How to improve the mechanical design profession with collaborative tools? Choosing Onshape

Mechanical design is a profession undergoing rapid transformation. Between the increase in product complexity, the need to reduce time-to-market, and the rise of remote working, traditional methods are reaching their limits.

Locally installed CAD software, while powerful, is now showing certain weaknesses: lack of real-time collaboration, version control difficulties, dependence on heavy infrastructure, etc.

Faced with these challenges, a new generation of collaborative tools is emerging. At Niryo, we have chosen Onshape, a cloud-native solution, and we would like to share the benefits of this choice with you.

How does it truly change the daily lives of engineers and product development teams? And how does it concretely improve the mechanical design profession?

As an introduction, let’s define the mechanical design profession.

A mechanical design engineer has two main missions: to imagine the products of tomorrow and to propose continuous improvements to existing products. At Niryo, these missions are embodied in the hardware component:

• the architecture of the Ned 2 and Ned 3 Pro robots
• power transmission
• motion transmission

Projects are organized in four phases: calculations, design, prototyping, and testing.

To successfully complete a design project, the challenges of three stakeholders must be considered:

• end users: usage
• the manufacturer: feasibility, quality, cost, and deadline
• assembly teams: efficiency and simplicity

At Niryo, mechanical design engineers work closely with the electronics, software, and process teams.

The Limitations of Traditional Methods in Mechanical Design

The three main challenges posed by traditional working methods are: file management and the associated risk of errors, the difficulty of simultaneously collaborating with multiple people on a given project, and the need for expensive hardware (powerful workstations, dedicated server for storage, etc.).

Traditional CAD software relies on files stored locally or on an internal server. Each modification generates a new version, and it quickly becomes difficult to keep track of who is working on the latest revision. This leads to:

• duplication
• wasted time
• and sometimes even costly manufacturing errors.

When several engineers work on the same project, they often have to send files to each other via email or cumbersome Product Data Management (PDM) systems. As a result, collaboration is fragmented, especially if teams are geographically dispersed.

Traditional software licenses require powerful workstations, regular updates, and IT maintenance. This can represent a high cost and hamper the agility of teams, particularly in SMEs or startups.

Doing your job better: why collaborative tools have become essential

Collaborative tools provide a suitable response to these new requirements by enabling:

• real-time work
• data centralization
• reduced communication delays

Niryo chose Onshape software. It’s a cloud-native solution. 3D models are stored in the cloud and accessible via a simple web browser. Each team member instantly sees the changes made by others. This ensures that everyone is always working on the same version of the project.

Just like with a Google Docs document, multiple engineers can work simultaneously on the same model. They can comment, annotate, and suggest changes without blocking each other’s work. This represents a radical change for teams that previously had to wait their “turn” to modify a part or assembly.

Onshape works on any device: PC, Mac, tablet, smartphone. There’s no need to invest in expensive workstations. Updates are automatic, and there’s no software to install.

Every action is logged, with no need to manually back up. You can revert to any version of a model with one click. Access rights are tightly managed: you can share a project with a supplier or partner in read-only mode or with limited access.

Using Onshape: Robin shares his experience

“Working on Onshape as a mechanical engineer offers me a major advantage in terms of collaboration and responsiveness. As a 100% cloud-based platform, Onshape allows you to design, share, and modify 3D models in real time, without worrying about file versions. For an innovative company like Niryo, which develops modular and scalable robots, this fluidity significantly reduces development times and facilitates communication between different team members, whether they are in the office, on the shop floor, or remotely. With traditional CAD software that uses the “file” system, I constantly lost my links to parts or drawings in assemblies whenever the file was moved or renamed. With “data-driven” design, nothing is lost; all changes are tracked, and I don’t worry about forgetting to save or software crashes.”

The mechanical design industry is evolving rapidly, driven by the need to innovate faster and collaborate remotely. Traditional tools are showing their limitations in the face of this new reality.

With its 100% cloud-based approach, Onshape provides a concrete and effective solution: real-time collaboration, removal of file constraints, universal accessibility, data security and traceability.