0B: Onshape Setup

Tip

Remember to take a look at the website feature guide to gain an understanding of the different features used throughout the learning course!

Registering for Onshape

Onshape offers a free education license for students to use their software. It is highly recommended to use the education plan, as it allows for the creation of private documents, as well as other useful features.

To start registering, go to the Onshape for Education page and select "Create EDU ACCOUNT" or click this link. Follow the slides below to finish registering.

On the next screen, select that you are a student and that you are in grade school.

Finally, fill the form with your school information. You may enter "Robotics" as the reason for using Onshape.

Onshape will proceed to check your information (which may take some time), then send a verification email to activate your account. You'll be asked to set a password, then you'll enter your dashboard.

Account Setup

The first time you enter Onshape, it will prompt you to set up your account, including the default units and mouse controls used when doing CAD. You can also set a profile picture and a nickname (we recommend keeping this as your real name). Finally, Onshape will run a browser check, to ensure compatibility.

Note

If the browser check fails, you may want to try a different browser. Currently, chromium browsers like Chrome, Edge, Opera, and Arc are the best supported browsers for Onshape, but Firefox usually works with no issues as well. Safari is not well supported.

Chrome Browser Setup

If you are using Chrome, an additional setup step may be required.

First, type chrome://settings/ in your searchbar to navigate to chrome settings. Make sure that "Use graphics acceleration when available" is enabled. Relaunch chrome if you have updated it to enable it.

Next, go to chrome://flags/ and enable these:

If your team uses Onshape, contact your mentor/design lead for access to the Onshape classroom/team.

OPTIONAL: Onshape Educator Plan

Besides individual setup, if your team uses Onshape or are switching to it, one of your mentors or design leads should get the Educator plan and add all members to a "classroom". The Educator plan is free for FIRST teams and will make document management easier. It also provides a suite of features for all students added to the "classroom", such as simulation, release management, and classes/assignments.

If you are interested, direct your design lead or mentors to read the ChiefDelphi post linked below for a better overview and walkthrough to set it up for your team.

Onshape Educator Plan: What it Means for FRC Teams