Understanding How CAD Is Changing

When you’re facing a big job that you can’t handle, what are you supposed to do? Dropping the project can lead to damaged relationships, a huge loss of money, and a loss of future work. You’ll need to accept it, then accept some help from an outsourced CAD company.

In this guide, we’ll help you find the right way to outsource your CAD work. We’ll review a few different options you have, then we’ll describe the pros and cons of each option. By the end, you’ll know the most reliable, most affordable, best way to outsource your CAD work.

What Is Outsourced Work?

Let’s say you have engineering work that you need to get done. This could be 3D CAD modeling, making 2D manufacturing drawings, or reverse engineering an existing part — it doesn’t matter what the job is. If you don’t have the manpower or experience to handle the project, then you would outsource it.

Outsourcing CAD work is when you pay someone else to do some or all of the work for you. You might pay a company to design a simple table for you, or you could pay a different company to make a full 3D model of your new warehouse with all of the equipment modelled as well. In both scenarios, you’re looking at outsourced CAD work.

The outsourced engineer is paid on a per-project basis, and it typically involves an hourly rate or flat rate per drawing produced.

An outsourced engineer reviews her work with a client, while showing her design decision that were made.

Pros and Cons of Different Outsourcing Options

Where can you find an outsourced CAD engineer? There are a few different options. Let’s review the most common options and discuss some pros and cons of each option.

Looking Through a Freelance Website

The first method to discuss is going through a freelance website and looking for engineers. This could be a place like Upwork or Freelancer. These are sites where you can post a job and individuals can apply to the job. From there, you choose a candidate and pay them continuously through the site.

Pros

One good thing about freelance websites is that you’ll get access to a lot of talent. You could get dozens or hundreds of applicants for each project that you post. This might get a little overwhelming, and (from our experience) most of the candidates aren’t qualified.

It’s also easy to track the work, since communications and files need to be sent through the website.

If you’re patient, you can find a few good candidates that can help with your project.

Cons

However, freelance boards come with countless issues. The biggest problem is that it’s hard to find trustworthy and reliable work. Freelance CAD engineers can disappear and fail to deliver your drawings, and there are no real repercussions. The number of scams that go on through these websites is unbelievable.

Another problem is that Upwork takes a portion of every dollar you pay the CAD engineer. Their fees can go up to 20%, meaning that the CAD engineer will likely charge you more to compensate. Suddenly, you’re overpaying for work.

Putting a Job Posting Somewhere

Another way to outsource your CAD work is to go to a general job posting board. This might be Indeed, LinkedIn, or even Craigslist. You would post the work you need, and go through applications to decide who the right option is.

Pros

Like finding a freelancer, you’ll likely get a lot of interest and different applicants. However, it can be tricky finding qualified people who can actually handle the project.

In our experience, job boards tend to have more qualified draftsmen and engineers than freelance sites, so you’ll see more qualified talent.

Cons

The biggest headache you’ll notice is how much time it takes for this whole process. Coming up with the job description, posting it, reading through every application, going through interviews and countless phone calls — it’s all too much.

Plus, it’s very hard to find an engineer willing to come on as a contractor without benefits or paid time off. In the world of engineering, having good benefits is an industry standard. This means you’ll have to do even more interviews and reading to find the right fit.

Word-of-Mouth Referrals

Now, let’s go old-school and talk about word-of-mouth referrals. This is when you ask an employee or peer if they have a friend that can handle CAD work. From there, you would connect with the friend and send them the work they need to do.

Pros

Working with an employee’s friend is easy to get work done in a pinch. You can approach them as work is needed, and they’ll be more likely to help you since they’re already connected to your company.

Another benefit is that it’s typically easy to find a referral, since you’re employing a number of engineers. It’s likely that your employees have peers from college or family members that are also engineers.

Cons

The downside is that it can complicate relationships to bring in a word-of-mouth referral who isn’t pulling their weight. Firing them can also hurt your relationship with your employee whose friend that is.

Hiring a friend of your employees is also tough, since you have to pay them as a contractor. They might not be happy with the working agreement and look for more money or better benefits elsewhere.

An established outsourced CAD manager talks through specifics about a project with a potential client.

Trusting an Established CAD Outsourcing Company

The best way to outsource your CAD work is through an established CAD outsourcing company. This is a business that revolves all around helping companies like yours. Our outsourced team at CAD/CAM Services has handled millions of projects over the past decades.

Pros

The biggest benefit is how easy it is to work together. When you reach out for a free quote, we can immediately prepare our team to start working on your project. With over 100 engineers and draftsmen to choose from, you can expect drawings back in no time.

Plus, you never have to overpay us. We charge a flat hourly rate or fixed cost per drawing. There are no surprise charges, and you’ll appreciate how affordable our services are, while still being high quality.

Finally, we’re always here to help. We can handle back-to-back massive projects without dropping the ball. Our team is highly trained, very dedicated, and successful at what they do. We’re here to help you.

Cons

The biggest downside of outsourcing through a company is picking the wrong company. Plenty of outsourced CAD companies are looking to get quick money and underdeliver. If you pick them, you’ll waste your time and money, and you’ll likely miss deadlines. Instead, trust our team at CAD/CAM Services.

Conclusion

We just reviewed a few different ways that you can find someone to handle your outsourced CAD work. Of all the options, the best choice by far is to trust our team at CAD/CAM Services. We deliver CAD Perfect drawings in a fraction of the time. Save time and money by outsourcing with our team, and get a free quote today.