Companies that outsource CAD drafting for machine building rarely do so on principle, but because the drawing office is full. There is a machine in the schedule, the design engineer is busy with the next order, and the part drawings are piling up. We fill that gap with drafters who take on the detailing work and complete the set.
We draft and model; we do not do calculations or give structural advice. Your design engineer stays in charge of the engineering, and we make sure the drawings get produced.
Our work is in the volume: part drawings, assemblies, views and revisions that come back in series. Everyone on our team has more than ten years of CAD experience, and the team scales with your peak. We work in Inventor, AutoCAD, Revit and Rhino, always on the latest versions. We deliver files as DWG, DXF or STEP, or in whatever format you use. The work is done remotely from our own office, and we respond to an enquiry within 1 to 2 working days.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
The CAD drafting for machine building we deliver
We detail designs and components into a complete drawing set. In practice that means part drawings with dimensions and tolerances as you specify them, assembly drawings with item numbers and a bill of materials, and views and sections. We also model in 3D when the component calls for it. From that model we extract the flat patterns and the 2D sheets the shop floor needs. We deliver DWG, DXF and STEP, and any other common CAD format. A STEP file goes to the supplier, a DXF to the machining shop or the sheet metal workshop. What we do not do is calculate. We do not carry out strength calculations or give a structural judgement on a design.
You decide the engineering; we turn it into usable drawings. Revision work makes up a large part of this trade. A machine changes during the build, and the drawings lag behind. We incorporate those changes into the existing set and keep the revision marking up to date. We handle as-built work in the same way, even if the material supplied is messy. For components that come back in series, we build smart, parametric components. A component like that adapts to a new size without anyone having to redraw it.
The material schedule follows along, so a changed dimension automatically carries through to the schedule. Drawings for maintenance and documentation are also part of the work, as long as it remains drafting and not advice. Everything passes through at least three review layers before the set goes to you. A drafter draws, a second team member checks, Sam, our team leader, reviews it and Barry, our project manager, signs it off. In practice this keeps the number of errors to a minimum.
Working together on the drafting with one fixed point of contact
Barry is usually your first point of contact for a new enquiry. He goes through the project and sets out the approach. After that, Sam as team leader takes over the technical side, and he remains your point of contact throughout the project. So you do not have to deal with a rotating cast of drafters. Sam has more than fifteen years of experience in architecture, worked in Iran for seven years, ran his own design practice in the Netherlands and still works as an engineer. He leads our CAD team and is responsible for the technical side of the project. We agree the frequency of check-ins with each client.
On a tightly run project we call every two days; on a calmer one a weekly meeting is enough. Day-to-day contact runs through email and phone. We are happy to visit you or welcome you at our office, although the work itself is done remotely. On larger projects we use software you can log into to follow the progress of the project. For standalone AutoCAD drafting we keep it simple and files go back and forth by email. At the start we ask for your drawing conventions. We adopt the layer structure, naming conventions, title blocks and sheet layout from them.
A drawing that fits your own structure does not need reworking by anyone on your side. We let you know if something in the documents supplied does not add up. A quick question up front is better than a set that has to come back halfway through. Our tone in that contact is down-to-earth and direct. If you would rather see a trial sheet than a lengthy quotation, we are happy to work that way too.
No ongoing payroll costs and no idle staff once the peak is over. If one of our people is off sick or on holiday, we replace them and the work simply carries on.
Ownership and confidentiality of machine building files
Every drawing we produce remains your intellectual property. That applies to the 2D sheets, the 3D models and the parametric components we build along the way. We claim nothing and do not reuse the work elsewhere. In machine building that is no formality, because an assembly often reveals exactly how a machine is put together. So far we have not signed a non-disclosure agreement, simply because clients have not asked for one. If you want an NDA, we will sign it. We would rather settle such agreements at the start than halfway through. We store files in our own environment, with our own licences. So we do not work on your server and do not ask for access to your network. That saves you an administrative burden and a discussion with your own IT department. On delivery the source files are included, not just a PDF or a printout.
You can then modify the work yourself, even without us. We briefly document how the families and templates are built, so one of your own drafters can carry on with them. If the collaboration ends, you keep a complete set. We are flexible about the form of the agreement. Hourly or a fixed project price, either is possible, and we decide together. We only bill actual working hours, so if someone steps away for five minutes, the clock stops. We do not offer prepaid hour bundles or a monthly hours subscription. A short assignment is also open for discussion, so you can first see what our team delivers. We record everything we agree in advance, so there is no confusion about hours or ownership during the project.
From first meeting to staged delivery of your machine building drawings
The process starts with a meeting about the project. We ask what already exists, what still needs to be done and when it has to be finished. You supply the details, usually existing drawings that need revising, plus your drawing conventions. Sometimes there is a 3D model, sometimes only a sketch and a conversation with the design engineer.
We then tell you how we will approach it and in what order. Sufficient information is all we need to start. We respond to an enquiry within 1 to 2 working days, so your schedule does not get held up. We do not deliver everything in one go at the end.
The first batch of drawings goes to you early, precisely to test our assumptions. If the lineweight, dimensioning style or layout is not right, we adjust it before a hundred sheets are done the same way. We repeat that feedback round for every batch. That keeps the correction workload small and the lead time predictable. If the project grows in scope, our large, variable team scales with it and we deploy as many drafters as needed.
If someone is off sick or on holiday, we replace them and the work carries on. You pay no ongoing payroll costs and are not left with an empty workstation once the peak is over. When a deadline could not move, our team has in the past worked through evenings and weekends to deliver. At the end we check the entire set once more. Only then does it leave the office.
Frequently asked questions about CAD drafting for machine building
Hand your machine building drawings over to us
Send us your documents and drawing conventions and we will let you know within one to two working days what we can take on and when.