Companies considering metalworking drafting outsourcing almost always ask us two questions first: which file format do we deliver in, and do we follow your CAD standards? The answer to both is short. We work in DWG, DXF, STEP and the Revit formats, and we draft according to the layer structure, sheet layout and naming you give us.
So our drafters step into an existing set rather than laying a system of their own alongside it. That saves your drawing office a round of corrections that would otherwise only surface at the first delivery.
We draft and model; we do not do engineering or calculations. Our people all have more than ten years of CAD experience, and our work goes through at least three review layers before it goes back to you. The work is done remotely from our own office, with our own licences. After a new enquiry you will hear from us within 1 to 2 working days, after which we go through the project together. A short first assignment is fine, so you can judge our speed and accuracy for yourself.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
From first conversation to partial delivery on outsourced drafting
A project with us starts with a conversation. In it we go through what drafting work there is, how much of it there is and which documents you already have. Usually we receive existing drawings that need a revision round, plus the details that have to be right in the new situation. In that conversation we also probe the points that cost time later: what the sheet layout looks like, which layers are fixed and which hatches and symbols are standard in the existing set. We then divide the work among our drafters and deliver in stages.
We do that deliberately, because we would rather put a first set on the table that your project leader can comment on than deliver a complete package that only turns out to deviate at the end. We collect the feedback, process it and move on to the next section. We set the meeting rhythm together with you. With a tight schedule we speak every two days; for calmer work a weekly check-in is enough. Every drawing goes through at least three review layers before we send it back.
A drafter draws, a second team member checks that work, then Sam, our team leader, reviews it, and finally Barry, our project manager, checks it. That keeps the number of errors small, and just as important: we find the errors there are ourselves, not you. With standalone drafting, files go back and forth by email. On larger projects we use software you can log into to follow the progress of the project.
Software, versions and formats for metalworking drafting
Our main software is Revit, AutoCAD and Rhino. Besides these we work with Inventor and Grasshopper, and to a limited extent with Dynamo and Vault. For sheet metal, assemblies and parts that go into production, we deliver DWG, DXF and STEP, and where the project runs in Revit we use the Revit formats. In practice we handle any common CAD format you send us. We always run the latest versions.
If your drawing office is still on an older release, we agree in advance which version we deliver back in, so nobody ends up with a file that will not open locally. For us, tying in with the existing set means more than the right format. We adopt the title block, put the geometry on the layers you use and keep the file names that already apply in the archive. If an old set contains contradictions, for example two hatches for the same material, we raise it rather than making a decision ourselves. We work in our own environment with our own licences, so you do not need to set up a workstation, seat or remote desktop.
Where it makes sense, we build parametric Revit families so that a recurring component does not have to be drawn from scratch every time. The material schedule is built into such a family: if the component changes, the schedule changes automatically. If you are considering metalworking drafting outsourcing for large numbers of near-identical parts, that is usually where the biggest gain lies.
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.
Scaling up when metalworking drafting peaks
Capacity is the reason behind almost all of our enquiries. An order comes in, the schedule moves forward and your own drawing office has no room left. We have a large, variable team that scales with each project, with as many drafters as the work requires. That team is already in place, so we do not need to recruit or onboard anyone when things get busy. When it is urgent, we add people to a live project straight away. If someone on our side is off sick or on holiday, we replace that person and the work continues, without you noticing a gap in the schedule. Everyone who drafts for us has more than ten years of CAD experience, and the core of our team has around twenty-five years of experience combined.
Sam has more than fifteen years of background in architecture, worked in Iran for seven years, ran his own design firm in the Netherlands and still works as an engineer. He directs the CAD team and is responsible for the technical side of project supervision. With us you pay no ongoing payroll costs and are not tied to a prepaid bundle or monthly hour subscription. We charge by the hour or per project at a fixed price, and we decide together which of the two fits. We only bill hours actually worked, so if someone steps away for five minutes for coffee, the meter stops. A short assignment is fine too, and it is often a pleasant way to start.
Getting started with outsourcing: the information we need
As soon as enough information is available, we get started. Specifically, we ask for the existing drawings or models, your drawing conventions, the required file format and the date the work needs to be back. If something is missing, we do not carry on blindly. With an as-built file that has been partly drawn by hand and printed askew, we would rather work it out ourselves than call your project leader every day with individual questions.
That is how we previously handled material from Firefly, for whom we have now completed more than twenty projects and hundreds of drawings. Whatever we cannot work out ourselves, we bundle into a short list of questions that we go through in a single meeting.
The first step with us is always a conversation by phone or through the contact form on this website. We respond to a new enquiry within 1 to 2 working days. We then discuss the scope, the rhythm and the delivery method, and the first section can usually get going quickly. Barry is the first point of contact for new enquiries, after which Sam takes over the technical side, so you keep a consistent face.
The intellectual property of everything we draw belongs to you. We send the source files along, not just an export, so your own team can continue working in them straight away. We have not signed a non-disclosure agreement so far because clients have not asked for one, but we are open to an NDA. If you are seriously considering metalworking drafting outsourcing, you can start with a small first assignment and judge us on that.
Frequently asked questions about metalworking drafting outsourcing
Hand your metalworking 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.