CAD & PDM @ Cloud

My Background: My association with CAD started during GE times in 2007, where we used UG models for FEA analysis. From modeling, to drawings to 2D layouts I have been surrounded with outputs of CAD. In 2014, I led a design team producing drawings and layouts in CATIA. Starting 2018, I led a team responsible for CAD from IT Engineering side, provisioning, NX and 400+ customizations for 6000+ users.

What is CAD

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) revolutionized engineering and design by replacing manual drafting with powerful digital tools that enable precise and efficient modeling. CAD is the backbone of countless industries, from automotive to aerospace, providing the means to visualize, analyze, and bring products to life.

A Brief History of CAD: Born of the Personal Computer Era
CAD's rise began in the late 20th century, propelled by the advent of personal computers. Early CAD systems, like those from Auto-trol and Computervision, required specialized hardware and were reserved for high-budget industries. With the proliferation of personal computers in the 1980s and 1990s, CAD became more accessible. Software such as AutoCAD democratized design, allowing engineers and architects to create complex 2D and 3D models from their desktops.

This was an era of exponential growth, but it was tied to the capabilities of local machines, leading to the development of supporting systems like Product Data Management (PDM) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM).

PDM and PLM

As CAD became more sophisticated, so did the complexity of managing design data.

• PDM Systems emerged to store, organize, and version-control CAD files, ensuring that teams could track changes and avoid conflicts.
• PLM Systems extended this further, overseeing the entire lifecycle of a product — from concept to disposal — integrating CAD data with broader enterprise functions like procurement, manufacturing, and marketing.

While transformative, these systems introduced challenges: they required significant IT infrastructure, were expensive to implement, and often constrained collaboration due to their localized nature.

The Challenges of Classical CAD

By the early 2000s, the limitations of desktop-based CAD systems became increasingly apparent:

1. High Costs: Expensive hardware and software licenses created barriers for smaller teams.
2. Collaboration Barriers: Sharing files often led to version conflicts and time-consuming check-in/check-out processes.
3. Access Limitations: Designers were tied to their workstations, reducing flexibility in an increasingly mobile world.
4. Complex IT Management: PDM and PLM systems required substantial infrastructure and administrative overhead.
5. Scalability Issues: Scaling design tools and infrastructure to support growing teams and global operations was cumbersome and costly.

Cloud CAD PAAS

The emergence of high-speed internet, cloud computing, and mobile technology in the 2010s laid the foundation for the next evolution: Cloud CAD. Platforms like Onshape reimagined design tools for this new era, offering capabilities that classical CAD could not match.

However, in many ways cloud's impact on software applications isn't the same on CAD. Why?

1. CAD has been used primarily by industrial companies. Major companies still are focused on mechanical products.
2. CAD itself is a product of tech introduction of personal computing with x86 chips. Conventionally has been client heavy with high graphical and user input/response driven.
3. In larger industrial product companies, especially ones with global presence, CAD often is paired with PDM/PLM systems which are treated as secure vaults maintaining revision controls and workflows. These over time have become part of the culture of the company.
4. CAD kernels by major providers have been legacy codes, with decades of layers on top. Focus on commercialization has led most providers to a state where deep expertise, high risk-taking gut, and a crazy leadership would be required to approve modernization.
5. Heavy CAD users were always driving the development of CAD features and functions. Often having specific processes, they developed their own automations — a gamut of codes resting over the black box with layers, sometimes interacting through limited APIs exposed by CAD providers.

The true Cloud CAD PAAS has emerged over time (last 7 years) and is establishing stronger roots. A key example: Onshape.

Key Advantages of Cloud CAD

1. Hardware Independence: Run CAD on any device with a browser — no need for expensive workstations.
2. Real-Time Collaboration: Teams can co-design in real-time without worrying about file conflicts.
3. Integrated Data Management: Built-in version control replaces the need for separate PDM systems, with branching and merging akin to software development workflows.
4. Always Accessible: Work anywhere, anytime, without worrying about installations or updates.
5. Scalability: Pay-as-you-go models make it easier to scale design resources with business needs.
6. Security and Backups: Cloud platforms provide automatic backups and enterprise-grade security protocols.
7. Democratization: Cloud CAD brings unparalleled abilities in the hands of individual creators on par with big conglomerates.
8. Simplification of IT infrastructure and enablement of Engineering Data Solutions for global industrial giants. Setting up local regional servers and complexities of maintaining revision controls, business processes, caching requirements and timeouts, secondary applications built over PDM data — all becomes completely simplified.
9. True CI/CD and ease of rollouts: For companies with heavy internal customizations, Cloud CAD PAAS would mean true enablement of CI/CD and amazingly simple rollouts. Imagine for companies with 1000s of CAD users where current rollout processes are complex — most CAD softwares are client-based and consume 100s of GBs.

Challenges & Solutions to Adopt Cloud CAD

Despite its benefits, transitioning to Cloud CAD is not without hurdles for established industrial organizations:

1. Data Security Concerns. Sensitive intellectual property requires robust encryption and compliance with industry regulations (e.g., GDPR, ITAR). Solution: Partner with providers offering secure, certified environments and data localization options.
2. Cultural Resistance to Change. Teams accustomed to desktop CAD may resist learning new tools. Solution: Provide training, highlight collaboration benefits, and demonstrate ROI with pilot projects.
3. Network Dependence. Reliable internet connectivity is essential for smooth operation. Solution: Invest in high-speed internet and explore offline caching options for critical tasks.
4. Integration with Legacy Systems. Existing PDM/PLM systems and workflows may not align seamlessly with cloud tools. Solution: Use platforms with robust APIs and modular approaches to integration.
5. Cost Perception. Subscription models may seem costlier than perpetual licenses. Solution: Conduct detailed ROI analysis, factoring in savings from reduced hardware costs and increased productivity.
6. Existing network of internal user customizations, vendors and contractors. Solution: A platform with robust APIs and a network willing to work on formats would have to be negotiated.

A Guide to Choose Type of CAD

Refer to a great article highlighting more views on challenges adopting the CAD cloud and a guide to choose what suits you best — including Cloud CAD as both SaaS and PaaS: CAD in the Cloud: When is it right for you?

Looking Ahead: A Parallel Evolution in CAE

While CAD has taken the leap to the cloud, a similar transformation is awaited in Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE). CAE, which encompasses simulation, analysis, and optimization, is still heavily reliant on desktop computing and local hardware for processing. Transitioning these resource-intensive tasks to the cloud could unlock:

1. Scalable Simulations: Harnessing cloud-based computing power to run multiple simulations in parallel.
2. Seamless Integration with Cloud CAD: Allowing design and simulation teams to work on unified platforms, as already pitched by Fusion 360.
3. Global Collaboration in Engineering Analysis: Bringing the collaborative features of Cloud CAD to CAE environments.
4. AI layer sitting on top of this CAD, PDM, PLM and CAE loop database.

Conclusion

CAD's journey, from the desktop-bound systems of the personal computer era to today's cloud-native platforms, is a testament to the power of innovation. By addressing the limitations of classical CAD, Cloud CAD offers a future where design is more accessible, collaborative, and scalable. For conventional companies, the move to the cloud requires strategic planning and cultural adaptation, but the rewards — agility, cost savings, and innovation — are undeniable and may be unavoidable over time.

And this is just the beginning. As CAD continues its cloud evolution, CAE is poised to follow, promising a future where engineering is as boundaryless as the ideas it brings to life.

Call to Action

What's your take on the impact of cloud transformation on the setup of industrial companies, beyond the regular IT and software aspects? Eager to know your comments @LinkedIn!