GrabCAD is a pretty interesting place if you’re a CAD wizard or want to be, or if you’re a company or individual that lacks the in house skill necessary to further develop an idea. You can request work that is performed to your specs and it will remain completely confidential or you can post a challenge and let lots of folks compete to win a prize and recognition for what they create.
Already know your way around AutoCAD, Solidworks, ProEngineer or some other CAD software? You can sign up and offer your services and earn from your work and get recognition at the same time by uploading 3D models.
They can do software conversion from one format to another, turn out photorealistic images from your files and lots more. Plus, there are lots of free 3D models to download and work on yourself which is a nice way to polish your skill.
I can see a lot of folks who could benefit from all of this besides companies needing CAD work done for them. If you’re an unemployed or underemployed mechanical engineer who knows his way around this sort of software it’s a great way to keep your skills current while building your portfolio. If you wonder what you might do once you learn one of these software packages, you can jump right in and get your feet wet, contributing models or working on one of the downloads and finding out how a pro does it.
There are a lot of motorcycle related models you can download and manipulate, looks like a lot of MEs have motorcycles on their mind. Huge array of other models, too, so you’re sure to find something worth tinkering with. Cool.
Thanks for the tip, Shannon!
Link: GrabCAD
Elusive Joe says
GrabCAD is an interesting idea, but somewhat dangerous if you’re relying on these parts for critical applications. There is a reason why engineers need a degree and license to sign off on part designs, being able to analyze stresses and understand material properties are what separate engineers from drafters. Modern tools like Finite Element Analysis require several months of study and theory to use properly, you can’t simply rely on a computer to do everything for you.
That said, if you simply are interested in dimensions of a part or a pretty rendering, GrabCAD is a great resource.
QrazyQat says
As soon as I win that big lottery, I’m building my 300cc V8 4OHC engine with the two four barrel carbs, now that I know where to go to get it done. 🙂
pabs says
great! thanks for this link we’ll give some of these guys work!
todd says
I wonder what the implications are if you’re using CAD software that belongs to your employer ( or pirated) to make money on the side. Good thing it’s anonymous like you said.
-todd
Wave says
Using a service like this would definitely require a big leap of faith! It looks like a good way for small businesses to get CAD work done cost-effectively, but I think there are a lot of serious questions. How do you know that the work will be done to a professional standard? It seems that the jobs go to the lowest bidder and going by some of the jobs posted up there, engineers are getting about $100 or even less for four hours of CAD work. That’s not much for a professional engineer.
The thing I would want to know, is where does the blame land if something goes wrong? The FAQ section on GrabCAD says that they have a senior engineer inspect every piece of work before it goes to the client. Does that mean that they assume all of the risk? If the client initially accepts the work and then later has problems with the design, I definitely would not be wanting to expose myself to a potential lawsuit for $25 an hour!
Tom327Cat says
As an electrician working from drawing made by full time engineers getting very well paid for their work, I can positively say that these drawings can’t be that much worse.
pabs says
caveat emptor this is a resource like any other
i reviewed a lot of the work and found it overall to be an impressive standard
who says they are anonymous? i see it as social networking for goods and serivces but if you don’t know what your doing then no i wouldnt shop there! !
these guys are 1 year old and they have accomplished a tremendous amount bringing a like minded community together that previously ddnt have a resource of this caliber
credit where its due and thanks to paul for bringing it to my attention and as i said we’ll definetly try them out, if only as a resource to single stop shop for resources these guys have hit the nail on the head kudos
Erick says
That’s what QC is all about isn’t it? So anything wrong with the design then it should be your fault right?
pabsyboots says
exactly if you review it and find a mistake its their fault, if you approve it then later find a mistake its your fault
if it wasnt that way there would never be any accountablity
Mzungu says
As a CAD designer for over 20 years, I have mixed feelings about this site. On the one hand, I love the opportunities it offers (and others like it, such as guru.com or elance.com, which are broader in scope than this one) to earn extra income, either on the side or “between jobs”.
However, like has been mentioned above, nothing is specified on the site regarding license ownership of the software used to do this design work. It appears to be “unspoken” that the designers own their own licensed seats. However, and I’m generalizing, those attracted to the notion of earning wages through such a website community resource are typically doing so because of financial reasons, usually the lack thereof. It only stands to reason that these same folks would likewise be lacking in the financial resources required to own legal software licenses. As such, due to the general lack of OSS options out there (with a few limited exceptions), I would guess that this tends to promote less-than-legal procurement of this software. The alternative is onsite access to seats – very unlikely for this sort of remote outsourcing.
I also tend to feel a tad threatened career-wise with the whole “outsourced” aspect of this. Its only natural. The whole notion of a “level playing field” globally of this kind of skilled labor is challenging to me in all the usual ways. But this is certainly the direction that the world is heading, I suppose. More and more the trend here in the States is that the engineers are becoming increasingly responsible to do their own CAD work (in the mechanical/machine arena, anyway) as the software becomes ever more refined and friendly to use.
The company I currently work for has had some open discussion of this prospect, and the general feeling of our engineers is that close proximity facilitates good communication as a design progresses. Thus, it has not been pursued, with minor exceptions. But its not off the table altogether, either. And, as remote communication methods and technologies become ever more feature-rich (skype or netmeeting) even the “close proximity” excuse becomes less meaningful in the face of harsh business competition.
As to the design responsibility, this has always been layed at the feet of the engineer, and the same is true of the work performed through this site, I assume. If those contracting the work through this site do not also have engineering resources at their disposal to properly validate (& etc.) the design, then perhaps they will “reap what they sow” so to speak, eh? This site connects CAD designers with Engineers, period. Designers (should) do what they’re instructed to do by the engineers. The site is merely the mediator of this interaction. That’s the way I read it, anyway.
Interesting stuff, thanks for the post.