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GrabCAD. It's free, simple cloud-based version control for CAD files. I don't think they actually offer an enterprise (on-prem) version anymore but I would stil

GrabCAD. It's free, simple cloud-based version control for CAD files. I don't think they actually offer an enterprise (on-prem) version anymore but I would still consider it enterprise software. The only alternatives are network shares filled with v1_v2_final_edited filenames and very expensive, SAP-level of complexity and JIRA-style approval workflows. Unfortunately they are owned by Stratasys, the Oracle of 3D printing and the product is barely maintained. When it was acquired they made it free. It was meant to become the github (in terms of de facto standard for public repositories) of 3D CAD, and be an inroad to 3D printer / 3D printing service sales. But that aspect never took off, Stratasys is bleeding marketshare and an at any time I expect to login and see that the service is discontinued. Getting off-topic but I'm interested to see if there are any replies: For all software engineers reading this, I can't state how behind other engineering disciplines are compared to software. The equivalent to git or SVN or even CVS never appeared as standard practice and there is barely any middle ground between no version control whatsoever and formal change control boards (which is no version control whatsoever except at a few milestones and if you're lucky you can verify a change to the milestone by checking a paper or dvd). Outside of software, academic spin-offs tend to start with good practices, such as markdown or latex files for documentation, which work well with version control, but never seem to make it more than 5 years before they reach a state of no control / word documents. Electrical CAD is becoming better, with more software-background hobbyist and more open source tools arriving. It helps that design files and manufacturing files started to converge in the 80s due to early automation and thus tend to be text-based and diffable. Mechanical CAD on the other hand tends to be somewhat incompatible between vendors and binary in nature. The open source alternatives (FreeCAD and OpenSCAD) are a decade away from providing 1990s features and hobbyists have free licenses to proprietary software (eg Fusion 360) so there is very little pressure to make a good tools in the open source world.

traeblain 6y ago
I cannot agree more with this comment. CAD software is still so dominated by proprietary systems that maintain their own version control and feature set. And since all the major players offer a "suite" of tools, there's no incentive to seamlessly interact between products. You spend so much time trying to figure out how you are going work with importing a neutral export (meaning you've dissected the data from its version control), and maintaining any data accuracy. I was honestly extremely hopeful when OnShape hit the market. Granted it was still a proprietary tool, but felt it had the tooling and integrations to bring CAD systems into the "modern era". Then they crippled their free offering, removing it's discrimination from tools like Fusion. And now with their purchase by PTC, I have no hope in it making any further waves in the CAD space.
- johnwalkr 6y ago
  It's obvious to anyone with exposure to software that the whole industry is 25 years behind in version control. It exists in large companies, but as a JIRA or SAP like system, usually with engineers fighting for the right to work with local files. It does not exist as standard industry practice that everyone follows. I'm sure many people on HN have experience meeting a one-person self-taught software team in a small company that developed their own version control system called "copying folders". In mechanical CAD, half of the industry is at that level, but it's even worse because your shard libraries may be updated irreversibly and without notification when you don't intend, or not updated when you intend, depending on such factors as the order in which you loaded your projects. I was sad enough that GrabCAD was purchased by Stratasys, but at least it's plausible that it exists for a while. I didn't know OnShape was purchased by PTC. I was also really hopeful and play around with it about once a year. It's always missing something I need, but was getting close, and some of the features they add are really innovative. They are also honest about what features are missing. On the other hand, I still have a soft spot for Pro-E since it was my first MCAD package and to this day miss some of its parametric features (but certainly not its interface).
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - yasinaydin 6y ago
    GrabCAD engineer here. AFAIK community part of GrabCAD, main website where the libraries, models, tutorials etc located, is planned to be always free. As for the features and suggestions, could you please writ them to https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group where all the PMs and related engineers follow and improve the product.

traeblain 6y ago

I cannot agree more with this comment. CAD software is still so dominated by proprietary systems that maintain their own version control and feature set. And since all the major players offer a "suite" of tools, there's no incentive to seamlessly interact between products. You spend so much time trying to figure out how you are going work with importing a neutral export (meaning you've dissected the data from its version control), and maintaining any data accuracy. I was honestly extremely hopeful when OnShape hit the market. Granted it was still a proprietary tool, but felt it had the tooling and integrations to bring CAD systems into the "modern era". Then they crippled their free offering, removing it's discrimination from tools like Fusion. And now with their purchase by PTC, I have no hope in it making any further waves in the CAD space.

johnwalkr 6y ago
It's obvious to anyone with exposure to software that the whole industry is 25 years behind in version control. It exists in large companies, but as a JIRA or SAP like system, usually with engineers fighting for the right to work with local files. It does not exist as standard industry practice that everyone follows. I'm sure many people on HN have experience meeting a one-person self-taught software team in a small company that developed their own version control system called "copying folders". In mechanical CAD, half of the industry is at that level, but it's even worse because your shard libraries may be updated irreversibly and without notification when you don't intend, or not updated when you intend, depending on such factors as the order in which you loaded your projects. I was sad enough that GrabCAD was purchased by Stratasys, but at least it's plausible that it exists for a while. I didn't know OnShape was purchased by PTC. I was also really hopeful and play around with it about once a year. It's always missing something I need, but was getting close, and some of the features they add are really innovative. They are also honest about what features are missing. On the other hand, I still have a soft spot for Pro-E since it was my first MCAD package and to this day miss some of its parametric features (but certainly not its interface).
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- yasinaydin 6y ago
  GrabCAD engineer here. AFAIK community part of GrabCAD, main website where the libraries, models, tutorials etc located, is planned to be always free. As for the features and suggestions, could you please writ them to https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group https://grabcad.com/groups/grabcad-community-user-group where all the PMs and related engineers follow and improve the product.