2D and 3D CAD Versioning
Last updated: 2026-09-09
Convention Version: 0.1.0
> Background
This is a fairly early spec, so it's still a little clunky ;)
> Versioning
Each exported file has a version number in the format of `1.0A0`, mirroring that of the PCB versioning convention. The basic format comes down to this:
1. - Major design revision. Full re-design of the file to serve a similar or the same purpose.
0 - Minor revision. Change of a sketch dimension, correction of a boolean operation, etc.
A - Just a delimiter. Never changes.
0 - Export revision. Each time the design is exported without a change to the design, this is
bumped since the export settings may have changed (e.g. adjust the K factor for a sheet
metal part).
This version ID is frozen at time of order. This means that until someone clicks the "order design" button at the fab house, the above numbering system does not update. Since it is not uncommon to have more than one export operation when generating gerbers, when generating fabrication outputs, a number, starting at `0` is appended to the above version and maintained on the fabrication output archive. Each export operation increments this number. For example, if a sheet metal part is exported and the K factor found to be incorrect, the file would be re-exported and this fabrication ID is incremented. This ensures that the fabrication output version which is ordered can be identified by looking for the highest export ID for a given Major.Minor.Layout version.
Since printing or laser marking onto most types of CAD components is not always an option, the version ID need not be imprinted onto the part. If the design is in version control then you can also add a tag referencing that commit, just like a software release.
> Release History / Changelog
- 2026-09-09: v0.1.0 First release!