OnShape part import to KiriMoto broken in Firefox in 3.8?

Bob · January 25, 2023, 6:00pm

I use Kirimoto as an app inside Onshape with Firefox as my browser, which I find very convenient. However, since 3.8 was rolled out, I have not been able to import parts into Kirimoto - my screen hangs up with the message “loading…” displayed. I generally use Chrome as my browser, but Onshape does not work well in Chrome for me. The Onshape - Kirimoto app Release 3.8 works from within Chrome, but is slow and “jerky” (the reason I switched to Firefox in the first place). Is anyone else experiencing similar problems with the Onshape app version?

stewart · January 25, 2023, 6:50pm

Hi @Bob and welcome.

It looks like Firefox is blocking access to the SharedArrayBuffer inside of the iframe that Onshape provides to apps. I will have to escalate this to their dev team.

SharedArrayBuffers are now being used for high performance compute and sharing of data between workers. There is no effective workaround for KM if it’s not going to be available in all browser contexts

Bob · January 25, 2023, 7:38pm

Thanks, Stewart. I guess it’s good to know that it’s not something that I have done. Please keep me updated if you hear back from them.

stewart · January 25, 2023, 8:28pm

Now that I know, I will try to do a better job of catching and reporting this condition.

Bob · February 13, 2023, 4:39am

I tried using KM from within OnShape in Firefox browser this evening for the first time since I opened this issue. It worked! There was a warning when I opened the KM app regarding some sort of security issue (I should have captured it with a screen shot, but I was not expecting to get too far), but that disappeared when I cleared the workspace and I was able to import my new parts perfectly. Thanks for the fix!

stewart · February 13, 2023, 1:54pm

The warning appears with Firefox and Safari when Kiri:Moto runs inside of Onshape’s application iframe to indicate reduced functionality. Onshape does not currently set security header which would allow those browser contexts access to SharedArrayBuffers. And those are critical to CAM contouring, lathe, and animation features. Chrome & Edge currently have a workaround through Chromium’s developer program. There is an open ticket with Onshape to add the headers necessary to allow this functionality in Firefox and Safari.