What Challenges with CAD Tools Drive a Change

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There’s no question that the challenges of developing products today have increased dramatically over the past decade. These challenges include increased competition, shorter time-to-market cycles, increasingly finicky consumers who demand personalized products and growing demand for products that just keeping getting more and more complex.

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After all, consumers are no longer happy with a watch that just tells time. They want a watch that tells them what’s happening on the stock market, what their current step count is, who just emailed them and if their favorite sports team is winning. Products often now include multiple subassemblies of components: on-board electronics and related software—in addition to traditional mechanical components.

Design tools, especially CAD, are often key to meeting these challenges and helping companies remain competitive. With the right design tools, companies are better positioned to quickly bring high-performing, high-quality, innovative products to market. As a result, many companies are re-examining their current CAD tools to determine whether their current software is up to the task of meeting these increasing challenges now and moving into the future.

The Tech-Clarity white paper “Are you Changing CAD Tools? What you Should Know,” includes responses from 192 companies on the topic of what motivates such a change in CAD tools. We all know transitioning from one 3D CAD system to another isn’t something a company takes lightly and requires a real commitment and buy-in from management as well as all internal stakeholders.

What Shortcomings Trigger a Change in CAD Tools?

According to the white paper, the most common reason for making a change is the existing tool lacks needed functionality. An inefficient workflow, such as too many mouse clicks or a user interface that is not intuitive, is another top reason. In these cases, companies likely turn to a different CAD tool with an expectation that additional functionality and a more efficient workflow will improve their productivity. After all, the faster you can create, manufacture and ship a product, the higher the likelihood that you’ll be capturing market and mind share of consumers.

This was the case at Induce Design, a design services company. The company transitioned to SOLIDWORKS in 2010 because it was easier to use, provided a more complete set of modeling capabilities, and helped the design firm leverage design for manufacturability tools.

“I chose our design software as our primary tool because it’s easier and more efficient for both modeling and engineering newproduct designs,” says Owner and Principal Designer Hrishikesh Borude. “SOLIDWORKS is simply a better fit for the design and engineering needs of our studio.” Since implementing the new design software, Induce Design has cut its design cycles by 30 percent and shortened the time to make design decisions by 30 percent. Borude attributes these productivity gains to the intuitive user interface of the new CAD software and the ability to communicate more effectively with clients.

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Learn more about what considerations companies need to take when changing tools and the real business benefits that await those who do by downloading the Tech-Clarity white paper “Changing CAD Tools? What you Should Know.” For additional resources that will help you understand the benefits of transitioning from other 3D CAD tools to SOLIDWORKS, visit this page.

Barb Schmitz

Barb Schmitz

Senior Marketing Communications Manager at SolidWorks
Barb Schmitz is a Senior Manager in Marketing Communications with BA in Journalism and over 30 years of experience in the CAD software industry. She started her career as a journalist covering technology and served as an editor for several leading industry publications for over 20 years. Besides being a sleuth of tech, she is a loyal dog owner, travel bum, mom, lover of hoppy IPAs, red wine, and alternative music lover living in the great city of Chicago.