Curious... 1

[element94]

Do companies outsource any SolidWorks work? For example, could a company hire me to do assemblies and drawings on a part time basis from home? Has anyone ever done this? Thanks for any info...

 

[Theophilus]

Certainly. I do it all the time. Especially when companies get into some things too complex for their current software (3-view ACAD) and need something too quickly for their learning curve.

You'll probably need to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but that's standard.


Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reality is no respecter of good intentions.

 

[ctopher]

Our company has outsourced some stuff. The company that was picked does a @#$%^ job IMO. Some of the solid parts are not usuable and have to be re-created. If you start doing this, I suggest find out what each companies standards are for creating their models and stick to it.
Good luck

Chris
Sr. Mechanical Designer, CAD
SolidWorks 2005 SP0.1

 

[Bouke]

We do nothing different then outsourcing. I just do the designs and concepts myself in SW. And when the drawing-files are ready I check them. We had some problems with our suppliers about this but now, after 2 years we were able to educate each other in such a way that we are really happy with it.

Regards,

Bouke Brouwers
Mechanical Engineer
SW2005 SP0.1

 

[Theophilus]

ctopher is right. You need to be very careful in outsourcing items of this type or you'll get a lot of junk that could actually cost you a lot more than the cost of paying for outsourcing.

I charge (and receive) $65/hour for CAD work--much higher than most clients want to pay until they see the work. However, my models are flawless and have a logical flow that allows them to be edited without a long string of errors in other features. You get what you pay for, and I charge what I can get.

So it's possible to get the sort of work you need, but you should also expect to pay for excellence.

The other side of the coin is that you'd better be an expert to attempt to take on work of this sort or you'll have some rightly-furious clients to answer to.


Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reality is no respecter of good intentions.

 

[element94]

How do you go about getting work? Thanks for the help!

 

[element94]

Jeff, Your work is awesome! I checked you website and you do some awesome stuff.

 

[SBaugh]

1) I started out by getting into all NG's and getting known. Although I was already known by most members in some NG's before I was doing things form my home. However getting to know people and networking is a fast way to get started. Sometimes if you make the right friends in the right places, they will help funnel work towards you. That happen to me while I was out of work.

2) Setting up a useful website was one of my first steps. My first site name was

http://www.3dmca.com

- "3D modeling, Cosulting and Automation". Now of course i have migrated up to

http://www.scottjbaugh.com.

That site is getting more hits, but that's because of recognition of my work and other things.

3) If you have vast understanding of SW and can prove yourself to others that you do (mainly those that you want to do business with) then you can get the jobs your looking for.

4) Having CSWP licenses is a big help here and other forms of certificates and degrees will help you.

Best Regards for here in Orlando!

Scott Baugh, CSWP
3DVision Technologies

http://www.3dvisiontech.com

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

faq731-376
faq559-716 - SW Fora Users

 

[Theophilus]

Thanks for the compliment. I hope to post details soon, but am too busy to get to it.

Most of the work I get is from referrals at this point. Word of mouth works well since opportunities most often result from who you know instead of from what you know.

I've made a lot of contacts in the Phoenix area over the years, and that's what got me started. It really depends on what specific kind of work you're looking for. For instance, I don't do drawing detailing, but I do complex surfaces, injection molds, and other things. You should pick a niche. Sounds like you should first look into a business plan and do some research into a more specific field of expertise.


Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

Reality is no respecter of good intentions.