Four mechanisms behind the savings
1. Instant execution of routine steps
What takes an engineer minutes of clicking takes software seconds: creating features, placing parts, adding views and filling tables.
2. No waiting for information
Automation pulls data from ERP, Excel or databases directly, eliminating emails and searches.
3. Right first time
Rules and checks built into the automation prevent errors, so fewer review loops and corrections are needed.
4. Parallel and unattended work
Batch jobs run overnight or on a server while engineers work on other tasks.
Worked example: a custom platform order
| Step | Manual | Automated |
|---|---|---|
| Read order, decide sizes | 45 min | 5 min (form input) |
| Model platform assembly | 4 h | 3 min (generated) |
| Create drawings | 3 h | 10 min (generated, then reviewed) |
| BOM and cut list | 1 h | 1 min |
| Exports and ERP entry | 45 min | 2 min |
| Review and corrections | 1.5 h | 30 min |
| Total | ≈ 11 h | ≈ 1 h |
This is an illustrative example for a well-defined product family. Results for less standard products will be smaller but still significant.
Where automation saves less
- Truly new designs with no established rules.
- Products with many one-off exceptions.
- Processes where the bottleneck is approvals, not CAD work.
How to measure design time reduction
- Record baseline hours per job and per stage for recent projects.
- Track the same metrics after automation, for the same job types.
- Count review returns and shop-floor queries too.
- Report capacity gained, not just hours saved.
The real prize is capacity: handling more orders with the same team, and faster.
Reduce your design time
ENGIMANDI builds automation that shortens design cycles in SolidWorks, Inventor, AutoCAD and Revit. See our CAD automation services.