Research shows slow progress in solid modelling

A Business Advantage Group product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Mar 25, 2002

Half (51%) the UK's CAD using sites operating within the mechanical engineering sector are using 3D CAD software, according to recent research conducted by The Business Advantage Group.

Half (51%) the UK's CAD using sites operating within the mechanical engineering sector are using 3D CAD software, according to recent research conducted by The Business Advantage Group, an increase of just 1% on last year.

Of this half, one out of ten (6%) are using 3D only, and nine out of ten are using both 2D and 3D packages.

However, nearly a quarter (24%) of those not currently using 3D (ie 12% of the whole sample) are planning to do so in future.

This is a significant increase on findings from a similar survey last year, when 18% of mechanical engineering sites not using 3D at that time expressed this intention.

However, in the 2002 survey, 68% of sites only using 2D said they have no plans to adopt 3D.

These findings concerning the current usage of and attitudes towards 3D of CAD users operating within mechanical engineering came from telephone interviews conducted in January 2002 with managers responsible for design/product development functions at 262 UK-based sites.

The sample was taken from Business Advantage's database of 20,000 UK CAD/CAM user sites.

Comparisons were made with a survey carried out a year before this on users from all business activities.

The research also found that of those sites currently using 3D, three out of five said that the adoption of solid modelling had increased productivity, a quarter said it hadn't, and 16% weren't sure.

While the number of sites who said that use of 3D had increased productivity, was too small (75 sites) for further statistically accurate analysis, it is worth noting that 31% of these felt that productivity had increased more than expected, 57% feel the gains have been the same as expected, and only 8% said they were less than expected.

When the group of sites with no plans to move to 3D were asked for the reasons behind their decision (no promptings were offered), half of them stated that 3D was just not relevant to their business, and about a third mentioned that 2D was adequate for their needs.

Chris Turner, Managing Director of The Business Advantage Group, observes: "Many vendors will admit that the rate of uptake of 3D solutions is continuing to frustrate them; indeed the fact that we can pick up only a tiny increase year on year in the proportion of sites using solid modelling is disappointing by anyone's standards.

Why aren't CAD users adopting 3D? It's likely that for a sizeable proportion of the large groups who either feel that 3D is irrelevant to them or that 2D is adequate for their needs, marketing messages about increased productivity go right over their heads.

For suppliers targeting this group, any assumptions that the case for 3D is unassailable must be put to one side.

There's encouragement to be found in the fact that a quarter of 2D users are planning to adopt 3D in future.

Converting these intentions to hard sales is another matter of course, but there is enough interest for marketing and sales teams to get their teeth into".

The full March 2002 report entitled, "Solid modelling, slow progress", including colour charts, can be read free of charge on the Business Advantage Group website, as can the March 2001 report on users from all business activities, entitled, "CAD/CAM user attitudes to the 3D experience".