Don’t choose CAD software from the demo. Test it with your engineering.
CAD software demonstrations are usually impressive.
The model is clean. The assembly behaves. The commands work perfectly. The person driving the software knows exactly where everything is.
Unfortunately, that isn’t how engineering works.
Real CAD environments contain imported geometry, old models, enormous assemblies, late engineering changes, questionable supplier files, drawings that still have to be released Friday afternoon, and years of design data that cannot simply disappear because you’ve chosen a new CAD system.
The EngineeringSoftwareTrials.com CAD Software Trial & Evaluation Scorecard gives you a structured way to evaluate CAD software using the work your engineers actually do.
Test the ugly day, not the perfect day.
[DOWNLOAD THE CAD SOFTWARE TRIAL SCORECARD]
What should you test during a CAD software trial?
A CAD evaluation should answer a much bigger question than:
Can this software create a 3D model?
Most professional CAD systems can.
The better question is:
How well will this CAD system handle our engineering process?
The scorecard walks you through ten areas that can expose meaningful differences between CAD systems:
- Trial and evaluation access
- Part modeling
- Design changes and model robustness
- Assemblies
- Drawings, PMI and model-based definition
- CAD interoperability
- Performance and large-model handling
- Specialized and downstream workflows
- Daily usability
- Implementation, support and total cost
The goal isn’t to find the CAD package with the longest feature list.
It is to find the CAD system that works best with your products, your engineers, your customers, your suppliers and your downstream processes.
How the CAD scorecard works
The scorecard contains 20 practical evaluation tests worth up to 100 points.
Score each test from 0 to 5:
5 — Excellent: Proven in your actual workflow
4 — Strong: Works well with minor limitations
3 — Acceptable: Usable, but compromises are required
2 — Weak: Significant workflow problems
1 — Poor: Barely meets the requirement
0 — Failed: The capability failed, was unavailable or could not be demonstrated
Use N/A when a criterion truly does not apply to your organization.
Where possible, record what you actually tested and what happened.
Do not automatically award points because a feature appears on a product page, a salesperson says it is supported, or you watched it work during a demonstration.
Score what the software proves.
Use your own CAD data
Vendor sample files are useful for learning the interface.
They are terrible for discovering whether a CAD system fits your company.
During the evaluation, use representative examples of your own:
- Parts
- Assemblies
- Drawings
- Supplier files
- Customer files
- Imported geometry
- Legacy CAD data
- PMI
- Standard components
- Repetitive engineering workflows
If interoperability matters, don’t test the pristine STEP file supplied with the tutorial.
Try the ugly file your supplier sent you last Tuesday.
That is the file your production engineering team will eventually have to deal with.
Make an engineering change
One of the most revealing CAD tests is also one of the simplest.
Build or import a representative design.
Then change it.
Don’t make an easy change. Move a major feature. Change a controlling dimension. Replace a component. Modify geometry that has downstream dependencies.
Now watch what happens.
Do dependent features regenerate?
Do assembly relationships survive?
Do drawings update?
Does PMI remain valid?
Do downstream operations still recognize the geometry?
How much repair work is required?
Creating geometry is only part of CAD.
Engineering is changing geometry without destroying everything connected to it.
Test the CAD system as part of the engineering system
CAD rarely operates alone.
Your evaluation may also need to consider connections with:
- PDM and PLM
- CAM
- CAE and simulation
- Electrical design
- Requirements management
- Visualization
- Technical publications
- Manufacturing planning
- Quality systems
- ERP
- Supplier collaboration
A CAD package can be excellent at modeling and still be the wrong choice if it creates problems everywhere else.
Identify deal-breakers before comparing scores
Not every CAD requirement should be averaged into a numerical score.
Some requirements are absolute.
Before starting your evaluation, identify your organization’s non-negotiables.
Examples might include:
- Required native CAD formats
- Customer-mandated deliverables
- Large assembly performance
- Specific drawing or PMI requirements
- Sheet metal or advanced surfacing
- CAM or simulation integration
- PLM/PDM compatibility
- On-premise or cloud requirements
- Data residency or security requirements
- Legacy-data migration
- Required operating systems
- Licensing restrictions
If a CAD system fails a genuine non-negotiable requirement, a strong score elsewhere may not matter.
Compare CAD systems using the same test
If you’re evaluating multiple CAD products, resist the temptation to conduct completely different trials.
Use the same:
- Parts
- Assemblies
- Imported files
- Drawings
- Engineering changes
- Downstream workflows
- Hardware conditions
- Evaluation criteria
That gives you a much more meaningful comparison.
Complete an individual CAD scorecard for each finalist first.
Then compare the results side by side.
What does a good CAD score mean?
90–100 — Exceptional fit
The CAD system performed extremely well across your tested workflows with few significant weaknesses.
75–89 — Strong candidate
A strong overall fit, although some limitations or implementation issues should be investigated.
60–74 — Conditional
The software may still be appropriate, but the weaknesses deserve additional testing before making a decision.
Below 60 — High-risk fit
The evaluation exposed enough limitations that proceeding deserves careful justification.
Remember:
A high score does not override a deal-breaker.
Download the free CAD Software Trial & Evaluation Scorecard
Use the EngineeringSoftwareTrials.com scorecard while evaluating products such as Siemens NX, SOLIDWORKS, CATIA, Creo, Autodesk Fusion, Inventor, Solid Edge, Onshape and other professional CAD platforms.
Print it, complete it digitally, or use copies for multiple finalists.
The important part isn’t which CAD software gets the highest number.
The important part is knowing why.
[DOWNLOAD THE FREE CAD SOFTWARE TRIAL & EVALUATION SCORECARD]
EngineeringSoftwareTrials.com
Try before you buy.