Skip to main content

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.

Managing projects and members on GitHub and Anchorpoint​

Managing projects on GitHub and Anchorpoint

On GitHub, repositories (your projects) live under an organization. Create an organization first and add your team as members. Billing is tied to the organization, and members get access to its repositories. If you allow it in the organization’s Member privileges settings, members can also create new repositories there.

Anchorpoint has the same concept, called a workspace. Team members, projects and licensing are all attached to the workspace. When you start your trial, you are already in a workspace.

Set up your team in this order:

  1. Create your GitHub organization and add your members.
  2. Start Anchorpoint and invite your team members to your workspace.
  3. Open the GitHub integration in Anchorpoint and connect it to your GitHub organization. Grant Anchorpoint permission to create repositories.
  4. Create a project in Anchorpoint. It automatically creates the matching repository on GitHub.
  5. Set the project’s access to “everyone” so you don’t have to add members one by one. You can restrict access later.

Disable file read only settings​

By default, Anchorpoint makes locked files read-only for everyone else. SOLIDWORKS can’t save changes to assemblies that depend on read-only parts, which causes friction. To avoid this, go to Workspace Settings → General and enable Disable Make Files Read-Only.

Locking still works after this change. You can see who is working on which file, but Anchorpoint no longer blocks editing. Several people can modify the same assembly at the same time.