Engineering Automation Insights
Practical guidance on CAD automation, product configurators, and engineering design efficiency, from engineers who build these systems every day.
Latest Articles
How to Automate Transmission Pole Drawings: PLS-Pole to CAD
The manual workflow from PLS-Pole to manufacturing-ready drawings consumes 16-24 engineering hours per pole design. This guide breaks down the cost, why manual processes persist, and how automation bridges PLS-Pole output to finished CAD deliverables in minutes.
EOT Crane Design Automation: How We Replaced 4 Hours of Manual IS:807 Calculations with a 2-Minute Web Tool
Manual IS:807 EOT crane girder design takes an experienced engineer 2–4 hours per job. Here's how we built Crane Genie, a cloud-based SaaS that automates the full structural calculation cycle including 13 code checks, section optimisation, end carriage design, and professional report generation.
The Complete Guide to Engineering Design Automation Strategy
A comprehensive guide covering when to automate, how to build the business case, which platforms to choose, and how to implement engineering automation successfully. The definitive resource for engineering leaders evaluating automation.
CAD Customization & Automation: The Complete Technical Guide
Everything engineers need to know about extending AutoCAD, Inventor, and SolidWorks with custom plugins, automation scripts, and API integrations, from macros to production-grade add-ins.
CAD Customization vs CAD Automation: What's the Difference?
CAD customization and automation are often used interchangeably, but they mean different things, solve different problems, and need different investments. This article draws a clear line between the two and helps you choose the right approach.
Design Automation in Material Handling: How Engineering Teams Are Cutting Lead Times
EOT cranes, screw conveyors, belt conveyors: material handling products are highly parametric and heavily drawing-dependent. Here's how leading manufacturers are automating their order-to-drawing cycles.
How CAD Automation Enhances Engineering Team Productivity: Real Outcomes
What productivity gains do engineering teams actually experience from CAD automation, how are they distributed, and what does the implementation that delivers them look like? A grounded, evidence-based analysis.
Engineer-to-Order Manufacturing: How Automation Transforms the Quote-to-Production Cycle
Every ETO order is custom, but most of the work inside each order follows a pattern. This article shows which parts of the quote-to-production cycle are worth automating and how configurators and drawing automation work together to compress weeks of engineering into hours.
SolidWorks Automation: A Practical Guide to Macros, APIs, and Rule-Based Design
SolidWorks offers three distinct automation paths: macros, the SolidWorks API, and rule-based tools like DriveWorks, each with different trade-offs. This guide helps engineering teams choose the right approach and avoid the common pitfalls.
Integrating CAD Customization into Your Workflow: A Step-by-Step Guide
CAD customization delivers its biggest gains when it's woven into how your team actually works, not bolted on as a side project. A practical guide covering workflow mapping, scope selection, parallel validation, and long-term ownership.
The Role of AI in Parametric Design and Engineering Automation
AI is entering engineering automation at specific, practical points: rule drafting, output validation, and pattern recognition. Here's what it genuinely does well today, and where the hype still outpaces the reality.
Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) Automation: 3 Key Wins for the AEC Sector
Clash triage, drawing sheet production, and project reporting: three ACC automation workflows delivering measurable ROI for AEC teams using Autodesk's Design Automation API.
CPQ Implementation Roadmap: How to Prepare Your Engineering Data
Most CPQ projects fail not because of the software, but because the engineering data underneath isn't ready. Here's a phase-by-phase roadmap for getting your product rules, CAD templates, and pricing logic in shape before deployment.
Sustainable Engineering: Reducing Waste with Design Automation
Automated rule-based design eliminates over-specification, the biggest source of avoidable material waste in manufactured products. Sustainability becomes a by-product of accuracy, not a separate analysis step.
How to Upskill Your Engineering Team for an Automated Future
Automation changes engineering roles, it doesn't eliminate them. Here's a practical 12-month roadmap for developing the scripting, data structuring, and parametric thinking skills your team needs.
Top 5 Engineering Automation Trends for 2026
AI-assisted rule generation, headless CAD in production, the closed digital thread, low-code tools for engineers, and sustainability built into automation outputs: here's what's actually moving the needle this year.
Build vs. Buy: When Does a Custom Engineering Tool Make More Sense Than Off-the-Shelf?
Off-the-shelf tools win for commodity processes. Custom tools win when your engineering logic is what differentiates you. Here's a practical framework for making the right call, including a 5-year TCO comparison.
iLogic vs Inventor API: Choosing the Right Automation Approach
Should you write iLogic rules or build a .NET add-in? The answer depends on what you're automating, who maintains it, and how far you need it to scale. Here's the decision framework.
AutoCAD Core Console (AccoreConsole): The Complete Guide to Headless CAD Automation
Somewhere in your AutoCAD installation folder sits a tool most engineers have never heard of. AccoreConsole runs AutoCAD's full engine without the GUI: 5x faster, under 100MB RAM. Here's how to use it.
5 Signs Your Engineering Team Is Ready for CAD Automation
If your team spends more time modifying drawings than designing new products, automation isn't optional. It's overdue. Here's how to know when you've crossed the threshold.
Product Configurators vs CPQ Software: What Engineers Need to Know
Not all configurators are created equal. We break down the difference between sales-oriented CPQ tools and engineering-grade product configurators that generate real CAD outputs.
How to Calculate ROI on Engineering Design Automation
A practical framework for quantifying the business case for automation, from time savings and error reduction to faster quoting and reduced engineering bottlenecks.
Why Excel Spreadsheets Are Costing Your Engineering Team More Than You Think
88% of spreadsheets contain errors. When those spreadsheets drive structural calculations or BOMs, the cost isn't just inefficiency. It's risk.
AutoCAD vs Inventor API: Choosing the Right Automation Platform
Both platforms offer powerful APIs, but the right choice depends on whether you're automating 2D drawings, 3D models, or a hybrid workflow. Here's our decision framework.
The Hidden Cost of Manual Drawing Variants in Manufacturing
When a single drawing variant takes 3 hours and you produce 200 per month, the math is brutal. We walk through the real cost, including the opportunity cost of engineer time.
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