Inventor drafting outsourcing takes place in a specific software package, and that package calls for drafters who work in it every day. Besides Inventor, we also work in Revit, AutoCAD and Rhino, complemented by Grasshopper and, to a limited extent, Dynamo and Vault.
We always work with the latest version, so you never run into an outdated file. We exchange files in STEP and, where needed, in DXF, DWG or Revit formats, and in practice our drafters can handle virtually any common CAD format.
We work in our own environment, with our own licences, not in yours. That means we can start straight away, without anyone on your side having to set up a workstation or a licence first. If you work in Inventor, what you mainly want is a drafter who understands how the model is built, not one who simply traces the outside. That is exactly why we deploy people with years of experience in this kind of modelling work.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
The cost of Inventor drafting outsourcing
The cost side of Inventor drafting outsourcing works on the same principle as our other drafting: we charge by the hour or at a fixed price per project, and we agree with you which option fits best. For a well-defined project, for example a series of parts we need to model in the same style, clients often choose a fixed price because it keeps things clear. For work that may still change, for instance because the design is not yet final, an hourly rate is often a better fit, as you then do not have to guess the scope in advance.
What is fixed in both cases is that we only bill genuine working hours. If someone steps away for five minutes for a coffee, that time simply comes off, and that keeps our estimate honest. What really brings costs down in practice is repetition: the more often a part or a family of parts recurs, the more we gain from a well-structured, parametric approach rather than modelling each part separately by hand. A well-prepared starting point also keeps costs down, because the more clearly you explain the situation and your CAD standards up front, the less time we spend resolving uncertainties during the job.
Conversely, a messy or incomplete dossier takes us more time, simply because we first have to work out exactly what was intended before we can move on. On the other hand, there are no ongoing salary costs for a drafter your own business cannot always keep fully occupied, and that is the difference compared with a permanent employee.
Scaling up for Inventor drafting
Demand for Inventor drafting fluctuates too: one period brings a steady trickle of changes, the next a complete product we have to model in a short space of time. Our core team is already in place, and on each project we deploy what the work requires: our large, variable team scales with the size of the project. When things are urgent, we add extra people immediately, rather than first recruiting someone who then still has to get up to speed in Inventor and in your way of working.
We arrange that scaling ourselves, without you having to do anything. Even with a larger team, we keep the same review structure: a drafter draws, a second team member checks, Sam, our team leader, goes over it once more and Barry, our project manager, does the final check, regardless of how many people are working on the project at the time. If someone drops out through illness or goes on holiday, we replace them so the work carries on.
You do not have to look for a replacement yourself or train them up, because the project knowledge stays within our team. That is precisely the difference from an in-house drawing office, where the absence of one person often causes an immediate delay. When the volume drops again after a peak, we scale back down just as smoothly, without you having to start from scratch again building up project knowledge afterwards.
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.
The process from first conversation to delivery
An Inventor drafting outsourcing job starts with a conversation in which you explain exactly what we need to model and within what timeframe. We usually receive existing files at that point, for example an earlier model that serves as a basis or parts that act as an example for the rest of the set. In that conversation we also go through your CAD standards, so that from the outset we work to the same conventions that apply across the rest of your archive. Once that is clear, our drafters start the modelling and we deliver in stages rather than only at the end of the job. That way you can review how a part is being built along the way, pass on a change or shift a priority, without the whole job having to wait or grind to a halt.
After each interim delivery we actively ask for feedback, which we process in the next round, so that no surprises crop up at final delivery. We tailor our meeting rhythm to your situation: on one job we catch up every two days, on another weekly. We keep in touch by email, phone and meetings, and on larger jobs we work in an environment where you can log in and follow progress. For more ad hoc Inventor work, we deliver by email. From start to finish, the same person remains your point of contact, so nobody has to tell the story again and again to a different team member.
Who Inventor drafting outsourcing is relevant for
Inventor drafting outsourcing is mainly relevant for manufacturers, engineering firms and contractors working with products or installations made up of multiple parts. The people we sit down with are managers, team leaders and owners who see their own team running up against capacity, not knowledge. The problem is rarely that nobody knows how something should be modelled; the problem is that there are too few hours available to get everything done on time.
Sometimes it is a peak: a large order that suddenly comes in and that the existing team cannot handle without letting other projects slide. Sometimes it is a structural shortage: too few drafters for the volume coming in, so the backlog never quite goes away.
With manufacturers, we often see this around series of parts that come in multiple variants, where modelling each variant separately takes a lot of time as long as the setup is not smart. With engineering firms and contractors, it is more often project-based modelling, where the volume varies per project and it is hard for the in-house team to have exactly the right staffing at any given moment.
In both cases, the trigger is almost always the same: too little time, too few drafters, or a peak the in-house team cannot handle. Our focus is on clients in the Netherlands, and the collaboration usually begins with a conversation in which we discuss the problem in concrete terms. That conversation reveals whether it is a short-term peak or a more structural need for extra capacity.
Frequently asked questions about Inventor drafting outsourcing
Hand your Inventor drafting 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.