From making sure your systems are secure, through to providing the all-important training required to use them, CAD software poses several challenges for businesses, says Paul Siodmok
Investing in CAD hardware and software is an important financial decision and as such implementation should be planned in detail in a business plan and supported by a financial investment strategy.
There are specialist companies who are able to provide finance and training to SMEs looking to develop CAD capabilities and known within the industry as Value Added Resellers.
Within the business plan, an organisation should expect to renew hardware on a three-year cycle plan and write off licence costs within the same period. The business plan should also forecast ongoing maintenance and training costs.
It would be wise to map out what the business wants to achieve by implementing a CAD system. This may include CAM, speed of design changes or faster development times to name a few.
This can then form a specification against which software packages can be evaluated. Often CAD software can be evaluated free for 30 days, allowing a business to benchmark systems against their own specification and other systems.
The evaluation of hardware is also an important part of the CAD implementation process. Consider the integration of the systems into your existing network as well as that of suppliers, and how data will be transferred and backed up.
Key to the success of any CAD solution is well-trained staff who are able to use it correctly and efficiently. Industrial design and engineering courses now integrate CAD software education into the curriculum and this may be a factor when recruiting new staff as well as choosing a CAD system.
Primary CAD skills are inherently transferable from one system to the next. However a good training course will pay back the initial investment many times over in increased use, accuracy and speed.
Upgrades are part of any CAD system, so also plan how personnel will find out about and implement new features in each release.
Consider target systems such as rapid prototyping machines or CNC systems, which take STL or IGES data to ensure that your chosen CAD system can output and transfer into these systems during evaluation.
Investigate your manufacturing partners' technology and how changes to CAD data can be tracked and communicated efficiently from one system to another.
It may also be worth considering digitising previous paper-based plans to allow legacy information to be implemented smoothly into your CAD system. There are specialist bureaus that can provide this service.
Many companies do not have adequate backup systems for essential company data. The most critical information can include large CAD datasets. Consider how people will share information across the network and maintain control over data versions and changes.
Often it is worth considering a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent/Inexpensive Disks) server, which is a central server that is duplicated across a number of disks and backed up (preferably off site) to insure against fire damage and theft.
CAD data is often the key in explaining how to produce a current or future product. Ensure that steps are taken to protect your network and encrypt data transfer by implementing firewalls and secure FTP systems.