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CAD

In these two videos, you'll learn how to use Anchorpoint together with Git-based version control for managing your CAD projects, for example SOLIDWORKS assemblies and parts. The principles apply for all CAD applications.

Why using version control?​

You can also manage CAD files on a NAS or in Dropbox/Google Drive. That works for simple file sharing, but it breaks down as soon as more than one engineer works on the same assembly:

  • No silent overwrites. On a NAS or cloud drive, whoever saves last wins, and the other person's changes are gone without a warning. CAD files are binary, so they can't be merged like text can. With Git, Anchorpoint locks a file the moment someone starts working on it, so nobody else can save over it.
  • A full history, not just the last save. Google Drive keeps a limited version history, and a NAS usually keeps none at all. Every Git commit is a permanent checkpoint, so you can go back to any point in the project, not only the most recent versions.
  • You know who changed what, and why. Each commit has an author and a message attached. On a shared drive, all you get is a "last modified" timestamp.
  • No corruption from simultaneous writes. Two people, or two sync clients, writing to the same assembly at the same time is a common way CAD files get corrupted on a NAS or Drive. Locking prevents that from happening.

This tutorial shows how to set up a GitHub integration in Anchorpoint and create a project. If you already have a Git server running, just skip the first part.

This tutorial shows how to work with version control on a CAD project in SOLIDWORKS, but it can be applied to any other CAD application. You don't need to manually check files in or out, just leave Anchorpoint running in the background while you work on your assembly and parts. As soon as you modify and save a file, Anchorpoint locks it automatically so nobody else can edit it at the same time, and you can see in the app who is currently working on which file. Locked files are read-only for everyone else; you can still open them to inspect the design, but SOLIDWORKS won't let you save changes to them. Avoid editing a file that's locked by someone else, because you end up with conflicts.

Assemblies in SOLIDWORKS​

Rebuilding an assembly often marks it as modified even though nothing meaningful changed, so it's usually best to only commit the parts you actually worked on and leave the assembly until you've made a real change to it. Write a clear commit message describing what you did, then sync to share your work with the team. If you need to undo a change, close the file in SOLIDWORKS first, then revert to a previous version from Anchorpoint.

By default, Anchorpoint automatically locks binary files as soon as they're modified, which includes both SOLIDWORKS parts and assemblies. If you only want parts to be auto-locked and leave assemblies unlocked, add the following to your project's .ap/config.ini file:

[git]
no_lock_paths = *.SLDASM

You can still lock or unlock these files manually, Anchorpoint just won't do it automatically. Learn more about the available options on the Git Configuration page.