How to Use Parts Tracker

A walkthrough of the full lifecycle — from submitting a part in OnShape to marking it complete.

Phase 1 — Submitting a Part

From OnShape to the Board

Open the Parts Tracker side panel in OnShape

The Parts Tracker lives inside OnShape as a side panel. Open any assembly document, then click the Parts Tracker tab in the right-hand panel strip. If you don't see it, install it first from the OnShape App Store ↗.

OnShape assembly with the Parts Tracker side panel open showing the sign-in screen — The Parts Tracker panel before signing in.

Click Sign in with Google. A small popup will open — complete sign-in there and it closes automatically. The panel will show your name and avatar when ready.

Parts Tracker side panel after signing in, showing the submission form — After signing in the form becomes available. Select a part to enable Submit.

Select a part in the assembly

Click any part in the 3D viewport. The panel resolves it automatically and shows the part name and a link to open it directly. Select only one part at a time — selecting multiple will prompt you to narrow it down.

The Material field will pre-fill from the part's OnShape material if one is set.

A part highlighted in the OnShape viewport with its name shown in the side panel — Clicking a part in the viewport resolves it instantly. The Submit button enables once a part is selected.

Fill out the submission form

Choose the manufacturing Type (3D Print, CNC, or Manual Cut), Priority, Quantity, and any Notes such as tolerances or special instructions.

If this part is a replacement for one that was sent back for redesign, pick the original from the Replaces (redesign) dropdown — this links the two together in the tracker.

The submission form filled out with type, priority, material, and notes — A filled-out form ready to submit. Material was pre-filled from OnShape.

Click "Submit Part"

The part is added to the board instantly. The form resets so you can immediately select the next part and submit again.

Tip: You can submit multiple parts in a row without reloading — just click the next part in the viewport after each submission.

Phase 2 — Tracking the Part

Following a Part Through the Board

Find the part on the board

Open Parts Tracker. The newly submitted part appears in the first column for its type — Ready for Slicing (3D Print), Ready for CAM (CNC), or Ready for Cutting (Manual Cut).

Use All to see every part, or My Issues to see only parts assigned to you. The type buttons narrow which columns are shown.

The Parts Tracker board in All view showing a card in the Ready for Cutting column — The submitted tube part appears immediately in "Ready for Cutting".

Open the part detail and advance its stage

Click any card to open the detail panel. It shows the full part info: stage, type, priority, assignees, reviewers, material, description, files, and activity history.

When you've completed your step, click Advance to [next stage] →. The card moves to the next column and the change is recorded in the activity log. Each type follows its own sequence:

3D Print: Ready for Slicing → Ready for Printing → Printing → Complete
CNC: Ready for CAM → Ready for Machining → Machining → Complete
Manual Cut: Ready for Cutting → Cutting → Complete

The detail panel showing part metadata and the Advance to Cutting button — The detail panel. Click "Advance to Cutting →" to move the part to the next stage.

Upload files and leave comments

Attach relevant files at each stage — slice files (.gcode), CAM programs (.nc), or drawings (.step, .pdf). Scroll to Files, choose your files, and click Upload File(s). Files are stored permanently and downloadable by anyone with access.

Use the comment box in the Activity section to communicate with the team. Comments support Markdown and appear in the timeline alongside stage and assignee changes.

The detail panel showing a file uploaded and activity entries for stage and assignee changes — After advancing and assigning: a file is attached and the activity log shows the full history.

Phase 3 — Closing the Loop

Complete or Send Back for Redesign

Mark the part as complete

Advance through all stages until you reach Complete. The card disappears from most views (switch to All and look for a Complete column if you need to find it later).

Or — send it back as a redesign

If the part doesn't pass inspection or needs a design change, click Mark as Redesign. This is permanent — confirm carefully.

Once marked, the part becomes available in the Replaces (redesign) dropdown of the OnShape side panel. The designer submits a corrected version linked back to the original, creating a visible chain between the two parts.

The OnShape side panel showing the Replaces dropdown with a part selected — The "Replaces (redesign)" dropdown appears in the side panel when redesign parts exist, linking the new submission to the original.

Note: Only submit a redesign part after the designer has updated the OnShape document — the submission captures the exact geometry at the time of submit.

Bonus — Assign Work

The By Assignee View

See who has what — and reassign by dragging

Click By Assignee in the top filter bar. Every team member gets a row showing their open parts. Click a row header to collapse or expand it. Members with no parts are collapsed by default but still visible — drag any card onto their row to assign work to them.

Dropping a card on Open removes the current assignee. If a part has multiple assignees, only the person whose row the card came from is swapped.

The By Assignee view showing Open, Resnick, Test User, and Wilson rows — By Assignee view. Test User has one part; Resnick and Wilson are collapsed with none.