the easier CAD

programs to learn. Drawings are created as sketches,

and although you have the ability to work with a pen

tool to make curves and control points, its true strength

comes from defining the precise measurements of

shapes and setting relationships between them. Your

work is still defined by maths and not pixels, but you’re

letting the software do most of the point and line

manipulation for you.

If you’re laser-cutting a functional part or a prototype,

the automated propagation of changes in OnShape will

save you hours of work. If your objects are defined well

by setting measurements, distances, and relationships

to other objects then one minor adjustment to a single

object will flow throughout the design and update

everything. For example, if all of your holes are set

to 3 mm and you want to change them all to 5 mm,

that can be done with a single edit and OnShape will

recalculate all of your other measurements (like spacing

or distance from the edge).

When setting those specific dimensions, OnShape

allows you to enter both metric and imperial units

interchangeably and, unlike the other programs here, it

will retain your equations (so if you define a length as

3 mm + ½ in, you can return to that setting later and

make it 3 mm + ¼ in just by changing the 2 to 4).

Another plus of it being a CAD program is that

with one more click you can extrude your design and

preview it in 3D, which is extra helpful if you’re laser-

cutting something that has multiple layers. Included

FeatureScripts even let you add common laser-cut

features such as finger joints and T-joints, which is a

huge time saver if your project requires those.

O

OnShape

ONSHAPE FREE FOR HOBBYISTS, $125/MONTH FOR PROFESSIONALS CAD.ONSHAPE.COM

Where OnShape starts to fall apart as a laser-cutting

solution is when you’re ready to convert your finished

design into a laser-ready file. The current embedded

solution is to export your drawing as a DXF, but even

that requires quite a bit of post-processing in another

vector program. Shapes are broken into unconnected

segments (a square becomes four separate lines), so

forget about making any edits after export. You’ll also

need to set all of your stroke widths and colours in

another program before you can even export a PDF or

SVG to laser.

At the time of writing, we have to mention that

there is a very useful free extension for OnShape

called Kiri:Moto which fixes all of the above problems.

Kiri:Moto will slice your 3D model, set the stroke

widths, set the colours, and even optimise the layout

of individual parts to best fit your material. Given the

fact that OnShape pushes out non-stop updates,

we wouldn’t be surprised if these features show up

integrated soon.

If you invest the time in learning the CAD and

feature-based design process, OnShape will become

so useful you’ll wonder how you could design vector

work with anything else. But its major flaw at this time

is that it doesn’t stand up as an all-in-one solution to

make laser-ready files.

Left

OnShape’s true

power comes from

its ability to take your

parameters and solve

your design problems

for you

Despite its steep

learning curve,

the CAD features

and regular

updates make

this a great tool

for prototyping

VERDICT

8 / 10