What is a Release in CAD ROOMS?
A Release is a formal action that marks milestones that matter in the product lifecycle.
- Releases help keep teams aligned on what's draft, what's final, and what's ready to ship.
- It involves controlling the release of design files and data, managing what gets shared, when it's released, and who has access to specific versions.
What's the difference between Version History and Revision History?
- Version History refers to maintaining a complete record of design revisions, allowing quick access to earlier versions for clarity and audits.
- Revision History: Applies to a specific file. It lets you view major/minor revisions, see release milestones, and share a particular revision with stakeholders.
The feature Advanced CAD Diffing is available to visually compare changes across versions or revisions of parts and assemblies, highlighting exactly what changed.
How do Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) work?
Engineering Change Orders (ECOs) are part of CAD ROOMS' Structured Change Control (PLM functionality).
- ECOs define a professional approval system for managing design changes and workflows with clear governance.
- The workflow ensures that every step of a change, from the first idea to the approved change, is captured, accountable, and impossible to miss.
- The platform allows product teams to Create and track ECOs/ECRs and control approvals for released designs.
- Teams requiring ECO workflows specifically need the Business Plan or Enterprise Plan.
What is the difference between Manual Release and ECO?
- File Release is available even in the basic Team Plan, suggesting it is used for general release management, marking a design as final or ready to ship.
- ECO Workflows are part of the Business Plan and offer a more structured and rigorous approval system. ECOs are necessary for managing complex, formal design changes that require defined steps, tracking, and sign-offs for accountability and compliance.
Therefore, you should use:
- Use Manual Release for small changes or non‑critical updates that don't require sign‑off.
- Use ECO when multiple stakeholders need to review and approve changes—e.g., safety‑critical parts, client‑specific approvals, or compliance documentation.
What is the process for managing complex design changes?
Changes are managed through Seamless ECO Workflows (Engineering Change Orders), which provide a professional approval system. This ensures that every step of a change, from the first idea to the approved change, is captured, accountable, and impossible to miss.