Give us the Tools!

@ASME, @ Elon University Department of Engineering CAD packages are too expensive for what they are worth, and they are holding us back. The standard has been set, now the CAD companies should work with the NIST to comply.

When I started to learn drafting, a bag of drafting tools and a table to use it was a barrier to entry. Now CAD companies require $1000-3000 / year / person. With the push to PMI now we need engineers to be able to design for Design (CAD), Manufacturing (CAM), Analysis (CAE), and Inspection (CMM). All of these come with their own expensive software that limit's users. Even when you do invest in the software, they still don't convert well. Any mechanical engineer will tell you the way the parts is designed in CAD matters too. The way a STEP file exports and imports matters too. If you want to collaborate easy between systems, good luck.

A standard enterprise system could spur new innovations. With factory 5.0, engineers need to design the whole build process, not just the final result. The disjointed solutions out there today tie a bunch of processes together, instead of having one process that works well. If we had a standards backed CAD system with a library of parts controlled by standards, engineers could spend more time creating. Companies could have a standard way of communicating with each other, all working of the same master file. How could we implement such a thing?