Tech Tip: Syncing Onshape Release Management with Arena PLM and Automating File Export

If your team uses Arena PLM to manage product lifecycle data and Onshape Enterprise for CAD modeling, you can streamline your release process by connecting the two platforms.

This CAD to PLM connection ensures that design changes in Onshape are automatically reflected in Arena, keeping your product data synchronized and reducing manual effort.

Why Sync Onshape with Arena PLM?

• Eliminate manual data entry between systems.
• Ensure consistency in BOMs, revisions, and metadata.
• Automatically generate 2D PDFs and 3D STEP files for Arena ECOs.
• No middleware or customization required.
• Cloud-native architecture means no installs, servers, or IT requirements.

What is the Onshape-Arena Connection?

The Onshape-Arena Connection links Onshape (CAD and PDM) and Arena PLM, both cloud-native platforms offered by PTC. It enables seamless, real-time synchronization of parts, assemblies, drawings, and Bills of Materials (BOMs) between engineering and operations teams.

How to Sync an Onshape Release Candidate with an Arena ECO

Contact your Onshape and Arena technical resources to enable the connection. The Onshape-Arena Connection Admin Guide provides more details of the implementation process.

After enabling the Onshape-Arena Connection, follow these steps to sync releases with Arena changes and automate file uploads.

1. Sign on to Arena, create a new change, and note the Change Number.
2. Before creating a release, it is a good practice to sync the BOM with Arena.
3. Next, use Onshape to prepare a release candidate. You can select the Onshape-Arena release workflow if the Arena connection is enabled.
4. Clicking the highlighted Arena icon at the top of the release candidate dialog allows searching for Open and Unlocked Arena changes.
5. Enter the Change Number from the first step. Note that the ECO Number and Description populate the release candidate fields. You are not required to indicate approvers; Arena manages approvals.
6. After submitting the release, the system adds the items to the Arena change and generates PDF files for drawings and STEP files for parts. The PDF displays a watermark before the change is approved, indicating this item is unreleased.
7. Next, use Arena to complete the change process. Once the change becomes effective, the system triggers Onshape to complete the release and update the PDF exports without a watermark.

This Tech Tip summarizes syncing Onshape Release Management with Arena changes.

If you found this topic helpful, the Onshape-Arena Connection User Guide explains how to assign categories, generate part numbers, sync BOM data, and more.