Onshape has built-in version control that most VRC teams never use. Every version is a timestamped snapshot. A chain of named versions is the most powerful notebook evidence you can produce — judges can see your design evolving with dates they can verify.
The notebook connection: The EDP rubric asks for evidence of iteration. A screenshot of the Onshape version history panel — showing v1, v2, v3 with dates and descriptions — proves your design changed over time without any extra work. You already made the versions. Screenshot them.
📅 How Versions Work in Onshape
Onshape has three states for a document:
Workspace — the editable, live state. You always work here.
Version — a named, locked snapshot of the workspace at a point in time. Immutable once created. This is what you use for notebook evidence.
Branch — a copy of a version that you can edit independently of the main workspace. Use this for experiments.
To create a version: click the clock icon at the bottom of the Onshape screen, or Document menu → Versions and History → Create version.
🏷 Season Version Timeline — Example
📋 Example Season Version History
🌿 Branching for Experiments
🌿 Branch Workflow
Create a branch: in Version History panel, right-click any version → Create branch. Name it experiment — pneumatic-intake. Work freely. If it succeeds, your mentor or lead engineer merges it back into the main workspace. If not, abandon it — the main design is never touched.
✅ Version Naming That Satisfies Judges
Version names are your design story. Bad naming loses the value. Good naming makes the rubric argument for you:
Bad:version 3, save before changes, final
Good:v3 — replaced 4-bar with 6-bar after load test failure
Good:v5 — post-Event-1 rebuild — lowered CG after tipping incident
Good:v7 — added second intake roller per driver feedback week 3
Each good name is a notebook entry headline. When you screenshot the version history for the notebook, judges read each line as evidence of your design process.
Collaboration: Every team member who makes a version has their name attached to it automatically in Onshape. The version history shows who made each decision and when. For teams with multiple CAD contributors, this is built-in attribution — no one needs to remember who made which change.
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OFFICIAL ONSHAPE — VERSION HISTORY
Version creation, branching, comparing versions, and restoring previous designs
⚙ STEM HighlightComputer Science: Version Control & Design History
Onshape's built-in version control applies the same concepts as Git: named versions (commits), branches (parallel design explorations), and history (complete audit trail). In professional engineering, design history is not just documentation — it is liability and knowledge management. A version labeled "Competition 1 — frozen" ensures the team can always return to a known working state after experimental changes. This practice is standard in aerospace, automotive, and medical device engineering for exactly this reason.
🎤 Interview line: “We create a named Onshape version before every competition and before any experimental change. Our version history shows the evolution from our first drivetrain concept to our competition robot — each version linked to a specific design decision. This practice saved us twice: once when an experimental branch introduced a clearance issue, and once when a competition version was needed for reference after V2 development had already begun.”
You want to test a new intake concept without risking your competition CAD. What is the correct Onshape workflow?
⬛ Edit the main workspace directly — you can always undo with Ctrl-Z
⬛ Create a named version of your current design, then create a branch from it for the new concept — your main workspace stays untouched
⬛ Create a second Onshape document and copy all parts into it
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Notebook entry tip:Build & Program — Orange slide — Include an Onshape version history screenshot in your CAD documentation. Annotate each major version with the design decision that triggered it and what changed. A version timeline — "V1: initial drivetrain → V2: four-bar added → Competition 1 freeze" — is compelling evidence that your CAD was managed as a living engineering document, not a one-time deliverable.