Challenge
The team's CAD lived on whoever's laptop could run it, stitched together with cloud-drive folder copies. Subassemblies forked, mates broke at integration, and each May the graduating class walked out with design intent that existed nowhere else.
Solution
The team moved the full vehicle into a shared solidSF workspace through university access. Subteams own their subsystems, integration happens continuously in the top-level assembly, and faculty advisors review from a link.
Members on Chromebooks and tablets get the same modeling environment as members with gaming laptops.
“Half our members never had a laptop that could run desktop CAD. Now the suspension lead models from a library Chromebook and the review happens in the same tab.”
Chief engineer, FSAE team
Results
Integration weekends stopped being merge surgery - the top assembly is always current, and clash checks happen in the model rather than at the build table.
The next season's team inherited the complete prior-year vehicle with feature history, drawings, and the decisions encoded in them.