How Multi CAD PDM can get you from separated to synced

There are many reasons a company might have a multi-CAD process. A multi-CAD process might occur because of a merger, divisions using their own preferred or domain specific CAD system, or because of customer demands.

Multi-CAD is quite common. About 48% of engineering departments work with a multi-CAD process.

Challenges

Having multiple CAD systems in the product design process can create challenges. The main issues arise in the transfer and exchange of data. In other words, communication.

What happens when we don’t have good communication? There are many costs of miscommunication in business, let alone engineering. SHRM provided a study that estimated miscommunication costs to be about $4,000-6,000 per employee per year.

There are also challenges with what PDM software to use with a multi-CAD process. Many CAD vendors provide their own version of a PDM software. PDM software provided by each CAD software vendor often has trouble handling CAD systems from other vendors. Deciding where to store and manage files with a multi-CAD process can be challenging.

How do we solve those challenges to connect our teams and drive down miscommunication costs?

Multi-CAD PDM software

If your process is a multi-CAD process, there could be several benefits to a multi-CAD PDM software.

1. Lower investment

When you invest in a PDM software, there are more costs than simply the sticker price. There are costs for evaluating the software, training, learning, and maintenance. Investing in one multi-CAD solution instead of two separate solutions can help save on the hidden costs.

2. Easier management

Having less software’s to keep track of, update, and learn can make it easier to manage and grow. For each software you might have to:

• Stay up to date with news and updates for each vendor
• Maintain training materials and documentation
• For complex software – hire an additional person to maintain the system

A multi-CAD PDM software can make it easier to manage.

3. Better communication

If your multi-CAD engineering teams work with the same PDM software, it can help stimulate better communication. Your team knows where to find files, knows the status of files, and can easily share file links. The alternative would have an engineer export from one system, attach it to an email, and then import into another system. The alternative is vulnerable to data errors and wasted time.

With a Multi-CAD PDM software, you can cut back on these overhead costs.

Use Cases

How can a multi-CAD PDM software be used? There are several use cases for a multi-CAD PDM software. A multi-CAD PDM software can connect engineering teams to other product lifecycle participants or engineering teams to each other.

From engineers to others

There are several stakeholders that need to interact with engineering CAD files throughout the product lifecycle. Engineers create CAD files and work with them daily. Manufacturers need to work with these files to build the product. Once the product is built, there are stakeholders that need to view and maintain the drawings. Maintenance workers, and for buildings, Facility managers all need to view and work with these files.

If you have challenges sharing files with other parties, a multi-CAD PDM system could help provide a single node where your engineering teams can share files with others.

This use case would act more as a PLM system than a PDM system.

Connecting Engineering Teams

If engineering teams use multiple CAD software’s, they could use a multi-CAD PDM software to easily share files and connect teams.

To design a product, Engineering team A uses CAD software A to design their part. Then, they pass off their drawings to Engineering team B who uses CAD software B to design their part. Files and information flows back and forth until it is ready for production.

But how do they share this information? Does engineering team A export from PDM system A, send via email, then engineering team B imports into PDM system B? This seems inefficient and error prone.

A multi-CAD PDM software can be used to connect engineering teams.

Engineering teams can work from the same place. This gives them an efficient way to transfer and store files. Connecting engineering teams can help improve communication and save on costs in the design process.

Conclusion

Many engineering teams use multi-CAD in their everyday processes. There are several challenges with multi-CAD that lead to miscommunication and other overhead costs. A PDM software doesn’t have to be used just to store CAD files for the engineer. Depending on the flexibility of the PDM software, a multi-CAD PDM software could also be used to transfer files across the product lifecycle. A multi-CAD PDM software provides several benefits like saving on implementation costs, management costs, and learning a new system.