Branching & Merging in CAD

Cloud-Native, Data-Driven

With a unique cloud-native architecture, Onshape delivers a data-driven, built-in PDM solution. Unlike legacy CAD software, exploring designs in Onshape does not result in multiple copies of files, so you never have to deal with the file-management hassles of duplication, or moved or renamed files.

Unique to Onshape, branching and merging works without forced PDM check-in and check-out restrictions, enabling teams to safely work faster in independent workspaces without ever having to wait for CAD access.

Branching

In Onshape, you do your modeling in workspaces, regardless of whether you are working with parts, assemblies or drawings. The process of creating a new workspace from a version of your CAD model is called branching.

A branch is not another file or a copy to maintain. Rather, it’s a pointer to the original CAD model version where the branch originated.

Team members can explore alternative ideas without affecting others by creating branches and selectively merging the best elements from multiple designs back into the main design.

Selective Merge

When working with lots of branches and changes across many different Part Studios, assemblies, drawings and other tabs, it is sometimes difficult to know exactly what effect a merge will have on your Document.

When you start a merge operation, Onshape will provide you with a new interface to help you understand the effects of merging one branch with another. This will make it possible to allow for selective merge operations at the solid or surface level.

Comparisons

Compare is a powerful tool that gives the designer a visual depiction of what’s different between two models, in addition to a list of feature differences, enabling designers to quickly identify what has changed, when and why.

Onshape allows you to compare two moments in history, two versions, or even two branches. Additionally, you can compare imported parts, stock parts and various configurations of parts and assemblies.

Once changes between branches of the design have been identified, they can be merged back into the main design and team members see the updates live.

Conflict

Onshape turns conflicts into opportunities for creativity, offering collaboration tools to help teams identify, discuss, and think through solutions.

Trying to merge designs with conflicts using file-based CAD is a very manual process, fraught with the potential for human error. Onshape automatically handles merging with just the selection of the two desired branches.

Onshape will never break your assembly, and you can always restore to an earlier version of your design at any time.