Where design time actually goes
When companies measure a typical design job, pure creative modelling is often a minority of the total time. The rest is spent on:
- Finding existing parts, standards and reference designs.
- Modelling routine features and standard components.
- Creating and annotating drawings.
- Building BOMs and filling properties.
- Checking, correcting and re-issuing after review.
- Exporting and sending files to production and suppliers.
Custom tools for each stage
| Stage | Custom tool | Typical time reduction |
|---|---|---|
| Search and reuse | Smart library and "similar part" search | Minutes instead of an hour |
| Modelling | Parametric generators, feature automation | 50–90% on routine parts |
| Drawings | Automatic views, dimensions, title blocks | 60–80% |
| BOM and properties | Auto-fill and BOM generator | Close to 100% |
| Checking | Rule-based validation | Fewer review loops |
| Release | One-click export and packaging | Minutes per release |
These ranges are indicative. The real gain depends on how standardised your products are.
Fewer iterations matter most
The biggest hidden time cost is rework: a drawing returned from review, a part that cannot be manufactured, a BOM that does not match the model. Tools that catch these issues at the desk save far more than tools that simply click faster.
Saving one review loop is often worth more than making modelling twice as fast.
How to measure design time savings
- Pick a representative set of recent jobs.
- Record time per stage for each (timesheets or observation).
- Introduce one tool at a time.
- Measure the same stages again after a few weeks.
- Also count review returns and shop-floor queries.
Keep engineers in control
Custom tools should accelerate engineers, not replace their judgement. Always allow manual override, show what the tool did, and involve users in design. Adoption, not code, determines the final time saving.
Cut your design time
ENGIMANDI builds design-time-saving tools for SolidWorks, Inventor, AutoCAD, Fusion 360 and Revit.