OSE School Collaborative CAD

At OSE, we do true collaborative design - a paradigm which enables large teams of people to collaborate in real-time on CAD files. This is beyond what any industrial CAD system offers - yet it can be done using simple, open source tools. Here we explain how this can be done. Once this process is understood by participants - this process can scale to any number of people, engaging in CAD design, in realtime. While results remaining transparent, open (not locked as in typical CAD processes), and as fast as the number of people collaborating.

The system relies on principles of the Second Toyota Paradox (reconciliation of commits as late into the process as possible - allowing for excessive prototyping and thus extensive vetting of solutions) and Extreme Manufacturing (primarily contract-based design). The process absorbs multiple levels of abstraction (multiple levels of detail) as an inherent part of its file management, and involves Positionally Correct Parts.