Outsourcing AutoCAD->SW conversion

[RichardZ]

Can anyone recommendcompanies to convert legacyAutoCAD filesto Solidworks models and drawings? Good experiences or bad?


My company is considering the platform change but the prospect of converting thousands of old drawings is daunting. They will probably want the lowest possible conversioncost-- even outsourcing to India if necessary.

 

[bnemec]

Richard;


My company provides these services to many of our clients, however there are a number of caveats that you need to be looking out for. In a number of cases my clients have come to me after first sending the work to India and ultimately the data needed to be fixed, modified or completely redone. The challenge with offshoring work like this is that upper management sees the cost savings because places like India are cheap. The trade off is that someone (from your company)still has to control this data to ensure accuracy and you cannot just put the full responsibility on any outside resource no matter where they are located. Data conversion is viewed by management as a brainless activity that anyone can do. My perspective is that it takes a seasoned design team to convert the data while offering value added services to get the job done right the first time. Nothing is worse than outsourcing/offshoring and once you get the data back, it requires more work. Many times I have seen the models come back and they are useless in terms of modifiability, feature organization and model intelligence because these resources are only contracted to recreate the data and not to think. Taking this one step further, what happens when you need to retool some of these parts? Who has verified the accuracy of conversion before releasing the data. I have seen this too many times and once parts are received, they match the print but dont fit together or have a multitude of other issues. What I am trying to impart on you (and anyone else that is listening and interested) is that you really need to have your expectations in order when you take on this task and hold your resource (whomever you choose) responsible for accuracy and being intelligent enough to ask the right questions and to take note when things do not appear to be correct. Converting 2D or 3D geometry from one platform to another is no easy task and requires a team of experienced people who are focused on the details and have your best interests and ultimate goals in mind at all times.


Best Regards,


Bruce Nemec - C2R


www.c2r-llc.com

 

[LJ@APEX]

I am inclined to agree with Richard. I also own a small firm which does data conversions and data remastering. Over the last 20+ years I've worked in and with small "alley shops" to the big three OEMs and I've seen first hand the problems inherent in offshoring work of this nature. It can be and often is a frustrating and time-consuming process. As Richard alluded to, you must have good people on both sides of the operation. Let me know if I can help...


Lawrence


lawrence@apxdsgn.com

 

[Ciro]

Great answers from Richard and Lawrence. Customer/supplier collaboration is critical. Expectations clearly defined and lots of expererience in modeling are a plus. I have been fortunate to be exposed to the aircraft, nuclear and medical industries here in the Seattle WA area. The 2D to 3D converstions my company doesare used through out the manufacturing process from CAM programming, tooling, CAM verification and CMM inspection programming. The cad data set must be as accurate as possible.


What your company wants to do is a great idea. One way to do this is to have the supliers provide the data sets in the same CAD software you use. Second is to categorize them according to your needs and third interviewas many supliers needed to get all your parts done in the shortest time. Some suppliers may be wiiling to work in a per package contract, say 50 to 100 parts contracts, etc...


There is a direct correlation between how many dimensions there are in a drawing and how long it takes to do it. This also determines the cost.


I can help too,


Thank you,


Ciro Grijalva


cirocad@comcast.net

 

[niki75niki]

niki75niki@hotmail.com, neki76@hotmail.com
Edited by: niki75niki

 

[niki75niki]

Also, I too agree about what the other contributors have posted on this topic. Its true that offshoring to India can be a useless excercise if the model usability is compromised. But not every indian company offers such bad services.


So you may get some samples done and check themthroughly, before you actually start the actual process. There are numerous companies who are using Indian services for their CAD work andI am sure not everyone of them is complaining.


So the trick is in choosing the right provider....

 

[nucu]

www.cadvegra.com

 

[sumant]

Dear Richard,


I came across your post and decided to reply after going through the replies you have got. Indeed you need to develop a relation with the service provider. We have been able to do exactly the same thing as your requirement goes to a lot of European clients. We however have done a lot of work for the american clients but through a consultant.


We have in the past couple of years have been able to generate a reputation for ourselves and also we have registered with the STPI (Software Technology Parks of India). We have the latest in data security and project management to deal with projects of great magnitude.


We have set standards for Quality Checks, Team Management and for Delivery standards in place to provide you with the best in the industry.


I would request you to kindly provide us with your mail id to enabl us to provide you with more details on the Projects we have done and the process methodology we follow.


You can mail to me at sumant@mphinite.com so that I could reply to the same.


Thank you


Sumant

 

[ttraser]

Richard,


My company does such service as well. www.traserdesign.com


Contact me if interested, we can discuss the logistics of the project.


Thank you for your time,


Terry Traser

 

[AHA-D]

There is an alternative.


I've been through some changes, either getting started with CAD, or changing from one to another. Each time "legacy" is a big item, while in hindsight the importance is overstressed, at least that's my experience.


When changing over your business is running. Meaning you have all the necessary tools and documentation to do what you do. This does not change because you have 5 workstations running some kind of CAD. What you do want to do is to use the new tools for the new stuff. So you can keep the old stuff and start with new things.


OK, there are times that you have to mix old and new. In that case it is not bad at all to make "ad hoc" conversions. Create whatever you need from the legacy in the new system. Advantages : your users get experience in working with the CAD-system that they wouldn't get when someone else is doing the job. Secondly you only translate what you need. It could very well turn out that if you do a bulk translation that only 10% is ever used afterwards. Keeping one copy of the old software (in case it is a transition between systems) you keep access to your old data.


The money invested in translating everything can be much better spent by getting an experienced person to your side during the first year of implementation, pointing out ways to work and ensuring that everything is tailored to your specific needs.


My 2 eurocents,


Alex

 

[afusen]

Dear Sir,





I would like to work on your project, I am mechanical engineer from philippines and presently working in china. I am using solidworks 2006, autocad 2002 and pro engineer wilfire 3.0 for reverse engineering and mechanical design. Please send me details if you are interested at rey@newington.com.cnor wangfusen@yahoo.com.au





Best regards,


Afusen